Admission requirements
There are no specific admission criteria. But, in view of the final attainment levels envisaged, minors are most suitable for third-year bachelor's students.
Description
This course equips students with an interdisciplinary toolkit for analysing cities, combining methodological approaches from design, social science, technical science, heritage studies, and environmental analysis.
The course will be structured as a series of intensive workshops of one week led by TU Delft lecturers, with the collaboration of visiting lecturers from other LDE universities and UIR. It introduces and practices key methods for analysing urban space, such as participant observation, interviewing, working with focus groups, mapping, sketching, photography and other visual research methods. Mornings are dedicated to conceptual input and technical demonstrations, while afternoons are spent applying these methods directly in the field through guided exercises. One entire day during the intensive week might be dedicated to an excursion, where students will apply the methods learned.
Students engage with both quantitative and qualitative approaches: mapping, GIS and data mining; ethnographic observation and interviews; participatory and co-design techniques; and visual, sensorial, and ecological documentation. Emphasis will be placed on the integration of diverse knowledge systems: local and global, technical and lived, and on the importance of reflexivity and ethics in research. The course encourages students to develop methodological awareness and sensitivity to context, preparing them for their individual and group research projects in the Rabat–Salé agglomeration.
Course objectives
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. Understand and explain the main methodological approaches used in interdisciplinary urban studies, including spatial, social, historical, and ecological methods.
2. Apply selected qualitative and quantitative methods (mapping, interviews, ecological inventories, visual and sensorial documentation) to real urban contexts.
3. Integrate multiple forms of knowledge: local, technical, historical in analysing urban space and processes.
4. Critically reflect on positionality, ethics, and inclusivity in fieldwork and data production.
5. Collaborate across disciplinary backgrounds to experiment with mixed methods and generate shared analytical frameworks.
6. Translate methodological insights into concrete outputs (maps, short films, sketches, or data visualisations) that will feed into later research projects.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Field exercises
Seminars
Assessment method
| Partial Assessment | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Methods portfolio | 50% |
| Group visual output | 30% |
| Reflexive methodological note | 20% |
Assessment remarks:
Methods portfolio – compilation of three applied exercises (mapping, interview, visual analysis)
Group visual output – soft atlas
Reflexive methodological note – individual reflection on positionality and ethics
Resit, review & feedback
If the final grade is below 5, the student has to revise the methods portfolio.
If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results and before the second exam moment takes place an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Registration
Admitted students will be enrolled for the courses by the Education Administration Office Herta Mohr by the end of August / beginning of September.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the information bar on the right.
For questions about enrolment, admission, education programmes offered by NIMAR, contact the coordinator.
Remarks
Important: this course is taught at NIMAR in Rabat, Morocco.