Aims

Gain an understanding of the working of local economies and how they can be better understood through research.

With a planning focus, this module provides an applied introduction to the working of location economies, with particular references to business, retail/leisure and housing. The relevant ‘markets’ will be described, where the factors affecting them in terms of market and policy forces will be considered. In order to better understand these markets, statistical and geographical methods will be introduced and practical examples considered. There will be an emphasis throughout on project work and the use of secondary and map data, where the applied work focuses on “what a planner might do” to better understand and shape local economies. Throughout there is an emphasis on the importance of place within local economies.

Outline Of Syllabus

Economic regeneration
Business growth, job creation
Retail (forms of retail; planning for retail development)
Town centre revival
Policy evaluation
Availability and use of secondary data sources
Basic mapping and statistical analysis

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The students will be located in a foreign country and there is usually only one or two students overall. As such, there is no person to person teaching. It would not be appropriate to provide individual seminars for just a few students. So only 11 hours of contact time are provided to keep in touch and deal with problems as they emerge. Where necessary email and further zoom meetings will be used to help the students through their learning.

This module is for students who are abroad and can not physically attend sessions.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Two assessments to cover the knowledge and skills outcomes outlined above. Project work reflects the research nature of the module and develops appropriate writing skills.