Duration
50h Th, 30h Pr, 5d FW
Number of credits
| Bachelor in geography : general | 9 crédits |
Lecturer
Coordinator
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
All year long, with partial in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The course encompass:
- 50 hours of theoretical courses;
- 30 hours of both, practicals and individual and collective follow-up sessions;
- an integrated fieldwork in a European city.
Theoretical courses cover two main themes: urban geography (25h - J.-M. Halleux) and location of economic activities (25h - G. Devillet).
The contents of the course focus on issues related to the local and regional levels in urban areas. They are complementary to the "Geographical dynamics of contemporary global issues" courses enrolled in the program of block 1 and focused on the global scale.
The lectures on urban geography incorporate the following chapters:
- Introduction to urban geography
- The statistical definitions of the urban world
- Socio-economy of the urban spaces
- Introduction to urban planning
- The organisation of urban spaces
- Urban networks
- Suburbanisation and urban sprawl
- The urbanisation in the global south
The lectures on the location of economic activities incorporate the following chapters:
- The location of economic activities: the secondary and the tertiary sectors
- Spatial distribution, recent mutations and methods of analysis
- The operational methods of a location choice
- Retailing, public services, tourism and services to firms
Practicals are organized as follows (30h):
- Urban diagnosis: development of a methodology (C. Breuer)
- Mapping of urban spaces and the chorematic approach (C. Breuer)
- Urban morphology and urban landscape (C. Breuer)
- Data sources to develop an urban diagnosis (C. Breuer)
- Socio-economic cartography in relation to urban diagnosis (C. Breuer)
- Retailing field survey and socio-economic urban dynamics (G. Devillet)
- Shift and share analysis (G. Devillet)
- Diversity of urban stakeholders and urban governance (C. Breuer)
- Individual and collective follow-up sessions (C. Breuer)
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The learning outcomes related to the lectures on urban geography are the following:
- give future geographers the key concepts and approaches of urban geography
- provide the ability to use those knowledges in relation to the main urban issues (planning, socio-economic development, segregation...)
- to develop an analysis aiming to stimulate critical thinking and civic-mindedness
The learning outcomes related to the lectures on the location of economic activities are the following:
- to mobilize theoretical knowledges to observe, describe and explain the spatio-temporal dynamics of the economic activities
- To solve complex problems linked to the location of economic activities on the basis of methodologies developed during the course
- To stimulate critical thinking and civic-mindedness in relation to the issue of economic activity location (delocalization, territorial dualisation, industrial policies, urban policies...)
The learning outcomes related to the practicals and to the fieldwork are the following:
- to describe, apprehend, analyse and explain the multiscalar spatial organization of a city on the basis of field observations;
- to understand the spatiotemporal variations of urban phenomena and describe them using the specialized vocabulary;
- to articulate general urban issues with local observations;
- to search, collect, process and represent statistical, historical and geographical data;
- to criticize sources, data, reasoning, information and representations;
- to produce a written summary of an urban diagnosis and to communicate it orally using the techniques and appropriate presentation documents.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
GEOG2014-1: Geographical dynamics of contemporary global issues
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The course encompass:
- 50 hours of theoretical courses;
- 30 hours of both, practicals and individual and collective follow-up sessions;
- an integrated fieldwork in a European city.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)
The practical work sessions are mandatory. The evaluation is conducted on the basis of both, an oral presentation and a written report which details the urban diagnostic. Expected documents are described in the guide document distributed to students at the beginning of the semester.
The fieldwork is organized in a European city. Participation to this trip is mandatory.
Recommended or required readings
Documents available on MyULg: slide presentations and scientific publications related to the contents of the theoretical courses.
The practical work and the study visit are related to a separate guide document.
Assessment methods and criteria
The theoretical course evaluations represent 50% of the final grade of the teaching unit. They are distributed as follows: 25% for the courses related to urban geography and 25% for the courses related to the location of economic activities. Two oral exams are organized: one for urban geography and one for the location of economic activities.
Assessments related to the practicals and to the fieldwork represent 50% of the final grade of the teaching unit. The overall rating for practicals and fieldwork is calculated as follows:
- 15% for the preparation of a geographical guided tour of an urban neighborhood;
- 20% for the collective oral presentation of the urban diagnosis;
- 65% for an individual written report on the urban diagnosis.
Each assessment criteria are specified in the guide document distributed to the students during the first class.
The course is successful if the overall rating is equal to or greater than 10/20 and if the two parts of the course (theory and practice) have a rating equal to or greater than 10/20. If one of these two conditions is not met, the overall maximum rating of the teaching unit is 9/20.
For the second session, the overall rating for practicals is only calculated on the basis of the individual written report of urban diagnosis.
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
The course is given throughout the whole year. The theoretical courses of J.-M. Halleux are held during the first semester. The theortical courses of G. Devillet as well as the practical sessions and the study visit are organized during the second term. The detailed schedule will be specified during the first class of each term.
Participation in the practical sessions and the study visit is mandatory.
The language of the course is French.
Contacts
Lecturers: G. Devillet, J.-M. Halleux
In charge of the practicals: C. Breuer, G. Devillet
In charge of the fieldwork: C. Breuer, G. Devillet
Contacts
g.devillet@ulg.ac.be
Jean-Marie.Halleux@ulg.ac.be
Christophe.Breuer@ulg.ac.be