In order to rationally solve the problems caused by rapid urbanization in South Korea, a discourse emerged in the mid-1960s about the need to foster professionals in the field of urban planning. As a result, various universities (Graduate Schools) beg...
In order to rationally solve the problems caused by rapid urbanization in South Korea, a discourse emerged in the mid-1960s about the need to foster professionals in the field of urban planning. As a result, various universities (Graduate Schools) began to operate urban planning as an independent department or undergraduate unit, starting with the Department of Urban Planning at Dong-A University in March 1965. The planning curricula at that time emphasized the ability to apply spatial planning theories to real-life situations and the cultivation of comprehensive and scientific competencies. However, changes in the environment surrounding urban planning have led to changes in the competency elements required for urban planners.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the definition of urban planners' competencies and roles contained in the urban planning curriculum organization model and operation status of Korean universities based on theories on urban planners' competencies and roles. Through this study, the competencies, role model evolution, and orientation of urban planners in the curriculum of Korean universities were explored, and then the positionality of the current curriculum-based urban planner competency model was practically evaluated by using the members' experience categorization data.
This study used a mixed case study methodology. Four Korean universities were selected for the study based on a survey of all curricula in which urban planning departments were organised. They were established between the 1960s and 1970s, the embryonic period of Korean urban studies, and have a historical experience of training human resources based on specific discipline-based academic orientations for about 50 to 60 years. They also have unique academic style characteristics that organically link educational goals with theory, practice, and technology application-based internships.
Data collection and analysis were carried out to answer the given research questions by developing an analytical framework based on urban spatial planning theory based on literature review, applying it to practical cases, and defining the competencies and roles of urban planners based on the experiential discourse of the urban planner competency development model derived from one-on-one in-depth interviews with lecturers and students.
The results of the planning curriculum analysis show that the urban planner model based on competency and role development elements in urban planning curricula has evolved from the 1980s to the 2020s, centred on the rational planner model, but reflecting social demands based on changing times. On the other hand, we found that models of urban planner competency development based on engineering and social science disciplines share a common emphasis on problem-solving competencies, but differ in methodological and interpretive orientations. Finally, the limitations of curriculum-embedded models of urban planner competence were identified, as they still remain within the realm of rational planning, and suggestions were made for establishing future model development directions by closely exploring the theoretical value judgements valued by contemporary society.
The analysis of education experience through interviews of faculty and students show the following: First, urban planning is a process of imposing social order on a physical space in order to maximise public benefits, and it was found that perceptual differences occur in the context of experience formation based on major affiliation. Second, the roles and needs of urban planners derived from the thematic analysis showed that they contribute to the functional development of society, resolve social inequalities across space, protect public welfare through policy measures, and create a settlement environment where people can enjoy a good quality of life, and are characterised in part by proposing social processes and policy-oriented solutions.
We also found that the setting of curriculum-centred areas as background elements for the development of urban planning competencies for students included elements of pre- and post-course competency development according to differences in the orientation of the model by department. For example, in the engineering department, elements of competency development based on the rational planner model were identified, and in the social sciences department, elements of the rational planner model presenting policy-centred solutions and linking technical methodology to strengthen social science analysis were identified. In the area of capacity development for urban planners for instructors, the following themes emerged: the inheritance of academic traditions through traditional course offerings, the importance of reflecting social changes and industrial needs in order to enhance employability, and expanding the scope of urban planning by combining new academic and technical methodologies.
Based on the discussions so far, four thematic discourses of competence and role development were identified: presenting future orientations and solutions to urban problems, analysing sites based on science and technology, promoting communication and cooperation, and imparting critical social values. This process revealed that the competence model of urban planners implied in the curriculum is still limited to the model of the rational planner.
This study organized planning theories that mention the competencies and roles of urban planners into an urban planner model and conducted a time series analysis to identify the orientation and training system of the planning model. The significance of this study is that it comparatively analysed and presented the competencies and role elements required for modern urban planners based on internal experience and empirical data. In doing so, this study criticised the urban planning trend that focused on the rational planner model in the past, revealed the gap between theoretical competency development goals and practical operation cases, and suggested the future direction of the Korean urban planning curriculum-based competency development model that meets modern needs.