_Urbanization is an irreversible global trend involving a multitude of social, economic, environmental and spatial aspects. While urbanization is widely accepted as an indicator for economic development, its pace and impact on social and spatial conditions pose unprecedented challenges to both politicians and professionals.

_The experience of the past decades has shown that conventional concepts of urban planning and development based on control and investment in key infrastructure have not been adequate to cope with the rapid changes, financial constraints, high population growth, increasing urban poverty, informal land development and the adverse environmental impacts of urbanization.

_In recent years local and national govern- ments in collaboration with development agencies have made progress in developing flexible and action- oriented strategies. These strategies put emphasize on the inter- connectivity of sectors, without denying the importance of sectoral measures. Such strategies integrate a wide range of actors that usually work in isolation from or even compete with each other (e.g. the private sector, NGOs, CBOs and local governments).

_International development organizations such as the German GTZ (Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH), UNDP or the World Bank have been supporting these efforts in many countries. These new concepts are based on an approach that borrows from management and governance theories and take into account which resources are available for implementation.

 

The Urban Management Program

_The Urban Management Studies Program is organized by Faculty VI "Planning Building Environment" of the Berlin University of Tech- nology. It involves teachers and researchers with international experience from the TU Berlin as well as experts from other institutions and countries.



staff


_The program was estab- lished in collaboration with the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Develop- ment (BMZ), the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), InWent, Heinrich Böll Stiftung and the Senate of Berlin.



partners

_The program offers post- graduate training in various fields of urban management, environmental management and environmental engi- neering for academics and practitioners working in development contexts in cities and urban areas throughout the world.



short courses
master course

_The program focuses on interdisciplinary management approaches that cross the boundaries of conventional professional knowledge. It aims to provide insights into workable, practice-oriented solutions for city manage- ment. The teaching draws on experience gained by local governments, NGOs, the private sector, as well as on concepts promoted by international and bilateral development organizations.
_The issues addressed are related to the most pressing problems of urban develop- ment worldwide, including environmental degradation, uncontrolled urban growth, insecure land tenure for the urban poor, inadequate decision making and planning systems, poor housing and working conditions, inade- quate infrastructure, water and air pollution, waste and deteriorating historic areas.



short courses
master course