This course is an overview of urban planning practice through the framework of important achievements, writings and historical research. The emphasis is on New South Wales and Sydney, and on the 20th century Australian experience. within the contemporary context of global urbanisation. It has three main foci.

First - the evolution of modern planning methods and practice, and the development of urban planning as a distinct profession.

Second - the importance of historical research as an aid to understanding how cities have grown and changed over time – with history providing the intellectual framework for acquiring and storing knowledge..

Third - the changing tools used by planning professionals to assess and protect items of ‘heritage’ in our cities.

Topics include the evolution of models and theories of city planning wjhich have influenced urban planning and urban development in Australian, with some sidelong references to cities in other global locations; city typologies, past and present; ‘ideal’ models of city form; regional and national influences; the evolution of urban government and governance; the modern nation-state and planning; the particular case of Sydney; Adelaide and Canberra as special cases; tools, institutions and practices relating to heritage conservation in New South Wales.