KENT 501 – Urban Design and Transformation Studio I (2 2 3)
The aim of this course is to examine urban design and transformation through an interdisciplinary lens—including architecture, the engineering fields, planning, economics, business, and sociology—and to produce multidimensional and holistic analyses. Accordingly, studio work covers analyses for identifying priority transformation areas; synthesis; the determination and reporting of problems and opportunities; and the development of urban design projects in selected areas. The outputs of this course are intended to serve as inputs for Urban Design and Transformation Studio II.
KENT 504 Research Methods and Ethics in Planning
The course is generally designed as an introduction to social research methods. The course will cover quantitative and qualitative research techniques, especially those used in planning and design. The topics are determined as research methods, research design, data collection and sampling techniques, and data analysis. The theory of research will be taught to students in lectures and readings. In addition, the ethics of the researcher and the ethical elements to be considered in scientific studies, literature, and field research are emphasized in the course.
KENT 503 – Theoretical Framework of Urban Design and Transformation (3 0 3)
The course explains the social, cultural, and political processes that shaped the emergence of urban design as a discipline within architectural and urban planning paradigms, and presents the theoretical framework of urban transformation through its historical development—particularly via examples from Europe and the United States. The theoretical framework and implementation instruments of urban design are discussed alongside case studies; design approaches in transformation areas are debated—within a historical perspective—in relation to their rationales, policies, practices, and outcomes. Topics include redesigning blighted areas; conserving and integrating historic structures and sites into design; design approaches for improving the housing stock; policies of urban renewal and regeneration; implementing sustainable design in transformation areas; structural strengthening to mitigate disaster risks; and disaster-risk reduction.
KENT 590 Graduate Seminar
This course aims at a. Providing scientific research methods and techniques for thesis writing, b. Determination of thesis title, scope and content, c. Field studies and library research related to thesis topic, d. Conducting interviews and meetings with resource persons, institutions and relevant mentors related to the thesis, e. Preparation of thesis progress report at the end of the term.
KENT 599 Graduate Thesis
This is a non-credit, compulsory course. It aims to provide students with an academic discussion and research environment on the thesis they are working on. Within the scope of this course, each student is expected to present an argument/thesis with the help of their thesis advisor, aim to make a theoretical, methodological and/or practical contribution to the subject and conduct research on this subject. Within the scope of the thesis study, they are required to access current information, conduct a literature review, use/develop qualitative and quantitative research methods on the original research topic and determine the findings and results of the study. At the end of the term, students present their work to the thesis defense jury in oral and written form. Students who are successful in the defence jury submit their theses in accordance with the rules of the Graduate School.
KENT 531 – Urban Design and Transformation Studio II (3 0 3)
Building on the research and analysis results obtained in Urban Transformation Studio I, this course advances design proposals for a selected transformation area using innovative design models. It aims to develop multi-scale spatial design proposals and comprehensive recommendations that improve existing practices across technical, economic, and sociological dimensions. Successful models and methods from Turkey and abroad are discussed in detail.
KENT 535 – Participatory Approaches in Urban Design and Transformation (3 0 3)
With recent technological advances, new techniques have rapidly proliferated in spatial design and planning. As urban transformation projects have grown in scope and importance, effective participatory techniques in design processes have become crucial for citizens’ ownership of policies and strategies. Partnerships among the public sector, private sector, local communities, and sometimes civil society organizations are essential. Particularly in transformation areas, design success depends on mutual interaction and alignment. The course discusses contemporary participation methods, the role of multi-actor decision-making in design, its effects on different processes, and participatory models in urban transformation.
KENT 536 – Project Planning and Management (3 0 3)
Project-based approaches are now central across fields. In addition to funds provided by international institutions such as the European Union and the World Bank, many state institutions support projects through topic-specific grants. Urban Transformation Projects are among those supported in certain respects. The course teaches fundamentals such as the project cycle and the logical framework while informing students about funding mechanisms and policies in Turkey.
KENT 542 – Public Space Design (3 0 3)
Public spaces embody numerous, often conflicting dynamics (e.g., class, economic, ethnic) while serving as arenas where such interactions and conflicts are negotiated. Treating urban design as a process co-produced by physical space and social policy, the course focuses on concepts such as “publicness” and “public interest,” and investigates the roles design can play in the “reproduction of space.” The course integrates theory and practice around public spaces. Each year a different study area and theme is selected to develop students’ abilities to address the complexities of publicness and to design both the physical and non-physical contexts that define places.
KENT 545 – Environment, Risk, and Mitigation Planning (3 0 3)
The course provides fundamentals on mitigation planning, environment, and risk. Topics include humans and the environment; disasters; risk and the risk society; risk management and mitigation planning; the traditional disaster-management cycle and its planning; the United Nations’ current disaster policy and its implications; policies for sustainable urban growth and development; and differences between mitigation planning and traditional planning.
KENT 550 – Impacts of Urban Transformation in Contemporary Cities (3 0 3)
This course analyzes the multidimensional impacts of current urban transformation practices on cities—social, economic, spatial, and environmental. It addresses effects emphasized in the literature, such as social cohesion, spatial segregation, and social, economic, and urban resilience. Students conduct research to evaluate the impacts of selected contemporary transformation projects.
KENT 560 – Urban Conservation and Renewal (3 0 3)
The goal is to teach the preparation and techniques of “Conservation-Oriented Plans” as defined in Law No. 2863 and related regulations. Through examples, the course covers planning methodology; research; inventory; synthesis; identification and registration; inventory-form preparation; and scenario and conservation-plan preparation. As conservation planning is interdisciplinary, collaboration stages with relevant professions (archaeologists, art historians, architects, conservation architects, survey engineers, infrastructure specialists, etc.) are outlined. Information on Conservation-Oriented Urban Design Plans and Projects is provided. Case studies include conservation plans and transformation projects in Ankara, Bergama (Pergamon), Afyon, Konya, Patara, Kaş, Niğde Castle, Kayseri Talas, Antalya, Perge, Şanlıurfa, Amasra, Uçhisar, Ajloun (Jordan), and others.
KENT 561 – Ecological Design in City Centers (Eco-CBD) (3 0 3)
A city is an ecosystem in which natural and functional elements interact. Resembling a living organism, different functional zones—housing, commerce, tourism, recreation—constitute various organs. Elements of urban ecosystems (topography, water, climate, soil, microorganisms, flora and fauna, citizens, and structures) maintain sustainability and the life cycle through balance. The “Ecological Approach (Eco-CBD)” to planning old and new centers aims to evaluate and enhance natural/ecological data based on the city’s location and climate; save matter and energy in centers; rehabilitate infrastructure with environmental sensitivity; and recover waste—toward a “Sustainable Center Planning” mindset. In response to rapid migration, population growth, industrialization, consumption, and waste production, the course situates planning disciplines (urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture, infrastructure and environmental engineering, etc.) within the internationally shared foundation of “continuous and sustainable development.” It emphasizes environmentally sensitive, sustainability-led approaches for both new and historic city planning and provides theoretical knowledge on energy-efficient design elements in commercial buildings and related eco-technologies relevant to urban planners and designers.
KENT 563 – Urban Archaeology (3 0 3)
Topics include the concept of urban archaeology; defining urban identity through urban archaeology; the place of conservation—and specifically archaeology—in planning; the role and importance of interdisciplinary relations in planning; analysis of historic urban elements via archaeology; and national and international case studies. The course aims to instill awareness of the meaning and significance of historical stratification in continuously inhabited cities and its role in planning, thereby fostering conservation and evaluation consciousness.
KENT 564 – Environmental Planning (3 0 3)
The course reviews the legal framework for protecting and enhancing the natural environment and historical/cultural values in Turkey since the 1950s and evaluates planning from higher to lower scales. The aim is to provide technical, legal, and administrative knowledge—starting from the Constitution—on the Environmental Law, National Parks Law, Forestry Law, Coastal Law, Specially Protected Areas Law, and the Law on the Protection of Cultural and Natural Assets, along with related regulations, assessed through national and international examples. Dimensions of Environmental Planning for the “Natural and Historical Environment” and the “Urban Environment” are illustrated through case studies.
KENT 565 – Reproduction of Space, Policy and Actors in Urban Regeneration Processes (3 0 3)
Within the scope of the KENT 565 course, the design of the separated transformation practices, the economic, social, political and policy variables that are effective in the project, implementation and follow-up growth and the actors who take part in different stages will be addressed in a holistic manner, and the current conjunctures of the reproduction of the urban world and the ongoing transformation practices will be examined.
KENT 566 – Real Estate Production and Planning (3 0 3)
The course introduces the fundamental characteristics of real property and the principal tasks in real-estate development. It covers cash-flow analysis—used to assess feasibility—and applies it to sample investments. It also addresses “valuation” (price estimation) and the financing of development and acquisition. By the end of the term, students are expected to calculate the feasibility of sample real-estate investments.
KENT 567 – Critical Spatial Practices in Urban Design (3 0 3)
The course examines the urban-design literature through three foci. The first addresses foundational paradigms (positivism, realism, etc.); the second debates how design doctrines approach the physical environment; the third explores relationships among environmental psychology, place identity, and design approaches, offering critiques of contemporary design assumptions. Across all foci, relations among space, place, and the city are reinforced through interfaces with literature and other arts. The goal is to build knowledge within critical spatial practices and to cultivate a critical perspective on design in spatial thinking. Readings are organized historically; each week centers on a research question, complementing scholarly texts with literature, poetry, oral/written histories, and music related to urban life, to deepen design understanding through interdisciplinary diversity.