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RDEV40840

Academic Year 2024/2025

Rural Placemaking (RDEV40840)

Subject:
Rural Development
College:
Health & Agricultural Sciences
School:
Agriculture & Food Science
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Assoc Professor Karen Keaveney
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
Blended
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

Placemaking is an integrated approach to the planning, design and management of urban spaces. This module focuses on the particular challenges for towns and villages as the economic engines of rural areas. Placemaking encompasses a multi-faceted and participative approach to the sustainable development of towns and villages and the wider countryside. The module will take a ‘people-centred' approach to the development of sustainable communities by examining how all the elements of places work together for rural vitality. These include the interaction between housing, retail, cultural, heritage, leisure, and employment uses, nature, quality public realm, community facilities, design and standards, and open space.

Placemaking is increasingly being recognised as the key to creating and supporting socio-economic eco-systems in both urban and rural areas, where people want to live and work, drawing on pools of skilled employees, a wide choice of housing and employment options, as well as a broad range of other ‘lifestyle’ opportunities, including leisure activities and a variety culture and entertainment options. A key challenge for placemaking exists in less developed urban centres and more peripheral, less accessible and rural places, from where many young people move away for educational purposes, but don’t return to live or work. These places are in need of a particular set of skills that can understand the needs of localities while planning for their sustainable future.

Challenges for rural towns, villages and open countryside include an ageing population due to out-migration, which has the potential to result in lost capacity to be self-sustaining over time. Successful places, large and small, urban and rural, in Ireland and internationally, show that through planning, people-centred approaches and carefully targeted policy-led investment, under-performing locations can become really successful places that people are drawn towards.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

1. Develop an understanding of the theories and concepts of placemaking in a rural setting.
2. Understand the implementation of placemaking approaches through case studies and field work.
4. Develop an ability to apply the principles of placemaking in rural towns and villages, through an integrated and partnership approach.
5. Understand the limitations and challenges for placemaking in Ireland and internationally.
6. Develop and implement team and communication skills by significantly contributing to a practical team project.

Indicative Module Content:

This module will examine the key components of placemaking, while undertaking a practical project in a real world environment which will address the interaction of these components:
• Well-being and quality of life
• Nature & the environment
• Funding
• Economy
• Social Infrastructure
• Planning

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

100

Autonomous Student Learning

56

Lectures

20

Field Trip/External Visits

24

Total

200


Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This module will be delivered through the UCD Brightspace VLE system and will consist of the following learning activities:
Lectures (face-to-face).
Tutorials (face-to-face).
Group work.
Forum discussion on Brightspace.
Field work

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Group Work Assignment: Students will develop a placemaking plan for a rural town throughout the Trimester, with a final group project submission. Week 12 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
100
No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 14:00 - 15:50