Abstract
While the disciplinary and substantive bases of urban design have long been debated in academic circles, its institutionalization has rarely been a central area of inquiry. Often addressed as an inter- or multi- disciplinary field, the processes through which urban design has emerged and taken shape in education has yet to be explored. Although the disciplinary trajectories of architecture and urban planning have been examined both independently and in relation to each other, urban design—often marked as a bridge between the two—has attracted comparatively little attention. However, such endeavour is of great significance for understanding the disciplinary grounding of urban design domain. Despite over 40 years of institutionalization of urban design graduate programs and even longer-standing education practices, Turkish experience offers a substantial basis for tracing the emergence and the making of a so-called interdisciplinary field. Within that context, this paper aims to uncover the historical trajectory of urban design graduate education focusing on departmental formation processes in the Turkish case. Adopting a constructivist perspective, it conceptualizes education as a social system and a dynamic construction process open to change and evolution. Within that framework, it delves into the roots of urban design education and shifting institutional structures within each institution. It presents distinct departmental models that have emerged from different institutional trajectories. By doing so, it contributes to the broader discourse on design education by offering a perspective on institutional construction, evolution, negotiation and diversity in the disciplinary formative processes.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drslxd.2025.081
Citation
Özgür, I.Y.(2025) (Inter-)Disciplinarity in the Making: Urban Design Education in Türkiye, in Clemente, V., Gomes, G., Reis, M., Félix, S., Ala, S., Jones, D. (eds.), Learn X Design 2025, 22-24 September 2025, Aveiro, Portugal. https://doi.org/10.21606/drslxd.2025.081
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(Inter-)Disciplinarity in the Making: Urban Design Education in Türkiye
While the disciplinary and substantive bases of urban design have long been debated in academic circles, its institutionalization has rarely been a central area of inquiry. Often addressed as an inter- or multi- disciplinary field, the processes through which urban design has emerged and taken shape in education has yet to be explored. Although the disciplinary trajectories of architecture and urban planning have been examined both independently and in relation to each other, urban design—often marked as a bridge between the two—has attracted comparatively little attention. However, such endeavour is of great significance for understanding the disciplinary grounding of urban design domain. Despite over 40 years of institutionalization of urban design graduate programs and even longer-standing education practices, Turkish experience offers a substantial basis for tracing the emergence and the making of a so-called interdisciplinary field. Within that context, this paper aims to uncover the historical trajectory of urban design graduate education focusing on departmental formation processes in the Turkish case. Adopting a constructivist perspective, it conceptualizes education as a social system and a dynamic construction process open to change and evolution. Within that framework, it delves into the roots of urban design education and shifting institutional structures within each institution. It presents distinct departmental models that have emerged from different institutional trajectories. By doing so, it contributes to the broader discourse on design education by offering a perspective on institutional construction, evolution, negotiation and diversity in the disciplinary formative processes.