This module is offered as an Elective in the graduate programmes in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design and climate resilience. The purpose of this module is to offer students the opportunity to engage an in-depth focus on relationships between place, people and culture in ways that impact the built and natural environment. For students of architecture, this elective module responds to the expectation to develop "an adequate knowledge of the history and theories of architecture and the related arts, technologies and human sciences" and "an adequate knowledge of urban design and planning and of the skills involved in the planning process" (RIAI Standard of Skills and Competencies). For students of landscape architecture, this elective module addresses the following required 'areas of knowledge and skill' as set out in Appendix 1 of the Addenda to the International Federation of Landscape Architects IFLA/UNESCO Charter for Landscape Architectural Education when implemented in the European Region: -"Knowledge of the fundamental concepts of the relation between man and his physical and sociocultural environment. A general understanding of notions of changing values, attuites, beliefs and behaviour in the course of time." -"Knowledge of the way in which our heritage of cultural landscapes was formed and transformed over time. The history of settlements, of land use, of sites and monuments. The notions and principles of conservation and renewal. Landscape as a continuous process from past to present to future." -"The ability to interpret general goals in society, converted into specific objectives, into landscape design principles, strategies and methodologies."

In this elective module, students explore the many ways of reading, examining, explaining and presenting the city and the landscape, in particular the aesthetic of the city and landscape. Reflecting on changes in urban and rural environments, students interrogate the designer's constantly changing relationship with the environment, built and unbuilt, and the evolution of "constructed territories." It builds an understanding of relations within the given environment concurrent with their historical importance and their place in the canon of the built place.

Upon successful completion of this module, students will be able to: Trace the applications of philosophies and ideals, and their representations in realities. Interpret how constructed territory evolved, and use this knowledge to critically assess specific case studies. Determine how pattern, form, shape, use, ritual etc. (as some of the many manifestations) lend character to the constructed territory and identify critical aspects of the found condition and describe these within a piece of work.

Upon successful completion of this module, students will be able to: Participate in class discussions on the changing and developing environment of the city, and critically engage input from lecturers and students. Interrogate critically which philosophies and ideals guided, and in some case generated, the development of the landscape - rural and/or urban - and take a position with respect to future development.

Upon successful completion of this module, students will be able to: Employ textual and visual analysis to explore and present a specific case study.

Focusing on case studies, the elective module will be delivered through a programme of lectures, seminar discussions and case study presentations with an emphasis on collaborative work. Smaller classes allow for in-depth interrogation of the subject at an advanced level, and ensure the learning is active. Recent research findings are included through setting the focus of interrogation of city and landscape within the context of contemporary societal issues. Graduate elective modules may have a common brief and may share lecture/tutorial time with undergraduate electives. Compared to undergraduate electives, electives in the graduate programme pursue advanced research-learning, require additional module work, carry higher expectations and are assessed accordingly. Graduate student work requires independent study in addition to extra contact time. Higher-level expectations for graduate work include more in-depth pursuit of advanced technical, theoretical or practice-based concepts. Module work in graduate electives must establish a critical position that advances or challenges current practice. This module encourages students to be CURIOUS, by engaging their inquisitive capacity to interrogate, through a cultural and place-focused lens, a given urban or landscape context through a range of media. It encourages their AGILITY in responding independently to a specific context, through the emphasis on aesthetics and construction of the environment in the module's syllabus. Through the group-work and participative nature of the module, it encourages the student to become ARTICULATE and develop their collaborative and inter-personal skills.