Transforming City Regions: co-designing future planning education

Abstract

This paper examines the implementation of a co-design approach in planning education, focusing on the M.Sc. Transforming City Regions (TCR) programme at RWTH Aachen University. Through workshops and interviews with focus groups, it explores how diverse students’ expectations are aligned with institutional teaching and learning objectives and how interdisciplinary knowledge is effectively integrated into the curriculum. It describes and analyses the outcomes of these workshops and offers empirical insights that shed light on the future trajectory of interdisciplinary planning education and the challenges it faces. On this basis, the paper argues that fostering collaboration and feedback responsiveness facilitates continuous improvement in preparing students for the challenges of contemporary urban transformations. Keywords: Transforming City Regions; Collaborative; Interdisciplinary; Integrative Urban Planning; European Education, Pathways