Department of Urban Planning and Design

Urban Planning and Design Department (UPDD) is one of the running departments under the College of Engineering and Technology (CET) which was established in 2009A.Y with three founding staffs and 40 under graduating students. Since then, the Department has performed remarkable outputs in the academic teaching-learning, research and community service tasks. Before the war UPD’s students’ admission capacity was 40 students per year and three batches (59 students) graduated up to the last year graduation events and among these who took the exit exam 100% have passed @ all batches.

Vision:

• To be a center of excellence in urban development planning education, training, research, and community services, producing competent, ethical and socially responsible urban planners and designers who contribute for sustainable urban development.

Mission

• Educate future urban planners and designers with a strong foundation in sustainable urban development.
• Advance interdisciplinary research that addresses complex urban challenges at local, regional, and global scales.
• Promote innovative design thinking to shape livable, resilient, and adaptive urban environments.
• Engage communities and stakeholders through participatory planning and collaborative problem-solving.
• Incorporate technology and data-driven tools to inform decision-making and urban analysis.
• Support policy development and advocacy that contributes to just and sustainable cities.
• Foster ethical and socially responsible practices in urban planning and design.
• Prepare students for leadership roles in public, private, and nonprofit sectors involved in urban development.

 Strategic Goals

• Enhance academic excellence
• Promote impactful research and innovation
• Encourage interdisciplinary and applied research on urban issues like climate change, housing, mobility, and public space.
• Foster student success and career readiness
• Strengthen community engagement and outreach

Academic Programs

The department offers an undergraduate program Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning and Design degree program. This program comprises interdisciplinary courses to provide students knowledge, skill and cognitive abilities in urban development planning and design tasks in the five years undergraduate program.

Thematic Research Areas

2. Urban Land development and Management
   • Urban Slum Area and Squatter settlement
   • Urban Upgrading and Renewal
   • Urban Spatial Structure and Urban Sprawl
   • Plan preparation and Implementation (all Plans)
   • Urban morphology
   • Urban Design in Urban development
   • Street Addressing System
   • Urbanization, Urban development, and construction industry
   • Urban Potentials and development challenges
   • Urban-Rural and Urban-Urban Linkage
   • Property Valuation and Asset management
   • Urban land governance
   • Land Expropriation and compensation
   • Development of land information systems
   • Urban land inventory and institutional setup
3. Urban Infrastructure Planning & Transportation
   • Urban Utility integration and its challenges
   • Urban Infrastructure and facility planning
   • Integrated Transport and Land-Use Planning
4. Urban Housing
   • Urban housing Equity and social justice
   • Urban housing provision modalities
   • Urban Slum Upgrading
   • Real property and Cadaster
5. Urban Ecology, Environmental Planning and Management
   • Water sensitive urban design
   • Urban sanitation and waste management
   • Urban Green Infrastructure Planning and Provision
   • Housing and built environment
6. Common Thematic Areas ( Department of architecture and Urban planning)
   • Landscape design and environmental accessibility
   • Modern and local housing integration
   • Low cost house provision
   • Heritage conservation

Achievements

Though there are cross cutting challenges in fulfilling the basic teaching learning necessities, in man power, materials, computer labs and office equipemnts, the department is intended to provide high-quality education and training in urban development planning and design and investigate cutting-edge research and contribute to scientific knowledge and technology transfer.

Moreover, UPD department is playing a pivotal role since its time of establishment in the community service activities especially in providing training to urban development experts.

• i.e, delivered training for more than 270 urban development experts selected from the national government and Tigray region in six rounds)
• Prepared and delivered different types of urban plans for eight towns of Tigray region in a collaborative form as community services and projects.
• Contributing valued role in augmenting the internal revenue of the university.
• 100% exit exam passing of graduated students at all batches