BA (Hons)

Human Geography and Planning

Teaching & Learning

We regularly review our courses to ensure we are offering you the best educational experience. This course is being reviewed for 2021 entry, therefore the information below is correct for students joining us in 2020/21, but there may be changes for students who wish to join us in 2021/22. These will be confirmed in the course specification made available to new applicants on this page from November 2020.

The tabs below detail what and how you will study in each year of your course. The balance of assessments and overall workload will be informed by your core modules and the option modules you choose to study – the information provided is an indication of what you can expect and may be subject to change. The option modules listed are also an indication of what will be available to you. Their availability is subject to demand and you will be advised which option modules you can choose at the beginning of each year of study.

What you'll learn

Examine how ideas of sustainability and sustainable development have developed. You'll pay particular attention to the role of the environmental movement and the increasing concerns around climate change. You'll also develop the ability to evaluate the success of a European city case study in its attempts to adopt sustainable urbanism practices.
Studying a series of contemporary events and prominent media, you'll learn the importance of the geographical discipline in understanding the world we live in. You'll be encouraged to make connections between key geographical theories and concepts, and the real world.
This module provide you with an introduction to the institutional and legal framework for spatial planning and a review of key challenges. You will benefit from lectures and seminars led by external professionals.
Learn, practice, and explore some of the fundamental study skills that are central to studying at university. You'll develop employability skills, ensuring you are in the best possible position to embark on a successful professional career when you graduate. You'll also be introduced to key concepts in geography and planning such as place, space and the geographical imagination.
Examine the impact of global, national and local urban policies on the development of cities and how they are shaped both physically and environmentally.
Work together in a group to develop a masterplan for the sustainable development and regeneration of an existing settlement in the Leeds district.
Develop a range of skills that combine geographical theory and its practical application through fieldwork projects. You'll be introduced to research techniques and approaches used in geographical research. You'll also learn basic analytical skills in GIS and apply these to a research project.
Learn, practice, and explore some of the fundamental study skills that are central to studying at university. You'll develop employability skills, ensuring you are in the best possible position to embark on a successful professional career when you graduate. You'll also be introduced to key concepts in geography and planning such as place, space and the geographical imagination.
Examine how ideas of sustainability and sustainable development have developed. You'll pay particular attention to the role of the environmental movement and the increasing concerns around climate change. You'll also develop the ability to evaluate the success of a European city case study in its attempts to adopt sustainable urbanism practices.
Studying a series of contemporary events and prominent media, you'll learn the importance of the geographical discipline in understanding the world we live in. You'll be encouraged to make connections between key geographical theories and concepts, and the real world.
This module provide you with an introduction to the institutional and legal framework for spatial planning and a review of key challenges. You will benefit from lectures and seminars led by external professionals.
Learn, practice, and explore some of the fundamental study skills that are central to studying at university. You'll develop employability skills, ensuring you are in the best possible position to embark on a successful professional career when you graduate. You'll also be introduced to key concepts in geography and planning such as place, space and the geographical imagination.
Examine the impact of global, national and local urban policies on the development of cities and how they are shaped both physically and environmentally.
Work together in a group to develop a masterplan for the sustainable development and regeneration of an existing settlement in the Leeds district.
Develop a range of skills that combine geographical theory and its practical application through fieldwork projects. You'll be introduced to research techniques and approaches used in geographical research. You'll also learn basic analytical skills in GIS and apply these to a research project.
Learn, practice, and explore some of the fundamental study skills that are central to studying at university. You'll develop employability skills, ensuring you are in the best possible position to embark on a successful professional career when you graduate. You'll also be introduced to key concepts in geography and planning such as place, space and the geographical imagination.

What you'll learn

Enhance your professional skills on a ten-week work placement. Working with a local employer, you will develop your graduate attributes and reflect on the transferable skills you will need for your chosen career.
Develop an understanding of the theoretical background to the carrying out of research and foster the practical skills to be able to carry out research in the social sciences using a number of different research methods.
Examine the tools available for environmental evaluation, policy and regulation, and the different contexts in which they operate. You'll evaluate the impact of policies for the economy, society and the natural environment.
Reflect on the arguments for and against spatial planning and discuss a range of theoretical approaches to the role of planning in different contexts.
Building on the knowledge you have gained during the Sustainable Places and City & Society modules, you will explore how changing complex urban problems are addressed in the UK and internationally through policy and practical responses.
Enhance your professional skills on a ten-week work placement. Working with a local employer, you will develop your graduate attributes and reflect on the transferable skills you will need for your chosen career.
Develop an understanding of the theoretical background to the carrying out of research and foster the practical skills to be able to carry out research in the social sciences using a number of different research methods.
Explore the importance of place and places in our everyday lives. You'll analyse existing built environments and review the urban design principles which can help create good quality sustainable places. You'll also evaluate the qualities of existing places and spaces and the work of key urban design theorists and practitioners.
Evaluate strategies for housing delivery and gain an understanding of the complex relationship between housing markets, economic policy and human wellbeing.
Enhance your professional skills on a ten-week work placement. Working with a local employer, you will develop your graduate attributes and reflect on the transferable skills you will need for your chosen career.
Develop an understanding of the theoretical background to the carrying out of research and foster the practical skills to be able to carry out research in the social sciences using a number of different research methods.
Examine the tools available for environmental evaluation, policy and regulation, and the different contexts in which they operate. You'll evaluate the impact of policies for the economy, society and the natural environment.
Reflect on the arguments for and against spatial planning and discuss a range of theoretical approaches to the role of planning in different contexts.
Building on the knowledge you have gained during the Sustainable Places and City & Society modules, you will explore how changing complex urban problems are addressed in the UK and internationally through policy and practical responses.
Enhance your professional skills on a ten-week work placement. Working with a local employer, you will develop your graduate attributes and reflect on the transferable skills you will need for your chosen career.
Develop an understanding of the theoretical background to the carrying out of research and foster the practical skills to be able to carry out research in the social sciences using a number of different research methods.
Explore the importance of place and places in our everyday lives. You'll analyse existing built environments and review the urban design principles which can help create good quality sustainable places. You'll also evaluate the qualities of existing places and spaces and the work of key urban design theorists and practitioners.
Evaluate strategies for housing delivery and gain an understanding of the complex relationship between housing markets, economic policy and human wellbeing.

What you'll learn

Use the research methods, techniques and skills you have gained during your degree to carry out a sustained piece of research that examines current issues or problems in the fields of human geography and/or planning.
Build an understanding of the role planners play within a complex planning policy making system. You will look at the wider political context within which planning operates and reflect on the impact this has on the role of the planner.
Use the research methods, techniques and skills you have gained during your degree to carry out a sustained piece of research that examines current issues or problems in the fields of human geography and/or planning.
Work with peers from other professional disciplines across the subject of built environment, including project management, architecture and landscape architecture, to generate proposals for the redevelopment of a prominent site within Leeds.
Use the research methods, techniques and skills you have gained during your degree to carry out a sustained piece of research that examines current issues or problems in the fields of human geography and/or planning.
Build an understanding of the role planners play within a complex planning policy making system. You will look at the wider political context within which planning operates and reflect on the impact this has on the role of the planner.
Use the research methods, techniques and skills you have gained during your degree to carry out a sustained piece of research that examines current issues or problems in the fields of human geography and/or planning.
Work with peers from other professional disciplines across the subject of built environment, including project management, architecture and landscape architecture, to generate proposals for the redevelopment of a prominent site within Leeds.

Option modules may include

Examine the emerging policy debates about the ways cities are and should be evolving. You will focus on key dynamics, including the urban form of cities and the pressures of population growth, sustainability, governance and the search for global competitiveness.
Explore the different spaces and geographies of consumption, in terms of place identity, networks of retail and consumption, and commodity chains on a local, national and international level.
Examine the main trends and challenges facing cities, as well as the range of alternative practices which are being discussed within academic literature and experimented with directly by urban inhabitants.
Develop your critical understanding and knowledge of heritage conservation theory and practice and its relation to urban regeneration and renaissance in the UK.
Study key issues in housing delivery, delving behind public and private market interventions to examine the way housing problems are constructed and addressed.
Study key aspects of theory and practice associated with community governance and neighbourhood planning. You'll examine recent trends towards community governance and explore current developments in neighbourhood planning, community empowerment, consensus building and collaborative planning.
Examine the relationship between women and the built environment, thinking about women as designers, planners and builders. You will also look at the spaces inhabited by women, those designed for them, and those adopted by them.
Examine the emerging policy debates about the ways cities are and should be evolving. You will focus on key dynamics, including the urban form of cities and the pressures of population growth, sustainability, governance and the search for global competitiveness.
Explore the different spaces and geographies of consumption, in terms of place identity, networks of retail and consumption, and commodity chains on a local, national and international level.
Examine the main trends and challenges facing cities, as well as the range of alternative practices which are being discussed within academic literature and experimented with directly by urban inhabitants.
Develop your critical understanding and knowledge of heritage conservation theory and practice and its relation to urban regeneration and renaissance in the UK.
Study key issues in housing delivery, delving behind public and private market interventions to examine the way housing problems are constructed and addressed.
Study key aspects of theory and practice associated with community governance and neighbourhood planning. You'll examine recent trends towards community governance and explore current developments in neighbourhood planning, community empowerment, consensus building and collaborative planning.
Examine the relationship between women and the built environment, thinking about women as designers, planners and builders. You will also look at the spaces inhabited by women, those designed for them, and those adopted by them.