Placemaking and Public Space Design: Unlocking Design Potential (FutureLearn)

Placemaking and Public Space Design: Unlocking Design Potential (FutureLearn)

Discover climate’s impact on urban planning, and how to analyse it when creating residential and tourist spaces. Use climate analysis to create better public spaces. When it comes to designing successful urban spaces, which work for both tourists and residents, analysing and understanding the influence of climate is crucial.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

This three-week course will show you how to use computer-aided modelling in placemaking for better residential and tourism planning.
Unlock your urban planning potential
On this course, you’ll apply integrated urban planning (a holistic approach to the built environment design process, looking at it from all angles) as you use computer-aided climate analysis and 3-D modeling. At the same time, you’ll be developing your ability to create design solutions for sustainable, attractive tourist destinations.
Explore the relationship between weather and placemaking
Weather is a significant factor in residential and tourism planning, and this course offers an in-depth look at the effects it has.
You’ll investigate solar access and shadowing, wind effects, and snow patterns with cutting-edge technology, and will be able to apply what you learn to your urban planning projects.
Trust experts to guide your placemaking studies
Luleå University of Technology has a wealth of experience in industrial engineering and management, and the lead educator of this course has extensive knowledge on design development and design process management. Together, they will give you invaluable insights into how to design urban space.

What topics will you cover?
The course explores three key themes, which together address the overarching question:

  • How can we design successful urban space for residents and tourists?

You will explore how to:

  • Use Computer Aided Design for climate analysis.
  • Model and investigate solar access and shadowing in urban spaces.
  • Simulate wind and wind effects in urban spaces.

Learning on this course
You can take this self-guided course and learn at your own pace. On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Explain how different climatic contexts generate different types of public spaces and usage.
  • Create a Computer Aided Design for climate analysis.

-Experiment with how the built environment alters wind and sun patterns.

  • Explain the likely climatic conditions of a place at various time of the year.

Who is the course for?
This course is designed for anyone interested in place-shaping in tourism. Current tourism professionals wishing to upskill, and anyone looking to work in the hospitality industry, will find it invaluable.
What software or tools do you need?
This course uses a range of on-line and open source software for Computer Aided Design and climatic analysis. Applications and systems used are free. Each week, links are provided to where the applications can be found or downloaded from.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Placemaking and Public Space Design: Unlocking Place Potential (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Luleå University of Technology

Placemaking and Public Space Design: Unlocking Place Potential (FutureLearn)

Gain valuable insights into microclimate effects on urban planning, and learn to design successful tourist and residential areas. Understand and maximise place potential in urban planning. Successful placemaking means creating spaces that work for both tourists and residents, and with both the environment and the climate. This skill is increasingly important as the need to create sustainable, attractive urban areas is better understood.

Dec 13th 2021
2 Weeks
Urban Air Mobility (Coursera) Coursera
Technische Universität München - TUM

Urban Air Mobility (Coursera)

Sneak preview: The course modules will be gradually expanded over the next few weeks and new videos and quizzes will be added to further expand the existing course. // This course is primarily aimed at master students and phd-candidates interested in exploring new fields in aerospace. The course gives a first introduction into the relatively new field of Urban Air Mobility, explaining the technical background as well a giving an overview of all other necessities such as air traffic management, public acceptance or ecological sustainability.

Nov 16th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Sustainable Transportation Networks and Streetscapes (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Sustainable Transportation Networks and Streetscapes (Coursera)

This course will evaluate best practices in transportation networks, thoroughfares, and streetscape designs for the effective movement of people, goods, and services in a region. Sustainable public and private streetscape design and application will be reviewed and evaluated for applications for sustainable cities. Considerations are assessed for smart urban planning, growth, and lifestyle. Strategies for creating equitable, healthy, and sustainable communities are also evaluated.

Nov 2nd 2026
3 Weeks
Transformando la Movilidad Urbana: Introducción a la Planeación del Transporte para Ciudades Sostenibles (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University College London,Transforming Urban Mobility Initiative - TUMI,GIZ,Euroclima+

Transformando la Movilidad Urbana: Introducción a la Planeación del Transporte para Ciudades Sostenibles (FutureLearn)

Descubre las diferentes dimensiones de la movilidad urbana sostenible, incluyendo el marco Evitar-Cambiar-Mejorar ECM. Se recomienda traducir completamente esta página usando la función de traducción del navegador antes de continuar. Aprende cómo los proyectos de movilidad urbana pueden ayudar a crear ciudades sostenibles.

Self Paced
4 Weeks
CitiesX: The Past, Present and Future of Urban Life (edX) EdX
HarvardX,Harvard University

CitiesX: The Past, Present and Future of Urban Life (edX)

Explore what makes cities energizing, amazing, challenging, and perhaps humanity’s greatest invention. For the first time in human history, more than fifty percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas. Cities allow for the exchange of ideas, and generate remarkable innovations in business, art, and ideas. Cities are also home to millions living in poverty. Urban living can provide a pathway to a better life, but that’s not always the case for many people around the world.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Backyard Meteorology: The Science of Weather (edX) EdX
HarvardX,Harvard University

Backyard Meteorology: The Science of Weather (edX)

Learn to forecast the weather just by looking out your window. The weather forecasts we see every day are based on an army of meteorological sensing networks and intensive computer modeling. Before the rise of these technologies, predictions were made by methods like discerning cloud formations and wind directions.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Learn About Weather (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Exeter,Royal Meteorological Society - RMetS,Met Office

Learn About Weather (FutureLearn)

Explore all things weather - from storms to climate - with this course that looks at the basic processes behind the weather. Ever wondered what the difference between a hurricane, cyclone and typhoon is? Or what a ‘front’ is? Or asked how weather warnings are issued? Maybe you’ve even spoken about the weather today. The weather is one of the most popular topics of conversation, yet not many of us actually know how it works.

Sep 27th 2021
4 Weeks
Planning for Autonomous Vehicles: A People-Centred Approach (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
EIT Urban Mobility

Planning for Autonomous Vehicles: A People-Centred Approach (FutureLearn)

Learn how autonomous vehicles can improve urban mobility, and how good town planning can ensure they do just that. Successfully incorporate autonomous vehicles into sustainable urban planning. For sustainable future cities, the way people use and move around urban spaces must be reviewed. The town planning done now will have massive impacts on city dwellers’ quality of life in the years to come.

Jan 31st 2022
4 Weeks
Ethical Cities: Shaping the Future of Your City (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
RMIT University

Ethical Cities: Shaping the Future of Your City (FutureLearn)

Understand the problems cities face and learn how they can be resolved with ethical solutions. On our urbanizing planet, we need inclusive city economies that work for all. Who runs your city? What makes your city liveable? Using stories from cities around the world, this course will introduce you to the importance of ethics in civic leadership, planning, and business, and citizen engagement.

Self Paced
5-12 Weeks
Planning & Design of Sanitation Systems and Technologies (Coursera) Coursera
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Planning & Design of Sanitation Systems and Technologies (Coursera)

Do you want to learn how to plan affordable and context-specific sanitation solutions? Do you want to be updated on the newest developments in urban sanitation planning and programming? Do you want to get insights about best practices examples of urban sanitation systems in low- and middle-income countries? If yes, this course is for you! This course provides you with an introduction to integrated sanitation planning, both on a citywide scale and for specific contexts such as informal settlements.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Monitoring the Oceans from Space (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
EUMETSAT

Monitoring the Oceans from Space (FutureLearn)

Explore our oceans from space. Discover how Earth observation allows us to monitor ocean health, and inform policy and planning. This free online course will provide an introduction to ocean monitoring Earth Observation (EO) satellite data, and its uses, types and challenges. It will explain how the data is acquired and used, the range of data types available, and the terminology and techniques involved.

No sessions available
5-12 Weeks