Our Courses
Our courses are interdisciplinary by nature and provides students with knowledge from diverse fields, including economics, environment, sociology, psychology, and transportation.
Type of courses:
Note: Filter is relevant for Master's dregrees.
Semester:
(Elective)
Semester A (Winter)
3 Credits
Climate Change: Science, Policy, and Planning
Prof. Daniel Orenstein
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. It is necessary that the next generation of the company's leaders will have a scientific understanding of the challenge to deal with the social - economic motives of greenhouse gas emissions and to initiate and offer the social and technological changes needed to provide a solution. The course is intended for students at the Technion (bachelor's and second degree), from all faculties, which want a scientific basis for understanding anthropogenic alkalism, and want to realize their professional and academic expertise towards the development of solutions.
(Elective)
Semester A (Winter)
3 Credits
People-Centered Transportation Planning
Prof. Karel Martens
Transport, land use, and accessibility. People-centered transport planning - the core idea. Traditional transport planning. A critique of traditional transport planning. The sustainable alternative - and its flaws. People-centered transport planning: justifying the underlying principle. Transport and housing affordability. Basic steps of people-centered transport planning. Land use planning in support of people-centered transport system. principles of public transport planning.
(Elective)
Semester A (Winter)
3 Credits
Strategic Planning
Mr. Ofer Lerner
(Elective)
Semester A (Winter)
3 Credits
Coastal and Marine Planning and Management
Prof. Michelle Portman
Ocean, coastal, inter-tidal characteristic and conflicts. Coastal (and ocean) geomorphology - coastal processes. Uncertainty and hazards. Planning for offshore wind energy. Climate change and oceans. Marine spatial planning. Field trip Hof Carmel and Bat Galim Promenades. Integrated coastal zone management, ecosystem-based management, marine spatial planning. Marine mapping and visualization. Marine protected areas.
(Elective)
Semester B (Spring)
2 Credits
Urban and regional geography
Dr. Israel Emiel
(Elective)
Semester B (Spring)
3 Credits
To communicate the space
Prof. Michelle Portman
A recent trend focuses on the ability to communicate "narratives" about space, including informing diverse audiences about what is, what was, and what will be. Environmental planning depends on reading and writing texts such as professional and academic literature and on absorbing messages from various media, e.g., photography, images, and exhibitions. Therefore, the connection between surroundings, reading literature and popular media, are tools for the planner. Environmental communication deals with the various ways imagined environments can affect reality.
(Elective)
Semester A (Winter)
3 Credits
Topical research methods for planners
Prof. Efrat Eizenberg
The course provides an overview of the theoretical foundations of qualitative research methods in planning, combining theoretical instruction with practical application. As part of the practical experience in applying various methods, the course will center on collaboration with a selected community, aiming to generate knowledge and outcomes that serve the community's needs and are achieved through joint efforts. In addition, the course will address the challenges and dilemmas faced by researchers employing qualitative methods, particularly in the context of close engagement with individuals and communities.
(Elective)
Semester A (Winter)
2 Credits
Landscape Assemblages in National Master Plan 35 through the Lens of UNESCO
Prof. Moti Kaplan
The course explores the concept of cultural landscapes and their relevance to heritage sites of outstanding universal value, as defined by the 1972 UNESCO Convention. It examines the notion of “landscape assemblages” as presented in Israel’s National Master Plan 35 (TAMA 35), with particular attention to the historical, cultural, and physical dimensions of the Israeli landscape—“the story of the Land of Israel.” Students will analyze various types of cultural landscapes, learn how to integrate them into statutory and master planning frameworks, and develop statutory tools for their preservation. In addition, the course will include proposals for updating the landscape assemblages map and its accompanying regulations, aiming to align planning language with the complexities of local landscapes across historical periods.
(Elective)
Semester A (Winter)
2 Credits
Preparation for a research process
Prof. Efrat Eizenberg
The course is intended for graduate research students and belongs to one of the four routes of the Faculty of Architecture and Cities: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Industrial Design, and City Planning. The purpose of the course is to provide students with the understandings and development tools of the issues related to their research, including the development and refinement of research questions, its goals and arguments, relevant literature review, selecting appropriate research method for data collection and analysis, and wording a research proposal containing the acquired and relevant components. The course will review diverse approaches and research strategies that are suitable for the spatial and design content world.
(Elective)
Semester A (Winter)
3 Credits
Urban ecology
Assoc. Prof. Assaf Shwartz
The purpose of the course is to provide participants with knowledge and tools from the field of urban ecology, plus critical thinking and analysis that will be used in both research and their work. In the course we will learn how the urbanization process affects the biological diversity and what are its implications for the relationship between nature and humanity in the city and in general. We will use the scientific knowledge that has so far purchased to offer solutions for planning a sustainable cities by a balance between urban metabolism and to maintain nature and the services it provides to residents.
(Elective)
Semester B (Spring)
3 Credits
Topics in smart cities: act and research
Prof. Meirav Aharon Gutman
The course is taught as part of a master's degree in city planning and will therefore focus on the intergenerational between smart cities and city planning and strategic planning. The course will pay special attention to the "social turning" in the act and research of "smart cities".
(Elective)
Semester B (Spring)
2 Credits
GIS 2 – Advanced
Dr. Idan Porat
The course will review the tools and methods for implementing MG in planning in diverse areas: construction and urban renewal, transport and accessibility, environmental and sustainability, community social development, emergency and public sharing in planning and more.
(Elective)
Semester B (Spring)
3 Credits
Environmental policy
Assoc. Prof. Daniel Orenstein
The purpose of the course is to present students with a diverse policy tool for dealing with environmental, national, regional and global environmental challenges. The tools (administrative, regulatory, economic, and behavioral), using event research that will include programs for assessing, determining values, defining the problem, and recommendations.
(Elective)
Semester B (Spring)
3 Credits
Real Estate Valuation
Dr. Eyal Salinger
The course aims to provide both theoretical and practical tools for the valuation of real estate rights of various types and for diverse purposes, while introducing the profession of real estate appraisal and the work of the appraiser. In the theoretical part of the course, students will learn fundamental principles, approaches to property valuation, and critically explore these approaches through international literature. The legal basis for preparing valuations under the Planning and Building Law will also be addressed. In the practical part, students will apply the principles, appropriate valuation methods, and relevant legislation and case law to assess the value of different real estate rights for various purposes. Economic considerations of property value and project profitability within the planning process will be examined. The course will also address the valuation of non-ownership rights, with particular emphasis on leasehold rights from the Israel Land Authority.
(Elective)
Semester B (Spring)
3 Credits
Planning: sustainability: Theory and Practice
Prof. Yosef Jabareen
Sustainable Development has come to be recognized in recent years as one of the most important principles in community, urban, and regional planning. The goal of this course is to introduce students to the concept of sustainable development and to explore its theoretical and practical planning dimensions. This will be done through a combination of academic study and hands-on work with urban communities.
(Elective)
Semester B (Spring)
3 Credits
Seminar for Doctorate Students
Prof. Yosef Jabareen
This doctoral seminar focuses on developing a deep understanding of the philosophical and methodological foundations of research. Key topics include research phenomena, the formulation of research questions, and the frameworks of ontology and epistemology. Students will learn to critically evaluate and select appropriate research methods. The course also emphasizes the development of advanced academic writing skills, including clarity, structure, and argumentation. Students will gain practical knowledge of the publication process—such as selecting journals, navigating peer review, and revising manuscripts. Through workshops and peer feedback, participants will refine their writing and prepare their research for successful dissemination.
(Elective)
Semester B (Spring)
3 Credits
Urban renewal
Dr. Dalit Schach-Pinsli
The course deals with urban renewal with emphasis on its physical aspect and its impact on the built environment. Its purpose is to impart an understanding of the meaning of physical urban renewal, its characteristics, and its effects on the components of the urban space - buildings, complexes and public spaces between them. During the course, approaches, strategies and planning tools will be studied from the country and around the world, while analyzing challenges and constraints in renewal processes. Students will be exposed to examples from various areas such as residential neighborhoods, historic centers, water nearby areas, commercial and industrial areas.
(Elective)
Semester B (Spring)
3 Credits
Planning and development in Arab communities
Prof. Yosef Jabareen
The purpose of the course is to analyze the complex reality of Arab communities and society in Israel, focusing on spatial, planning, environmental, social, cultural and economic aspects. The course will examine the implications of institutional discrimination, the ethnic-political conflict, and the wave of rising violence, along with trends of social change such as an increase in education and employment. Students will acquire tools for analyzing spatial situations and experience the design of localities and formulate an overall outline and father programs.
(Elective)
Semester A (Winter)
2 Credits
Introduction to economic thinking
Assoc. Prof. Dani Broitman
The course introduces fundamental concepts in economic thinking, with a particular emphasis on its core principles and their limitations. The primary focus is on microeconomic topics, alongside select foundational concepts from macroeconomics. Specifically, the course presents the basics of economic reasoning—namely, the allocation of limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants—and the application of these principles, mainly within the realm of microeconomics. Emphasis is placed on understanding and using quantitative models to draw conclusions and propose solutions to economic problems, based on well-defined assumptions.
Lesson + practice
(Elective)
Semester A (Winter)
3 Credits
Introduction to GIS for Planners
Dr. Idan Porat
GIS technologies now enable the quantitative and spatial analysis of complex planning issues that were once presented solely through Excel tables or static maps.The transition from tabular data to spatial data supports informed, data-driven decision-making, enhances visualization, facilitates public participation in planning processes, and serves as the foundation for parametric and digital planning practices. Decisions such as whether to install a cellular antenna in an ecological park, where to establish a new city, what population density to plan for, or whether a street design could enhance community resilience—are now translated into measurable spatial parameters. Today, all planning procedures in Israel are conducted and published through GIS-based platforms, which have become central tools in the work of urban and regional planners.
Lesson + practice