The course deals with urban theory in the sense of different ways of understanding cities – the forces shaping cities, the physical patterns in the urban landscape and the consequences on life and planning. There are different theories of contemporary urban development, e.g. cities being understood as generators of economic growth, as spaces of mobility, as places for cultural and public life, as spaces of environmental degradation and/or green living, as places for reproduction and everyday life, as spaces where ethnic, socio-economic and/or gender divisions manifest, as spaces driven by desire or fear, etc. These varying perspectives on urban development, and hence views on what the problems and possibilities are, give rise to different implications and tasks for planning and urban design.