Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Land is fundamental to the social fabric of Australian society. Land use has been focused on specific human requirements such as agricultural production, urban development, transportation, recreation or biodiversity conservation. An understanding of land and its natural environments is essential to professionals practising in any area of the built environment.

Aims

The aim of this unit is to introduce you to the fundamental concepts associated with land and land use with respect to the ecological, legal, social, political and cultural influences and consequences.

Objectives

On successful completion of this unit you should be able to:
1. Distinguish the various legal, environmental, geophysical, cultural, ethical and political influences related to land use and development..
2. Compare and contrast different types of proposed land use as relevant to a proposed development site and evaluate the implications for property development.
3.. Analyse the underlying principles of planning and development in the national and international context
4. Evaluate the role of urban development professionals in land use.

Content

The unit covers the following:
- Introduction to the characteristics of land and its connection with the built environment
- Utility of land and competing land uses, considering locational and site specific issues (eg. Soils, vegetation & topography)
- The legal construct: Land tenure and property rights including unique property rights such as native title
- Land ownership and acquisition processes
- Planning and development processes with an emphasis on the impact of environmental and social factors on the financial evaluation.
- Development controls such as environmental protection legislation and heritage protection.
- Ongoing stewardship of land in the lifecycle of a built asset.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

Teaching Mode: up to 3 hours per week.
Lecture: 1 hour
Tutorial: 2 hours

Some tutorial sessions may be held in computer labs.

Learning Approaches:
Learning approaches will cover the following:
- Problem based
- Self-learning
- Individual learning
- Team based learning
- Experiential learning
- Exposition

Assessment

QUT's Assessment Policy is at MOPP c/5.1
Overview of Assessment:
The assessment will comprise formative assessment (to help you find out how your work is progressing) and summative assessment (to grade your work against expected outcomes).Continuous formative assessment in the form of: automated multi choice quizzes linked to resources; online learning modules; peer review, assistance and feedback in tutorials and lectures to assist your development, poster and research proposal.

Assessment name: Portfolio
Description: Individual Written Portfolio
Land use and the UD professional
A series of critically reflective pieces that consider various environmental, geophysical, legal, cultural, ethical and political influences related to land use.
Relates to objectives: 1 & 4
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 6

Assessment name: Poster Presentation
Description: Development Site Assessment
You are required to work in a group (3 to 4 members) within your tutorial group to develop a poster that evaluates a development project for a particular area of land You will be required to make a 10 minutes in-class presentation on your site using the poster as the key resource, and to evaluate the work of other students.
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3 & 4
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group
Due date: Week 11

Assessment name: Report
Description: Online Report
Evaluation of planning and development, origins and outcomes in land use. Working in the same team as your poster development, you will build an online report that includes both individual and team components that will be assessed separately. It will evaluate legislation, principles and practice in land use. Group (20%) & Individual (20%)
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3, & 4
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group with Individual Component
Due date: End of Semester

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Resource material and internet links will be made available on the Blackboard site throughout the semester.

Risk assessment statement

In this unit, you will undertake lectures and tutorials in the traditional classrooms and lecture theatres. As such, there are no extraordinary workplace health and safety issues associated with these components of the unit. During any site visits, you will be required to follow normal workplace, health and safety procedures.

Additional Costs
There are no additional costs associated with this unit.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 19-Oct-2012