77863 - Urban Economics

Learning outcomes

To know with the economic aspects of architectural and urban planning practice, delving into estimative principles and methods, with special emphasis on techniques for qualitative evaluation and cost estimation of construction works, urban planning and urban infrastructure interventions.

Course contents

The teaching module offers the fundamental theoretical and applied knowledge for estimating different aspects of the value of private and public assets, with the aim of orienting the future professional towards a more integrated and transdisciplinary view of valuation and design/planning processes.

On the one hand, the teaching program offers classical theoretical knowledge, such as elements of financial mathematics, market value and cost value estimation, and specific valuation and economic feasibility methods. On the other hand, more recent theoretical knowledge for assessing the economic, environmental and social impacts of a given transformation. The last part of the program will be devoted to a series of seminar lectures on valuation and complexity, i.e., emerging research topics in the field of valuation and appraisal and applications based on real case studies.
The theoretical and methodological lectures will also be complemented by classroom exercises and reviews.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand and critically estimate the complex value of private and public assets;
2. Orient the future professional toward a more integrated and transdisciplinary view of valuation and design, programming and planning processes;
3. Support the student in structuring a logical process for solving complex decision-making problems that plague the city and the territory at different scales.

Exercises

The development of two exercises is required to access to the oral test:
- Exercise 1: Evaluation of the economic and financial feasibility of a transformation intervention;
- Exercise 2: Strategic assessment of an intervention of transformation.

Both the exercises can be developed by considering the same case study in order to provide an integrated assessment, or they can be developed separately and thus for two different cases study. It is suggested to develop the exercise as working groups.

Students can access to the oral test only with a positive valuation of both the exercises.

 

Expected Results

• Acquire a good knowledge and operational ability of the estimation and valuation discipline to support transformation processes, from a macro-territorial scale to the urban scale to finally reach the scale of the individual building, according to an integrated and transdisciplinary perspective;
• Understand the economic mechanisms that influence investment and design choices, as well as the economic, environmental and social impacts of the project on the built environment and its landscape;
• Evaluate the complexity of the decision-making process involved in city and land transformation processes.

Readings/Bibliography

• Roscelli R. (Ed.) (2014), Manuale di Estimo, Valutazioni economiche ed esercizio della professione, UTET, Torino
• Tecnoborsa, Codice delle valutazioni immobiliari. Italian Property Valuation Standard, Quinta ed. 2018 (Capp.1-14)
• Grillenzoni M., Grittani G. (1994) Estimo. Teoria, procedure di valutazione e casi applicativi, Calderini, Bologna (OK Biblioteca)
• Simonotti M. (2006) Metodi di stima immobiliare, Applicazione degli standard internazionali. Trattato teorico pratico, Flaccovio, Palermo

Other useful books:

• Bravi M. (Ed.) Valutare opzioni di sviluppo immobiliare (Capp. 1-3), Aracne, Roma, 2015
• Bottero M., Mondini G. (Eds.) Valutazione e sostenibilità, Celid, Torino, 2009.
• Rovers R., People vs Resources. Restoring a world out of balance, ISBN: 978-94-6301-255-3

Teaching methods

Lectures, case studies, classroom exercises, seminar series, collective reviews.

Assessment methods

Students can access to the final exam only with a positive evaluation of both the exercises (18/30).
The final exam is an oral test to substantiate theoretical and practical knowledge of the topics covered in class.
The final grade will be expressed in thirtieths as the average of the grade of the exercises and the grade of the oral test.

Teaching tools

Frontal teaching delivered with the support of PowerPoint presentations, Video projector, Laptop. Practice and review are provided in-person and online. Active participation in classroom discussion and work is required.

Office hours

See the website of Vanessa Assumma