Who Are We

The Institute of Urban and Regional Planning and Design (IURPD) was founded in May 2001 through a directive by the American University of Sharjah Board of Trustees.

IURPD is a university-wide, interdisciplinary academic unit whose primary mission is to promote the education, research, training, and practice of urban planning and urban design. The institute strives to advance urban planning as it relates to the local culture and identity of the UAE and the Arabian Gulf region, and it seeks to promote sustainability as integral to all activities pertinent to urban planning and urban design.

Housed in the School of Architecture and Design, the institute has been developed through direct collaboration between the School of Architecture and Design and the College of Engineering. The Director of the Institute carries out the daily operations and other managerial activities of the institute.

The Director of the Urban Planning Program can simultaneously hold the position of the Director of the Institute. The Director of Institute reports directly to the Dean of Architecture and Design. The institute is supported by the Urban Planning Advisory Council (UPAC), which also advises the urban planning program. The two deans and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs are ex officio members of the UPAC.

Mission

The basic objectives of IURPD are to:

• advance the production and accumulation of knowledge in urban and regional planning and urban design
• develop and offer educational and training opportunities in the field of urban and regional planning and urban design to meet the increasing demand for specialized professionals in these fields
• cooperate with local governmental, not-for-profit, non-governmental and private agencies concerned with urban planning and development in areas of mutual interest with the intent of advancing the quality of practice and research
• advance the public discourse on urban planning through the initiation and/or participation in public forums (seminars, conferences, symposia) dealing with urban planning and urban development matters
  
• increase the public’s awareness and interest in urban planning and urban design through pursuing public outreach programs and engagement in mass media opportunities