About the faculty

We are a Faculty about the city and for the city.

The Faculty of Urban and Regional Development integrates a wide range of the HSE University’s competencies (economics, social science, law, management and administration, etc.) in the context of urban development and management.

From our perspective Urban Studies and Planning is a universal framework for multiple interpretations of the term ‘city’. Urban Studies and Planning is based on a comprehensive study of the ‘urban lifestyle’ phenomenon, critical (re)thinking of the professional practices, planning approaches and decision technologies.

The Faculty aims to create an internationally recognized multidisciplinary centre of expertise focused on solving wide range of issues regarding urban development and management of urbanized territories. This includes the issues of urban planning and land use, urban economics, transport and public utility, housing and social policies, as well as shaping an innovative approach for urban planning and management.

Western universities have well-established education and research centres in urban studies, urban, regional or city planning, transportation planning and transport policy studies, whereas in Russia these fields do not have enough attention and appreciation yet.

The activities of the Faculty work towards strengthening the HSE University’s position in both national and international level due to the improvement of educational, expert and academic aspects. Our aim is to overcome the limitations of the archaic Soviet architectural attitude and to educate/to form the new generation of urban planners.

The graduates of the Faculty are multi-disciplinary specialists in urban development and management. They are able to speak the professional language of their peers from architecture, civil engineering, management, economics, real estate and land development, and successfully coordinate their interests.