Self-discovery, storytelling and structuration in urban planning: pedagogical insights from Singapore

This research unfolds the step-by-step pedagogical process the students of a graduate urban planning course at the National University of Singapore (NUS) recently experienced and through self-discovery and storytelling synthesized and reflected upon. This three-pronged process ultimately shows the relevancy of the structuration theory as an unintended consequence of identifying what is going on (the nature of urban problems detected), why (analysis) and how to fix them (synthesis and reflection) in selected case studies. While not part of the class experience, structuration helps show the recursive nature of these three themes, where neither agency nor the city (structure) alone accords primacy.