HISTORY

Created in 1970, PROPUR – the Postgraduate Program in Urban and Regional Planning at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) – is one of the oldest programs in the field in Brazil. The course’s evolution has reflected the different contributions related to urban and regional issues in Brazilian society throughout its existence. During this period, PROPUR has stood out as a significant center for urban research, providing society with professionals who work in municipal, state, and federal public entities, as well as national and international organizations dealing with various facets of the urban scenario. The Program is linked to the Department of Urbanism at the Faculty of Architecture of UFRGS. The permanent participation of professors from other UFRGS departments across different fields establishes PROPUR’s multidisciplinary character, consolidated through collaboration with the Departments of Architecture, History, Economics, Geography, Sociology, Law, and Water Resources, among others. In addition to the master’s and doctoral courses offered annually, six specialization courses have been held in Urban Planning, Urban Design, and Transport Planning, along with several extension courses and activities.

The Master’s degree seeks to meet the demand for advanced studies on urbanization, promoting the development of theoretical, methodological, and instrumental foundations for urban studies. In this sense, the course is aimed at qualifying teachers, researchers, and professionals engaged in scientific and technical production in the field. The teaching proposal of the master’s course focuses on urban studies, recognizing the complexity of approaches and the potential for multidisciplinary treatment. it trains students from undergraduate courses directly linked to urban issues, such as architects, engineers, sociologists, anthropologists, geographers, lawyers, and economists.
PROPUR’s tradition and long-standing activity have produced a clear regional impact. There is ongoing participation from faculty of other educational institutions dealing with urbanism—particularly architecture schools within the state—seeking degrees in this specific field of activity. PROPUR has also hosted students from other parts of the country, mainly from the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Distrito Federal, and Pará, as well as students from other countries such as Uruguay, Argentina, Peru, and Mexico. In doing so, it contributes at a regional, national, and Latin American level to the training of teachers and researchers who introduce acquired knowledge and apply new urban and regional analysis methodologies into their own courses.
The implementation of the Doctoral level in 2004 aimed to expand professional training and qualification in the field of urban and regional planning at UFRGS, responding to the interest shown by society in the activities developed by PROPUR, which reflect the state-of-the-art knowledge in Urban and Regional Planning.
PROPUR is also part of the DOCASUR Network (Network of Doctorates in Architecture and Urbanism of South American Public Universities), along with other universities from Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. The DOCASUR Network aims to coordinate efforts oriented toward excellence in the training of doctors in Architecture, Urbanism, and Urban Planning within the South American regional context.

In 2018, UFRGS developed its Institutional Internationalization Project, PRINT-UFRGS, as part of its Institutional Development Plan (PDI). PROPUR participated in PRINT through two of its major themes: sustainable development, diversity, climate change, and environmental, social and economic sustainability (including ethical and legal aspects); and smart cities, complex urbanization, industry 4.0, and the sharing economy.

Faculty from the following universities were participating in the PRINT program with PROPUR:

  • University of Duisburg/Germany
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology/USA
  • Texas A&M University/USA
  • School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences/France
  • University of Castilla-La Mancha/Spain
  • Institute for Urban and Regional Planning/Germany
  • Washington University/USA
  • Washington State Transportation Research Center/USA
  • La Sapienza University/Italy
  • University of Texas at San Antonio/USA
  • National Laboratory of Civil Engineering/Portugal
  • University of Huddersfield/UK
  • Bologna University/Italy
  • University College London/UK2
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