Program Overview

Diploma in Governance, Innovation, and Territorial Transformation: Creating Just Urban Futures

The Diploma in Governance, Innovation, and Territorial Transformation: Creating Just Urban Futures is a postgraduate program offered by the School of Postgraduate Studies at the University of Chile. The program aims to provide a critical and interdisciplinary understanding of the transformations occurring in cities and territories, with a focus on governance, innovation, and territorial transformation.

Program Description

The program is designed for professionals and academics in the fields of architecture, geography, social sciences, and other related disciplines. It offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to understanding the complex processes of urban and territorial transformation, with a focus on creating just and sustainable urban futures. The program combines theoretical and practical knowledge, providing students with the skills and tools necessary to design and implement innovative strategies for governance and territorial transformation.

Objectives

The program has the following objectives:

• To form professionals capable of comprehending and acting critically and strategically in the face of contemporary urban and territorial transformations, integrating theory and practice to design and implement innovations in urban governance and territorial transformation oriented towards spatial justice and equity.
• To analyze critically the processes of contemporary urban transformation from interdisciplinary perspectives that integrate geography, urbanism, architecture, public policies, and social sciences.
• To develop analytical and technical capacities for territorial diagnosis and management, applying concrete tools for planning, management, governance, and urban intervention in different contexts.
• To explore and compare international experiences of institutional innovation, municipal cooperation, and post-extractive urbanism, situating local challenges within the framework of global urbanism.
• To design strategies and projects for territorial transformation through the Laboratory of Innovation in Urban Governance, promoting collaborative work, decision-making under uncertainty, and the practical application of knowledge.
• To foster a critical, creative, and committed vision for the construction of more just and inclusive urban futures, articulating geographical thought, political analysis, and applied action.

Program Structure

The program consists of four modules, each addressing a key dimension of urban governance and territorial transformation:

1. Module 1: Global Urban and Territorial Changes: Challenges of Innovation and Governance for the Just City
   • Introduction to the program and plan of work
   • Review of important urban and territorial processes from an interdisciplinary perspective
   • Recognition of tensions between innovation, governance, and social justice in scenarios of uncertainty, crisis, and transition
2. Module 2: Housing and City: Between Market, Law, and Social Innovation
   • Focus on housing and urban policies in Chile and Latin America
   • Exploration of tensions between the economic role of the real estate sector and its social function
   • Examination of experiences of social innovation, self-management, and public policy
3. Module 3: Urban and Territorial Planning: Innovation, Governance, and Challenges
   • Critical review of processes, instruments, and main actors involved in urban and territorial planning
   • Identification of challenges and innovations in decision-making, actor articulation, and governance
4. Module 4 (Transversal): Laboratory of Innovation in Urban Governance and Transformative Territorial Transformation: Putting the GITT Toolbox into Practice
   • Delivery of concrete tools for diagnosis, design of interventions, and elaboration of territorial intervention proposals
   • Focus on innovation, not necessarily replication

Evaluation Mechanisms

The evaluation will be based on a group exercise developing the design of a strategy for urban governance and management for existing or emerging cases, using the diagnostic, analysis, and proposal tools acquired during the course.

Infrastructure, Equipment, and Software

The Diploma will be conducted entirely online through the University of Chile's Zoom platform. Working materials and regular communication with students will be organized through the U-Courses platform.

Academic Requirements

Applicants must hold a Bachelor's degree and/or a Professional Title of at least 8 semesters in disciplines related to the Program. For applicants with a higher technical title, the program coordinator will evaluate the professional profile on a case-by-case basis for admission.

Admission

Applicants must submit their application through the online application system. The following documents are required:

• Certificate of Bachelor's degree or Professional Title
• Curriculum Vitae
• Letter of intention
• Copy of identification document

Graduation Requirements

To obtain the Diploma, students must pass the program evaluation with a minimum grade of 4.0. The evaluation includes a group project that converges the application of the competencies acquired by the participant. Students must also have attended at least 75% of the classes.

Faculty and Guest Speakers

The program features a diverse faculty and guest speakers, including:

• Dr. Michael Lukas, Professor at the Department of Geography, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, University of Chile
• Dra. Mónica Bustos, Professor at the Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, University of Chile
• Dr. Rodrigo Caimanque, Assistant Professor at the Department of Urbanism, University of Chile
• Dra. Yasna Contreras, Associate Professor at the Department of Geography, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, University of Chile
• Dr. Tomás Cox, Assistant Professor, Department of Urbanism, University of Chile
• Dra. Katia Soto, Professional at the Directorate of Innovation, Vice-Rectorate of Research and Development, University of Chile
• Dr. David Kornbluth, Postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Geography, University of Chile
• Guest speakers from various institutions and organizations, including the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, the University of Chile, and international universities.

Duration and Schedule

The program lasts 12 weeks, with classes held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 18:30 to 21:30 hours. The total duration is 216 hours, including 72 hours of synchronous teaching and 144 hours of indirect student work.

Tuition Fees

The tuition fee for the program is 50 UF (2025 rate), with alternatives for discounts in 2026.