Despite Malta’s construction industry operating in top gear, there have been no applications for admission to a planning course at the University of Malta since it was initiated three years ago.
The Master of Science in Spatial Planning course was launched by the Faculty of the Built Environment three years ago, but it has failed to attract a single student, the Dean of the Faculty for the Built Environment Alex Torpiano confirmed to The Malta Independent on Sunday.
The subjects areas of the programme are described on the University’s website as being aimed at research interests and activities, including civil, structural and building engineering, architectural, building and conservation science, built heritage, architectural and urban design, planning and construction management and inter-disciplinary themes in which guidance and supervision can be offered, subject to the availability of resources as determined by the Faculty Board.
“Students typically follow a short directed reading component, deliver a presentation related to the research and embark on the preparation of a dissertation, based on work of an advanced or original nature undertaken by them”, the description reads.
It is a post-graduate course that students would carry out by research on a part-time basis, although the University’s website notes that the programme is also offered on a full-time basis. It is coordinated by Paul Gauci and is open to those who have obtained a BSc in Built Environment Studies, the main undergraduate course the faculty offers, with at least Second Class Honours, or those who are in possession of a qualification deemed to be comparable to that by the University’s Senate.
The annual enrolment fee for local, EU or European Economic Area applicants is, like most other courses at this level, €400.
Spatial Planning as a concept relates to various fields and in many ways is the coordination of practices and policies that affect the organisation of space. It is synonymous with urban planning practices in places such as the United States, but the term is also used in reference to planning efforts in certain European countries.
The concept is defined by the European Commission through its INSPIRE knowledge base as “a set of documents that indicates a strategic direction for the development of a given geographic area, states the policies, priorities, programmes and land allocations that will implement the strategic direction and influences the distribution of people and activities in spaces of various scales. Spatial plans may be developed for urban planning, regional planning, environmental planning, landscape planning, national spatial plans or spatial planning at the Union level.”
As Malta’s population continues to increase, the country’s construction industry is operating in top gear. Malta is by far the most built up country in the EU, with 33 per cent of the country’s land being built upon. The second most built upon country in the EU is Belgium, at 12 per cent.
However, a consensus is being reached by some of the key stakeholders in the development industry that, despite the industry boom, the island’s planning framework is not up to the task.
Malta Developer’s Association President Sandro Chetcuti was one such critic, saying at the Association’s AGM in February that Malta has failed when it comes to forward development planning and that the country must now focus on the future and on a strategy for the future.
He conceded that, ever since the British left the island, development planning has been piecemeal in nature and noted that “We now cannot afford to turn Malta into a Bugibba and Qawra”.
Earlier this week, the Chamber of Architects also took aim at one of Malta’s planning policies, saying that the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED) has, without doubt, failed.
SPED had sought to enable economic growth, strengthen employment opportunities and increase competitiveness and innovation, whilst ensuring a healthy environment for future generations, according to the Environment and Resources Authority’s website.