In the 21st century, cities and urban areas are facing increasing challenges associated with flood risk, coastal erosion, and sea level rises. In many growing areas these are coupled with challenges of demographic growth and urban spread.

While there are many university postgraduate degrees that focus on local planning legislation, there are no other identifiable programmes that focus specifically on how communities respond to challenges that cities are facing today. This programme will be of interest to students wishing to address broader urban issues and engage with communities.

The Master of Urban Resilience and Renewal (MURR) will focus on:

• the urban renewal of Ōtautahi Christchurch, a city that faces many of these issues as it recovers from the 2010/11 earthquakes
• how communities respond to challenges that cities are facing today
• community engagement with students working with community groups and local government, within compulsory courses and through their chosen research project.

The Master of Urban Resilience and Renewal will provide students with the skills, knowledge, and competencies to be employed professionally in any organisation involved in urban resilience and renewal. It will enable graduates to seek out careers in areas such as environmental management, disaster risk reduction, hazard management, environmental consulting, as well as local and regional government.

The project component will provide students with the opportunity to work for a community/organisational partner on a research problem they have helped identify. By partnering with local organisations, graduates will have experience in how to influence , shape, and make a significant difference to the communities they live in.