Coding the urban curriculum: Technology as thematic infrastructure in urban design education

As debates continue over how to articulate the disciplinary scope of urban design education, several researchers examined how pedagogical models are shaped by specific thematic priorities, particularly ecological, socio-political, or technological. As graduate programs navigate the tension between disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, themes like resilience, climate adaptation, spatial equity, and digital urbanism have begun to function not merely as curricular content, but as structuring frameworks that govern how urban design is taught and practiced. This paper addresses the question of how certain themes infiltrate or govern urban design education by examining the Master of Urban Design and Digital Environments (MUDDE) program. In MUDDE, foreground technological tools, in particular virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI), are employed not as discrete subjects, but as a pedagogical infrastructure through which students interrogate, simulate, and communicate complex urban conditions. Using a qualitative case study, the research analyzes curricular documents, classroom observations, student projects, and survey responses to understand how these tools influence inquiry, design workflows, and representation. Through analysis of two courses in particular, findings indicate that the MUDDE curriculum moves beyond skill acquisition toward thematic mediation, where technology becomes a method for exploring and constructing urban narratives. These tools support design process at multiple stages. They inform data-rich site analysis, allow producing multiple design outcomes through generative and parametric workflows, and expand the communicative potential of student projects by offering immersive and interactive visualizations for engaging with diverse stakeholders. In this way, themes in MUDDE operate not as isolated topics, but as conceptual operating systems, organizing inquiry, shaping design workflows, and guiding modes of representation. This pedagogical approach aligns with an international shift toward reflexive, exploratory, and projective models of urban design education, where the governance of themes is enacted through the integration of method, technology, and class culture. The study contributes to debates on the future of urban design pedagogy by demonstrating how technology can reorganize learning environments and extend the epistemic foundations of the field.