History and Background
The School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) at the Ardhi University is a successor to the Department of Urban and Rural Planning (URP) that was established at the then Ardhi Institute in 1972. The Department of Urban and Rural Planning started by offering a three-year advanced diploma programme that was established in order to cater for the growing need for Town Planners in Tanzania. It was during the decades of 1970/80 and 1980/90 the government had put development emphasis on rural development strategies that subsequently called for transforming professional training from Town Planning to Urban and Rural Planning to address these development strategies. In 1996, the three year advanced diploma programme was transformed into a four year degree programme following the affiliation of the former Ardhi Institute with the University of Dar es Salaam. In the year 2002, the department was renamed Urban and Regional Planning apparently to widen the rural component and encompass the regional aspects of planning. The proclamation of Ardhi University in March 2007 went hand in hand with the elevation of the former departments into schools. The Department of Urban and Regional Planning (URP) became the School of URP composed of three departments of Urban and Regional Planning (URP), Housing and Infrastructure Planning (HIP) and Regional Development Planning (RDP).
Last Updated: Thursday, 28 May, 2009