Abstract
In the absence of any legal, political and institutional legitimacy, what can urban design do and how should future urban designers be educated? There appear to be as many questions in the subject as possible answers. However, in the last couple of decades a rather robust theoretical direction has been emerging, upon which a more responsive design practice and professional education can be placed. There is also an increasing international interest for urban design education.in the developed and rapidly developing world. The aims of the paper are to inform, to illuminate and to provoke, including the interrogation of our own values, practices and preferences.