Course overview
Increasingly both the developed and developing world are acknowledging significant challenges to environmental sustainability at the global, regional and local scales. Human-induced climate change is one driver of this concern, but others include concerns with water quality and availability, the impact of air pollution on human health and the loss of valuable agricultural land. The challenges are further exacerbated by the need to consider cultural, social and economic sustainability, alongside the more commonly discussed environmental issues. Cities lie at the forefront of sustainability challenges: the majority of the world's population lives in an urban area, and cities are the focus of the overwhelming majority of economic activity and resource consumption. This course examines issues of environmental sustainability in cities and the ways in which governments and communities can plan and act to achieve more sustainable outcomes. The course examines issues around urban design, transport planning and provision, planning regulations, housing supply, economic structure and waste management and handling.
Course learning outcomes
- Identify and understand the major challenges to urban sustainability
- Describe the major tools used to manage sustainability in cities, including hard and softinfrastructure
- Demonstrate familiarity with the core concepts in urban sustainability debates
- Demonstrate knowledge of key sources in the urban sustainability literature
- Gain the ability to search and analyse critical source of information on cities and theirenvironmental performance
- Gain the ability to communicate effectively on the issue of urban sustainability