Admission requirements
This course is available for students in the BA Urban Studies programme and to a limited amount of external students.
Description
Today’s quest for sustainability is largely carried out at the terrain of cities: Human urban activity is a major source of environmental challenges that needs to be counteracted. What is more, cities and their dwellers are increasingly seen not only as a source of sustainability problems but also as a potential source of promising solutions. This course integrates natural science, psychology, and humanities perspectives to explore urban sustainability.
The environmental science perspective will be used to address technological and ecological innovations, and discuss the physical implications of the transition to sustainable cities. It will address the question how novel sustainable technologies will change the fabric of the city and how these physical changes will impact citizens.
A sustainable city implies urban planning and design that leads its citizens to appreciate city life and be attentive and willing to contribute to conditions that sustain high quality urban living. The environmental psychology perspective will focus on the experience of city life and underlying causes as high density and crowding, cultural amenities and environmental aesthetics, place attachment, community initiatives to improve sustainability, e.g., regarding energy saving, management of parks and green areas, transportation, and green consumer behavior.
As technological innovations to sustainability are likely to be deployed in cities, the first question we ask is: What are the ethical and societal implications of technological solutions and how do these solutions interact with/are to be integrated in the cultural life of cities? We will tackle this question by discussing the values, assumptions and paradigms that drive our technological solutions; special attention will be paid to the role of art as a relevant force in (expanding) ethical debates. Furthermore, acknowledging the innovative force of citizens, their communities and their grassroots initiatives, we will examine how such initiatives allow us to revise our understanding of environmental problems and, subsequently, the solutions we envision.
Course objectives
1) Students will be able to identify major sustainability challenges of the urban environment
2) Students will be able to identify solutions to sustainability challenges of the urban environment
3) Students will be able to analyse the societal impacts of novel technologies and environmental solutions in the urban context
4) Students will be able to discuss the physical implications of the introduction of novel technologies and environmental solutions in the urban context
5) Students will acquire a broad psychological perspective of what inhabitants of cities experience regarding sustainability issues, and will become familiar with intervention programs that address sustainability issues.
6) Students will be able to discuss technological innovations from the perspective of the values, assumptions and paradigms that drive these solutions.
7) Students will be able to discuss the role of the city as a breeding ground for bottom-up initiatives to solve sustainability problems.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
- Lecture
Assessment method
Assessment
Midterm exam
Written examination with essay questionsFinal exam
Written examination with essay questionsGroup assignment
Essay related to course material
Weighing
| Partial grade | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Midterm Exam | 35 |
| Final Exam | 35 |
| Essay | 30 |
End grade
To successfully complete the course, please take note of the following:
The end grade of the course is established by determining the weighted average of the midterm exam grade and final exam grade.
The weighted average of the midterm exam grade and the final exam grade needs to be 5.50 or higher.
Resit
If the end grade is insufficient (lower than a 6.0), or one of exam grades is lower than 5.50, there is a possibility of retaking the written examination material, replacing the previous exam grade(s).
Faculty regulations concerning participation in resits are listed in article 4.1 of the Faculty Course and Examination Regulations.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organised.
Reading list
To be announced.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
• Students will be enrolled for Exams by the Administration Office, as long as they have a valid Tutorial enrolment.
General information about uSis is available on the website
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Student Affairs Office for BA Urban Studies
Remarks
None.