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Fenner School of Environment and Society · ANU College of Systems and Society
Sustainable Urban Systems aims to provide up-to-date and research-led courses to master students who are interested in urban sustainability. Urbanization is one of the major social transformations of our time that has profound impacts on people and the planet. Cities play an increasingly critical role in local, regional and global sustainability, presenting enormous challenges but also a window of opportunity to "get it right". Future leaders and urban practitioners will benefit from this course by learning leading-edge research to understand the opportunities and challenges in our "urban century." The course will invite leading experts and urban practitioners to share their ongoing research and best showcases and engage students in the discussion of a range of cutting-edge topics on urban sustainability transition locally and internationally. You will be inspired to creatively apply this knowledge to your concerned issues, including future research direction, policy development, and urban management. The course is strongly interdisciplinary, and the theme topics include but are not limited to urban environmental governance, urban sustainability, systems innovation and transition, urban health, global frontrunner cities in urban low-carbon transition, nature-based solutions, urban energy policies, and urban metabolism.
Group discussion and presentation
Learning outcomes 1, 5
Discussion paper
Learning outcomes 1, 2
Research paper
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Research paper seminar
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3
The expected workload will consist of approximately 130 hours throughout the semester including: - Face-to face component which may consist of 1 x 3 hour workshop per week - Approximately 94 hours of self directed study which will include preparation for lectures, presentations and other assessment tasks. Students are expected to actively participate and contribute towards discussions.
Not applicable. Preliminary Reading There will be weekly readings. In addition, the following books are recommended, both for better understanding course contents and good examples for potential student project topics. - Elmqvist, T., X. Bai, N. Frantzeskaki, C. Griffith, D. Maddox, T. McPhearson, S. Parnell, P. Romero-Lankao, and D. Simon, M. Watkins (eds). 2018. Urban Planet: Knowledge towards sustainable cities. Cambridge University Press. Open access www.cambridge.org/9781107196933. - Boyden, S., Millar, S., Newcombe, K. and O'Neill, B., 1981. Ecology of a city and its people: The case of Hong Kong. Australian National University. - Tim Beatley Green Urbanism: Learning from European cities. Island Press 2000. - Pelling, M., 2012. The vulnerability of cities: natural disasters and social resilience. Routledge.)