17902 Sustainable Urban Development
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Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
This subject provides an introduction to sustainable development and discusses the triple bottom line concept of environmental, economic and social sustainability in urban design and development. Sustainable practices are discussed and demonstrated using national and international case studies. Students also learn about the concept of urban resilience and explore the sustainability challenges faced by global cities. The causes and urban effects of climate change are analysed and discussed in the context of greenhouse gas emissions (and reduction), energy consumption (and alternative energy development strategies), air quality and population growth challenges, economic planning for resilience, as well the social sustainability implications related to equity and inequity. Finally, the topic of urban ecology, its principles, applications and role, is discussed, providing students with the foundational knowledge of the ecology “of” cities to be applied in following subjects.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
| 1. | Develop effective written and verbal communication strategies |
|---|---|
| 2. | Describe the relationships among urban structure, urban ecology, resource consumption, and sustainability at the city and precinct level |
| 3. | Analyse the challenges and practical application of principles of environmental, economic, and social sustainability to urban development at the city and precinct scale |
| 4. | Develop coherent criticisms of existing policies and plans using available evidence appropriately |
| 5. | Examine the environmental risks posed by patterns of development, and the strategies available to manage risk and adapt urban development patterns to mitigate risk |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:
- Communicate with people with a wide variety of cultural, social, economic, and political perspectives and interests using verbal, written, and visual media (C.2)
- Develop creative solutions to complex problems based on research and evaluation (I.1)
- Investigate strategically the future of cities and regions and identify the drivers of change (P.1)
- Explore the principles of environmental, economic and social sustainability and apply them to analysing and developing plans and design solutions (P.7)
- Determine risk assessment principles and apply them to simulating future courses of action (R.1)
- Develop coherent and logically structured arguments that use evidence appropriately (R.5)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
The term CAPRI is used for the five Design, Architecture and Building faculty graduate attribute categories where:
C = communication and groupwork
A = attitudes and values
P = practical and professional
R = research and critique
I = innovation and creativity.
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs) are linked to these categories using codes (e.g. C-1, A-3, P-4, etc.).
Teaching and learning strategies
This subject is taught fully online. Each week is self-paced through the learning management system. You are expected to complete a range of different learning activities throughout the week. Activities provide opportunities to learn, apply and discuss the knowledge gained in a practical manner. Feedback is provided from both peers and teaching staff throughout the activities. You are encouraged to actively provide feedback and interact with staff and students in the exercises and on the discussion board(s). Online Zoom sessions will be held regularly throughout the subject to allow you to interact with staff and students, ask questions and receive clarification and formative feedback on your assignments.
Content (topics)
- Trends in urban sustainability
- Triple bottom line sustainability part 1: Economic sustainability
- Triple bottom line sustainability part 2: Social sustainability
- Triple bottom line sustainability part 3: Environmental sustainability and urban resilience
- Sustainable design approaches
- Where are we now and where to from here?
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Background research of an urban sustainability challenge
| Intent: | The assessment throughout this subject will be a series of assessments that challenges you to: · investigate the background/context of an urban sustainability challenge (Assessment 1) · describe lessons learnt about your chosen urban sustainability challenge from a global case study city (Assessment 2) · apply those lessons in the development of an action plan for your city/district of residence to address your chosen urban sustainability challenge. (Assessment 3) Note that the three assessments build on each other, so you should choose the same urban sustainability challenge for all three assessments. The main goal of this first assessment is to research the background, trends and context of an urban sustainability challenge of your choice, with reference to the triple bottom line of sustainability. | ||||||||||||
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 2 and 4 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): P.1 and R.5 | ||||||||||||
| Type: | Report | ||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 15% | ||||||||||||
| Length: | Maximum 500 words - This includes tables of your own work, but excludes diagrams, images, infographics, image captions/labels, and references | ||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 2: Case study analysis
| Intent: | The aim of this assessment is to examine a case study which has attempted to address the challenge you identified in Assessment 1. Your goal is to investigate the case study and identify the lessons that may be applicable to you plan of action. Your case study may be covering a policy (or policies) or strategy (strategies) or physical intervention at precinct, local government area (LGA) and/or city-wide scale. The case study should be aimed at tackling the sustainability challenge that is related to the content you covered in Assessment 1. The case study can be a city overseas or in Australia (other than your city of residence). | ||||||||||||||||
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 4 and 5 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): C.2, P.7 and R.5 | ||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Report | ||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 35% | ||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 1000 - 1200 words - This includes tables of your own work, but excludes diagrams, images, infographics, image captions/labels, and references | ||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 3: Plan of action
| Intent: | The aim of this assessment is to use the lessons learned from the case study (Assessment 2) to develop a plan of action that is relevant to addressing the same or similar urban sustainability challenge in your city of residence.
Your POA may be a policy with sub-policies, a strategy with sub-strategies, a combination of policies and strategies, or a physical intervention at precinct, local government area (LGA) or city-wide scale, targeting one key sustainability area. | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 3 and 5 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): C.2, I.1 and R.1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Report | ||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 50% | ||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 1500 -2000 words - This includes tables of your own work, but excludes diagrams, images, infographics, image captions/labels, and references | ||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Minimum requirements
Students must achieve at least 50% of the subject’s total mark.