GEOG 5091 - Sustainable Cities: Climate Change and Planning

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2018

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.

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Course Details

Course Code	GEOG 5091
Course	Sustainable Cities: Climate Change and Planning
Coordinating Unit	Geography, Environment and Population
Term	Semester 2
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	N
Prerequisites	Completed degree (72 units)

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Professor Melissa Nursey-Bray

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

Course Learning Outcomes

At the successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1	Identify and understand the major challenges to urban sustainability
2	Describe the major tools used to manage sustainability in cities, including hard and soft infrastructure
3	Demonstrate familiarity with the core concepts in urban sustainability debates
4	Demonstrate knowledge of key sources in the urban sustainability literature
5	Gain the ability to search and analyse critical source of information on cities and their environmental performance
6	Gain the ability to communicate effectively on the issue of urban sustainabiilty

University Graduate Attributes

No information currently available.

Learning Resources

Recommended Resources

Haughton, G. and Hunter, C. 2010 Sustainable Cities, Routledge, Abingdon.

Online Learning

Lectures, assessment and handouts will be made available via MyUni. The online experience will be interactive to create a dialogue between the co-ordinator and students, as well as between students.

Learning & Teaching Modes

Lectures supported by problem-solving workshops which develop the lecture material.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

1 x 1-hour lecture (or equivalent) per week	12 hours per semester
1 x 2-hour workshop (or equivalent) per week	24 hours per semester
6 hours reading per week	72 hours per semester
2 hours research per week	24 hours per semester
2 hours assignment preparation per week	24 hours per semester
TOTAL WORKLOAD	156 hours per semester

Learning Activities Summary

Schedule
Week 1	Introduction – Sustainability and Cities
Week 2	Climate Change and Cities in the Developed World
Week 3	Climate Change and Cities in the Developed World
Week 4	Transport
Week 5	Resource Use, Overuse and Solutions
Week 6	Waste Management
Week 7	Air Pollution: Challenges, Geography and Impact
Week 8	The Influence of Urban Form on Urban Sustainability
Week 9	Managing Sustainability: Planning
Week 10	Managing Sustainability: New Technologies
Week 11	Exam preparation
Week 12	Conclusion

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Task Type	Weighting	Learning Outcome
3000 word essay	Formative and Summative	50%	1-5
2 hour exam	Formative and Summative	40%	3-6
Participation and attendance	Formative and Summative	10%	5, 6

Assessment Detail

3000 word essay – students will write a research essay that critically evaluates the key challenges to sustainability, and their potential solutions, in a major urban area – 50% weighting

Participation and attendance – students interact with the class and co-operate in the active learning process – 10%

2 hour exam – students will be assessed on all aspects of the taught curriculum, including the reading material – 40%

Submission

All assignments are submitted electronically via MyUni.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through .

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
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Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.

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Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator

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