Universität Wien FIND

290056 VU Sustainable Cities (2021S)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 29 - Geographie
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 20 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Digital and probably hybrid (partly digital / partly on-site) implementation from the 2nd half of the semester onwards

Thursday 04.03. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
Thursday 11.03. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
Thursday 18.03. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
Thursday 25.03. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
Thursday 15.04. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
Thursday 22.04. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
Thursday 29.04. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
Thursday 06.05. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
Thursday 20.05. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
Thursday 27.05. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
Thursday 10.06. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
Thursday 17.06. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
Thursday 24.06. 09:45 - 11:15 Hybride Lehre
Hörsaal 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 Erdgeschoß
Thursday 24.06. 11:15 - 12:00 Hybride Lehre

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Taking the case study of Viertel Zwei in Vienna introduced during the course, students will critically and interactively learn about sustainable cities. The course will critically look at the 3 dimensions of sustainable development. It will be divided into 8 sessions each presenting a specific theme:
Session 1 Thinking critically about sustainable cities
Session 2 Urban development and sustainability issues
Session 3 Urban design, land use and transportation
Session 4 Green and blue as new paradigms
Session 5 Smart & efficient city
Session 6-7 Social and political dimensions
Session 8 The circular economy of city
Session 9 Wrapping up

Session 1 to 2 will introduce the students with the current scientific and institutional debate on sustainable cities.

Session 3 to 8 will transversally look at the 3 dimensions of sustainable development. It will be organized as follow: we will start with a theoretical background critically introducing the various perspectives in the scientific debate. Students will then test their knowledge working on Viertel Zwei conducting analysis and proposing recommendations to improve the neighborhood’s sustainability. When possible, students will present their results and analysis during the course's session.

Each session will be complemented by a discussion based on scientific literature, media content (Monocle, Arte, New York Times, etc.), cognitive mapping (Lynch, 1960) and role play, etc.

Depending on the sanitary context, session 9 will be organized as a wrap up session around a site visit, followed by a short critical discussion.

The aim of the course is to introduce participants with new and cutting edge knowledge on sustainable cities. The class is framed to 1) get familiar with the current scientific debate on sustainable development while 2) observing and analyzing how sustainable issues are tackled on the ground; 3) have students develop their own critical perspective on sustainable cities; 4) come up with new critical perspectives for their personal research project.

Students will be working individually and in groups of 3 or 4 max.

The language of the course will be English.
Students should be proficient in English (oral and writing) and have some background in urban planning, urban studies and qualitative methods.

Assessment and permitted materials

Evaluation will be done during sessions 3 to 7 with 3 short assignments to hand in (data gathering, urban analysis, assessment and propositions, report statement).
The work for the evaluation will be conducted individually.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Data collection, analysis, assessments, propositions, report statement, small exercises, readings and discussions (posted on the "forum" moodle) will be part of the course evaluation.

Examination topics

Readings, courses content, participation, critical thinking, creativity and enthusiasm are important elements to take into account for the evaluation.

Reading list

Brenner, N., Marcuse, P., Mayer, M. (eds.) (2011). Cities for people, not for profit : critical urban theory and the right to the city. London, New York : Routledge.
Cohen, S. (2018). The sustainable city. New York: Columbia University Press.
Krueger, R., Gibbs, D. (eds.) (2007). The sustainable development paradox: urban political economy in the United States and Europe. New York: Guilford Press.
Liverman, D. M. (2018). Geographic perspectives on development goals: Constructive engagements and critical perspectives on the MDGs and the SDGs. Dialogues in Human Geography, 8(2), 168–185. https://doi.org/10.1177/2043820618780787

More readings will be suggested for each session of the course

Association in the course directory

(MG-S4-PI.f) (MG-S5-PI.f) (MR3-PI) (MA UF GW 02)

Last modified: Fr 12.05.2023 00:22