This course connects urban transformation, sustainable development, social justice and participation to provide unique knowledge and experiences of working towards just sustainable urban transformations. We utilize a diversity of theoretical perspectives and hands-on methodological tools for engagement in just sustainabilities to bring this course to life.
This course is designed to provide you with the expertise needed to develop effective initiatives or projects that foster urban just sustainabilities. The knowledge you will gain about applying theoretical concepts to real world problems can also be used in other community and social change work.
This course connects both theoretical and applied components to facilitate understanding of how communities, organizations, urban actors such as architects, urban planners, artists etc., and individuals themselves can contribute to meeting the urban sustainability challenges before us. We explore the topic of urban transformation across scales and systems. Our aim is to learn the flexibility of critical thinking that is required to tackle the challenge of transforming urban spaces towards a more sustainable patter of ecological, social-cultural and economic relations.
You will get the chance to dig deeper into a specific local urban challenge through hands-on guided applications, work in digital teams to create shared knowledges, while being guided by core readings, audio-visual media by respective experts and short lectures. The intentional format of each session goes beyond only addressing theoretical knowledge and practical skills, by questioning values, attitudes and behaviours, enabling learners to empower themselves.
Our focus in this course is on participation, application and critical engagement with course materials. Learning is facilitated through self-directed reflection and repeated practice of hands-on methodological tools, drawing on adult education and peer-to-peer learning to foster engagement. There is no exam, but you will be evaluated on your participation, teamwork, presentations, and written assignments integrating course concepts.
This course has been designed to be as accessible as possible. Subtitles are available for all audio-visual materials and all necessary readings are in readable pdf format.
