Spatial Planning for Sustainability and Resilience (BYG285)

The course provides knowledge about how to plan for sustainability and resilience in urban environments. The course will introduce the students to the complexities and dilemmas of sustainability and resilience (environmental, social and economic) and the challenges these concepts pose to urban planning theory and practice.

Urban spatial planning aiming at more sustainable urban environments needs to consider a broad range of ecological, environmental and social aspects. This requires urban planners to develop knowledge and competences about the complex and often contradictory interactions between the environmental, economic, social, and cultural aspects of urban life. It also requires an understanding of democratic decision-making processes and citizen participation. Urban planners must be able to navigate situations of complex and contradictory dilemmas to be able to recommend interventions that enhance both environmental quality and quality of life for all citizens. To do this, urban planners need to command a broad range of planning tools, both quantitative and qualitative, that can produce the knowledge required, and to propose feasible planning solutions.

The course investigates the complexities of sustainability in planning and introduce the students to methods of how to plan for sustainability in complex urban environments using both established and more experimental planning tools and methods. The theoretical knowledge and planning tools are used to make informed evaluations about the conflict between conservation and transformation, as well as develop relevant planning programs/strategies, land use plans and design guidelines.

After completing the course, students should have:

• Knowledge about the overarching objectives of sustainable and resilient urban development:
• Insight into sustainability principles for urban planning.
• Knowledge about sustainable urban planning history both globally and in Norway.
• Knowledge into various planning tools and methods that can lead to more knowledge-based sustainable urban planning outcomes.
• Knowledge about spatial planning quantitative and qualitative tools (GIS, non-participant-observation, questionnaires, behaviour mapping, citizen participation, etc.)

After completing the course, students should be able to

• Identify urban sustainability challenges.
• Analyse and assess the environmental, economic, social and cultural values of an urban area.
• Understand and use a range of spatial planning tools in relation to sustainability.
• Set appropriate and feasible goals for sustainable development of an urban area.
• Create plans (strategy, program, land use plan, guidelines/ordinances) that explicitly address/ensure urban sustainability, resilience, and diversity.

After completing the course, students should have general competence in

• The dilemmas of sustainable, resilient, and inclusive spatial planning.
• The evaluation of existing urban environments and recommendations for the sustainable development of transformation areas
• Understanding of the potential and limitations of various planning tools and methods in relation to sustainability.
• Communicating urban analyses and strategic and physical planning on a professional level, both written, orally, and graphically

Lectures, group work, individual assignments, field studies.

Participation and contributions in class are assessed based on mandatory activities.