310028 Urban Ecosystems: Structures, Functions and Designs

Detaljer
Skov & Landskab   60 %
Inst. for Jordbrug og Økologi   40 %
English titleUrban Ecosystems: Structures, Functions and Designs
Tidligst mulig placeringKandidat 1.år til Kandidat 2. år
VarighedEn blok
 
Pointværdi7.5 (ECTS)
KursustypeKandidatkursus
 
EksamenSluteksamen

mundtlig eksamen


Alle hjælpemidler tilladt

Beskrivelse af eksamen: The exam consists of an oral exam that is based on a group report and material presented in lectures and exercises.

Vægtning: Individual oral exam: 100%



7-trinsskala, intern censur
 
Forudsætninger for indstilling til eksamenThe group report, all exercises and other compulsory activities must have been completed to be allowed to participate in the final examination.
 
Rammer for undervisning
 
BlokplaceringBlock 1
Ugestruktur: B
 
UndervisningssprogEngelsk
 
Kursusindhold
Management and development of cities for sustainable living represent huge challenges. The continuous migration from rural to urban areas put pressure on both the natural resources feeding the city, e.g. water, construction materials and energy, and on the infrastructure systems to distribute these supplies and remove waste materials, like pipes and roads. Moreover, the impacts of urbanisation will be exacerbated by climate change. Urban areas are a main contributor of green house gas emissions but at the same time cities are at risk from climate change as it is here that the human population concentrates with its economic, social and cultural activities. Accordingly, the city has to employ both mitigation strategies to reduce the city's expansion and green house gas emissions and adaptation strategies to maintain the cities functionality and quality of life under a changed climate.

How can the natural resources in the city like the non-built areas, the vegetation, the water systems and the soil volume below the city be managed and developed to adapt cities to these changes? Which theories and methods can be used, and what is the role of landscape architectures, urban planners and environmental experts in this context?

The ambition of the teachers behind the course is to strengthen the competencies at our faculty regarding sustainability of cities, both at the scientific level and in the education of students. Relevant knowledge from disciplines such as forestry, agronomy and environmental chemistry needs to be transfered into the urban context, and integrated with landscape architecture and urban planning in order to suggest better ways for managing and developing cities. In the course this is attempted in a course where students and teachers from different disciplines develop a multidisciplinary approach to urban sustainability in general, and specifically in 2008 regarding effects of climate change on temperature and precipitation.
 
Undervisningsform
Lectures, exercises and seminars will fall within the following general areas: The course consists of 10 lectures, 2 exercises, 2 literature seminars and a group project. Lectures, exercises and seminars will deal with the following general areas: - Principles of urban ecosystems; structure, metabolism, dynamics; - Urban ecology and urbanisation: Danish and international perspectives - Climate change in urban areas: causes and effects - Relationships between urban structure, function and natural process (biodiversity, water, soils, climate) - Urban hydrology - Methods for urban ecosystem analysis and design - Good practice case studies - Frameworks for urban environmental planning. The lectures will introduce the knowledge to deal with these issues. Supplementary exercises introduce methods for urban ecosystem analysis and design. Seminars provide an opportunity to familiarize oneself in more depth with selected topics. Students will work in groups on a project to develop solutions to climate change adaptation of cities, with emphasis placed on the sustainable management of urban water in a changing climate. As case area Odense, which is a Danish city of approximately 300.000 inhabitants experiencing flooding under extreme rain, will be used, and some of the managers and planners of Odense will be invited to respond to students work. Thus a level of general knowledge is ascertained through lectures, exercises and seminars, while the group projects provide an opportunity for in-depth problem based
 
Målbeskrivelse
This course provides an understanding of structures, functions and dynamics of urban ecosystems, and how these can be designed and managed to support sustainable urban development. Cities cause major pressures on the environment, and their development are as such critical for reaching sustainability. The overriding theme for the 2008-course is climate change and urban growth in a Danish and international context. The operational focus is on adaptation strategies towards temperature increase and extreme events of rain and drought , using natural processes in the urban green structure.
The course combines urban planning and landscape architecture with natural sciences such as soil hydrology, environmental chemistry and plant- and microbiology. The aim is to have students, teachers and external actors that represent different disciplines to exchange, apply and evaluate concepts and methods for sustainable urban development.

Knowledge:
- To be familiar with theory and principles of urban ecosystem science
- To understand causes and effects of climate change in urban areas
- To be familiar with urban growth and dynamics in Denmark and globally
- To know main quantitative and qualitative components of the urban water cycle
- To understand relations between natural processes (e.g. urban climates, the water cycle, biodiversity, soils) and urban form and function
- To gain an overview over case studies of sustainable urban water management and climate change adaptation, from city to site scale.

Skills:
- To be able to transfer ecosystem concepts and principles to problem oriented studies.
- To be able to apply knowledge and methods for the analysis and design of sustainable urban ecosystems.

Competencies:
- To work in multidisciplinary groups and present results and knowledge to other students and external actors.
- To undertake a problem oriented study, design solutions and make evaluation
- To acquire in-depth knowledge on specific aspects of urban ecosystems structure and function in an independent manner.
- To reflect upon and discuss the value systems that underlie structure and functioning of various urban ecosystems.
 
Litteraturhenvisninger
A compendium of essential papers and book chapters will constitute the course textbook.

Further literature will be recommended during the course in connection with specific themes.

 
Kursusansvarlig
Stephan Pauleit, sp@life.ku.dk, Skov & Landskab/Parker og Urbane Landskaber, Tlf: 35331787
Marina Bergen Jensen, mbj@life.ku.dk, Skov & Landskab/Parker og Urbane Landskaber, Tlf: 35331790
Enzo Lombi, enl@life.ku.dk, Institut for Jordbrug og Økologi/Plante- og Jordvidenskab, Tlf: 35332199
 
Studienævn
Studienævn NSN
 
Kursusbeskrivelsesomfang
forelæsninger20
projektarbejde100
praktiske øvelser20
eksamen10
kollokvier18
vejledning32
ekskursioner6

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