Greening the Economy: Sustainable Cities (Coursera)

We will examine visions, experiments and innovations in urban areas. We will look at practices (what is happening in cities at present) and opportunities (what are the possibilities for cities going forwards into the future). We bring together a collection of diverse short films and key short readings on sustainable cities as well as interactive forums and a practical assignment to create an online learning community.

This course provides key examples of activities to promote sustainable cities in Scandinavia, Europe and around the world. We utilize films and reports by WWF, the Economist Intelligence Unit, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, UN-Habitat, C40 Climate Leadership Group, Arup, Sustainia, the Rockefeller Foundation, and ongoing research projects. This course is produced by Lund University in cooperation with WWF and ICLEI. It is available for free to everyone, everywhere!

The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University is an international centre of excellence on sustainable solutions. The IIIEE is ideally suited to understand and explain the interdisciplinary issues in sustainable cities and greening the economy utilising the diverse disciplinary backgrounds of its international staff. The IIIEE has been researching and teaching on sustainable solutions since the 1990s and it has extensive international networks connecting with a variety of organizations.

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Urban Transformation

By studying this module you can gain an increased knowledge and a deeper understanding of sustainable urban transformation and sustainable cities

WEEK 2

Urban Infrastructure

By studying this module you can gain an increased knowledge and a deeper understanding of the role of infrastructure and planning in creating sustainable cities.

WEEK 3

Urban Experimentation

By studying this module you can gain an increased knowledge and a deeper understanding of urban living labs and the role of experiments in sustainable cities.

WEEK 4

Urban Lifestyles

By studying this module you can gain an increased knowledge and a deeper understanding of the relationship between sustainable urban lifestyles and sustainable cities.

WEEK 5

By studying this module you can gain an increased knowledge and a deeper understanding of visions for sustainable cities.