STRUCTURE OF THE AMS MOOC URBAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Discover Advanced Metropolitan Solutions Hi there! Thank you for joining this self-paced MOOC on Sustainable Urban Development! We invite you to discover Advanced Metropolitan Solutions and we encourage you to get involved! It is a self-paced course, which means that you can choose to fly through the material or cruise along at a more modest pace. It's flexible, so the choice is yours. The course will start with Week 0, an introductory week where you can browse around the course, familiarize yourself with the platform if this is your first course, have a look at the course schedule, and introduce yourself in the introduction forum! We'd really like to get to know our students! 1
After that, the course is organized into 7 weeks. Each week covers a new topic which will start with an introduction video, followed by a combination of readings, knowledge clips, quizzes to check your understanding, assignment, and weekly tests. After each sub-lecture, there is a discussion forum, where you can ask questions you may have or tell us your thoughts. We would like you to consider joining a team for the 100 x 100 challenge. In this challenge, you will work on finding solutions to problems specific to individual metropolitan areas. If you can t find a team working on the metropolitan area that you are interested in, please start a team yourself! Although this team challenge is not a requirement for the certificate for this course, it promises to be an engaging and interesting learning experience. We are looking forward to finding out what some of your solutions are to the challenges in your area! Every week, you will work on different aspects of these challenges. In the matrix shown below, you can see the setup of the MOOC. Each week, we will focus on one major challenge faced by metropolitan areas. We have listed five major challenges horizontally in the table below. These challenges are often referred to as the global drivers for change. Also in the table below, you will find five main themes listed vertically. These themes refer to perspectives or areas of expertise which we will use to guide you through a closer examination of each week s challenge. 2
By taking part in this MOOC, you will come to realise that the global challenges cities face, when viewed from different perspectives, result in a number of different problems. You will also notice, however, that by viewing possible solutions to these challenges in the same way, that you will find each theme helps offer up its own type of solution. Finally, by the end of this MOOC, we hope you will come to realise that the problems and their solutions actually span across all these boxes found in the MOOC matrix. Rather than focussing on one specific challenge or looking at problems from only one perspective (monodisciplinary), we will show that we need to incorporate multiple themes (interdisciplinary or even transdisciplinary) and challenges when we want to achieve Sustainable Urban Development. 3
EACH WEEK: ONE MAJOR CHALLENGE Now, let s have a closer look at the MOOC matrix and define the challenges. In Week 2, we will look at Urban Growth. As you know, right now more than 50% of the world s population lives in cities. By the year 2050, this could rise to an estimated 70%. There are a couple of main questions relating to this challenge: What are the consequences of urbanization? and How can our cities cope with this extensive growth while still being sustainable and prosperous? Week 3 focuses on Socio economic Change: the process by which economic activity affects and, at the same time, is shaped by society. This is presented as a key driving force for change in our cities. As the global community becomes more wealthy, new types of challenges begin to emerge such as those related to managing resources, protecting street life or supporting community buildings. Week 4 addresses the challenge of Climate Change. This is currently viewed as one of the major challenges of our time. It involves many different factors such as increases in global temperatures and flood risks, for instance, as well as other extreme weather conditions. First, we will look at the basic processes that drive global climate change and then we will explore ways in which cities can mitigate these factors and ultimately adapt to climate change. In Week 5, we will address Resource Shortage. Cities are responsible for about 70% of the world s resource consumption, but they only occupy 2% of the land surface. So in this week, we will look at the opportunities that arise from taking a different approach to managing resources namely focusing on reducing, reusing and recycling. 4
We will focus on the interplay and relationships between carbon, water and nutrients in food production. In Week 6, we will discuss Digitization & (Geo)data. Digitization concerns the challenges and opportunities regarding geo data and the Internet of things for both cities and citizens. This includes concepts of so-called smart sensing and user feed-back systems. By connecting these systems to Geo Information Systems, you will discover how to use new ICT technologies to provide cities with real-time feedback and to help empower citizens. Climate change is not independent of socio-economic change and resource consumption can be managed better by using digitisation tools. In the 7 th and last week of this course, we will discuss relationships and synergies among these challenges and themes. We will do so by presenting several cases that have taken an interdisciplinary approach to solving the multiple challenges that they faced. Our aim here is to discover cross-over solutions while respecting the different perspectives of all of those involved. We want to determine how smart integration can help support innovative and lasting solutions towards liveable and prosperous metropolitan communities! 5
WEEKLY THEMES Now let s take a closer look at the themes which represent different areas of expertise: a different lens through which to see the world. Each week you will find the following themes: SHAPE & STRUCTURE The first theme is Shape & Structure. This describes the physical layout of the city, also called the urban morphologies and typologies. URBAN SERVICES, INFRASTRUCTURES & TRANSPORT The next theme is Urban Services, Infrastructures & Transport. By urban services, we mean the everyday services that you often take for granted such as those that provide you with water, food, energy, and waste management as well as transportation. These services require a lot of resources and often rely on extremely costly infrastructure and systems. NATURAL RESOURCES The third theme concerns Natural Resources. You already know that cities are the hubs of resource consumption. In this theme, we place special emphasis on natural resources in relation to global challenges. Please note that due to the overlap with the Resource Shortage challenge (Week 5), this theme is replaced by a peer review of the practical assignments from weeks 1 5 in Week 5. LIVEABILITY & URBAN LIVING The fourth theme focusses on Liveability & Urban Living. Liveability is considered an important condition for sustainability. We show that while urban living is the cause of many sustainability problems it is also a necessary key aspect for a prosperous and sustainable society. POLICY & GOVERNANCE The last thematic challenge concerns Policy & Governance. This theme describes how governments can approach current urban challenges and highlights how other actors, such as municipalities and cities, can implement solutions to address each global challenge. 6
TO SUMMARIZE If you are only interested in one theme within this course, you are allowed to explore only this specific theme and thus follow a horizontal route in our matrix. Shape & Structure Urban Services, Infrastructures & Transport Natural Resources Liveability & Urban Living Policy & Governance (Please note: to obtain a certificate, you need to complete at least 60% of the course successfully.) You can also choose to simply follow the whole MOOC week by week. Shape & Structure Urban Services, Infrastructures & Transport Natural Resources Liveability & Urban Living Policy & Governance In either case, we are sure you will discover innovative and advanced metropolitan solutions. 7
GRADING To obtain a certificate for this MOOC, you need to pass 60% of the total weekly tests, practical assignments and the peer review of this MOOC. In this MOOC, you will encounter a number of different graded activities: SIX WEEKLY TESTS: 60% You are awarded the average of 4 out of the 6 weekly tests. This will make up a total of 60% of your grade. This means that the 2 (lowest/ not completed) test scores will be dropped. PRACTICAL ASSIGNMENTS: 20% You will receive credit for 4 out of 6 practical assignments. These four assignments will make up a total of 20% of your grade. This means that 2 of the grades for the practical assignments can be dropped or do not need to be submitted. PEER REVIEW ASSIGNMENT: 20% This is a synthesis assignment in which we ask you to reflect on what you have learned so far from the practical assignments that you have completed in the previous 5 weeks. First, we ask you to formulate it into two slogans, each focussing on one challenge, and briefly explain your motivation. Then you will reflect on your own slogans and motivation as well as two slogans from other participants. The Peer review is a process in which students grade their peers' assignments or tests based on pre-defined criteria. This assignment will start in Week 5. The grade you receive is an average of: 2 peer reviews 1 self-review SPECIAL INTEREST: 100x100 CHALLENGE: 0% The special interest assignment takes place in the 'teams' tool in your progress bar. This is an optional assignment and hence receives no grade. The teams will receive an assignment each week that will help them analyse the challenges of their area and determine suitable solutions. QUIZZES UNDER THE VIDEOS: 0% You will find short quizzes under the videos. These are meant for you to practice and to check your understanding of the videos. They are not graded. We wish you lots of fun following this AMS MOOC! The AMS.URB.1x Course Team 8