Undergraduate - UnitATS2547 - Cities and sustainability

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2012 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Offered	Clayton First semester 2012 (Day) South Africa Second semester 2012 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Stephen Legg (Clayton); Dr Ashley Gunter (South Africa)

Notes

Previously coded GES2340

Synopsis

Cities are dynamic and complex environments that now comprise the majority of the world we live in but they face an array of major challenges. These include: How do we make our cities more habitable and sustainable? How do we ensure social, economic, cultural, political and environmental equality? How does the geography of cities and urban systems affect their sustainability? Have cities ever been sustainable and can they be in the future? How do we manage urban growth or decline? In this unit students will examine how contemporary cities operate by focussing on urban processes and functions, as well as relevant issues such as population, the economy, governance, resource use, housing and transport.

Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will have developed the following key competencies and capacities. You will be able to:

Describe and apply the concept of sustainability to urban form and function;
Explain urban sustainability in relation to the environment, economy, society and politics;
Identify unsustainable urban policies and practices and suggest effective methods of improving sustainability;
Utilise selected geographic research skills and concepts relevant to sustainability in an urban context.