units

ATS3551

Faculty of Arts

Monash University

Undergraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2013 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.

print version

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

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LevelUndergraduate
FacultyFaculty of Arts
Organisational UnitSchool of Social Science, South Africa
Monash Passport categoryInternational Short Field Experience (Explore Program)
OfferedNot offered in 2013
Coordinator(s)Ashley Gunter

Notes

Previously coded GES3050

Synopsis

Field Studies in Urban Sustainability is a field studies unit that looks at the challenges facing African cities. The unit will explore the complex dynamics found in African cities, and the role of sustainable development in poverty alleviation. This unit analyses African urban development through participation in community development and sustainable practice. It will examine how development practitioners and planners apply their theoretical discourse and international best practice in real world applications, by embarking on daily field excursions in the fastest growing metropolis in Africa: Johannesburg - Pretoria City Region.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge of and familiarity with the following types of information, academic perspectives and skills:

  1. Knowledge of the varied social and resource dimensions of problems associated with urban sustainability
  2. Ability to, describe, and interpret the concept of urban sustainability in the context of a developing country
  3. Acquisition of practical skills and field-based experience for research and policy formulation for sustainable regional development
  4. Demonstration of an awareness and understanding of the major theoretical approaches in urban geography within academic debate in Africa and internationally
  5. Ability to employ those and evaluate such theoretical approaches in an interpretation of the various urban scenarios in this unit
  6. Intellectual familiarity with the different critical concepts relevant to the unit: displacement, urbanism, apartheid planning, post-modern urban planning, cosmopolitanism, globalization, urban cultures, migration, poverty elevation, authenticity, ethnicity, hybridity, new urbanism and so on
  7. Gain an understanding of practical implications of theoretical discourse in urban planning Develop an understanding of Africa and how it relates to the world or how the world relates to it.

Assessment

Field studies journal (2000 words): 35%
Long essay (3000 words): 45%
Oral presentation : 20%

Chief examiner(s)

Contact hours

80 Hours over 2 weeks

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Prerequisites

12 points in GES (Only students who have a minimum of a C (credit) average across all GES units they have taken will be permitted to enroll.)