APL380 Environmental Governance for Planning

Credits (ECTS):10

Course responsible:Matthew Asa Cashmore

Campus / Online:Taught campus Ås

Teaching language:Engelsk

Limits of class size:45 students.

Course frequency:Yearly, Autumn Semester.

Nominal workload:250 tider allocated for lectures, seminars, self-study, and written course assessments.

Teaching and exam period:Autumn Semester.

About this course

In this course we will examine perspectives on the role of planning in governing sustainability transformations the world over. The course content addresses theories concerning the nature and extent of socio-political change that is deemed necessary and the ways in which change can be steered or governed. A substantial amount of the course will be spent critically examining case studies of environmental planning policies and practices that are intended to engender and/or steer societal change. The case studies include policy tools that are considered to be a cornerstone of existing environmental planning practice (notably, environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment), cross cutting environmental concerns at the forefront of discussions on change (nature conservation and climate change planning), and urbanisation as a particular locus for experimentation in planning. We will also address understanding and working with conflict in environmental planning and governance.

Learning outcome

The principal learning outcomes that students will realise through this course are:

  • Analyse and criticize key discourses on environmental planning ‘problems’ (such as the notion of ‘the Anthropocene’) and sustainability transformations.
  • Identify appropriate theories to comprehend and/or analyse pathways for sustainability transformations.
  • Argue for a particular governance approach or technique in steering socio-political change.
  • Recognise how political power is implicated in the socio-political changes associated with transformation pathways.
  • Explain environmental governance choices effectively to both scientific and non-scientific audiences.
  • Appraise notions of planning ethics and defend the ethical choices underpinning your planning practices.
  • Lecturers, seminars, problem based group discussions, student presentations, preparation of podcasts, and field visit (circumstances allowing).
  • Supervision in connection with seminar, group and assessed activities.
  • There are no formal prerequisites for this course. However, attendance of one of the level two environmental planning courses (APL 240 & 241) or course LAA360 (Strategic landscape planning) is highly recommended.
  • Portfolio based assessment consisting of an academic essay, a podcast and a reflective report on the podcast. The assessed work will be evaluated using the A-F grading scale. NB. You must have satisfied the 80% attendance requirement to quality for a grade.
  • An external censor will evaluate the assessed podcasts and verify the quality of marking for the assessed essays.
  • Attendance of 80% of taught classes, including the peer feedback for the podcast exercise, and completion of all assessed assignments.

    Absence due to illness or other serious impediment must be communicated to the course leader.

  • Lectures, seminars and in-class group activities: 60 hours.
  • Students on the Masters in Urban and Regional Planning.
  • There is no overlap with other courses.
  • Letter grades