LAA340 Design and Management of Urban Blue-Green Infrastructures

Credits (ECTS):20

Course responsible:Ingrid Merete Ødegård

Campus / Online:Taught campus Ås

Teaching language:Norsk

Limits of class size:Min. 10, max.25 students

Course frequency:The course is offered in even-numbered years. The next class is in 2024

Nominal workload:500 working hours

Teaching and exam period:This course starts in Autumn parallel. This course has teaching/evaluation in Autumn parallel,

About this course

The focus of LAA 340 is how the blue-green infrastructure, i.e. all vegetation-covered areas including areas with water, can be used systemically in urban development and design. Blue and green areas are increasingly important in moving our cities and towns toward more sustainable futures. In LAA 340, we will discuss how blue-green infrastructure can contribute to social, economic and ecological sustainability in an efficient, multifunctional manner.

This task requires us to be skilled at creatively design and manage blue-green infrastructure in detail, so we can enrich people¿s natural experiences in cities and simultaneously solve challenges related to climate change and adaptability/resilience.

The course consists of the knowledge base and several tasks in two parts. The knowlwdge base will unfold over the majority of course period and will includes the following areas of knowledge:

a) Blue green infrastructure and the urban perspective. b) Current challenges related to urban growth, public health and climate change. c) Blue-green infrastructure' values and functions, d) Ecological conditions as a basis for detailed landscape design e) the watershed as a planning unit, e) Planning, design and management of the blue-green resources at all scales , f) Best practices found nationally and internationally.

Tasks part 1: includes group fieldwork in a chosen project area including analysis and synthesis of findings, which will inform part 2 .

In Part 2 students work individually to program, envision and design in detail a blue-green intervention within the project area chosen based on proposals from the municipality and your group¿s fieldwork findings in part 1. Students will be asked to prepare and obtain instructors approval of a contract, a tentative program for their own project and explain main goals, questions to be illuminated, level of detail, work schedule with the need for further analysis and data collection .

The final project will provide an overview of the entire process: formulation of problems and objectives; necessary analyzes and synthesis of your findings, alternative concepts / conceptual design studies including justifications for final choice and all necessary planning and design material necessary to implement the project. The project must include descriptions and illustrations that communicate the work in a professional manner.

Part 1 comprises about 1/3 of workload. Part 2 (the individual part) is worth approximately 2/3.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

By the end of the course, the student will have advanced knowledge about a) How blue-green infrastructure can contribute to the sustainability and resilience in the face of climate change, b) How landscape architects can help preserve and develop the blue-green infrastructure in urban areas, c) Catchment based planning and design, d ) How biodiversity can be preserved and enhanced, e) Identification of and solution to complex design and management-oriented tasks related to blue-green infrastructure f) Innovative local management and design in the field.

Professional skills:

Students will be able to a) Apply knowledge and skills in the context of an unfamiliar place to carry out advanced tasks, b) Conduct own learning in an independent manner, c) Communicating academic issues, analysis, synthesis and conclusions d) communicate extensively and effectively their independent work according to professional standards in the field.

General competences:

Students will be able to a) Reflect on and improve their own professional practice, b) Analyze and critically situate their work relative to existing theories, methods and interpretations within landscape architecture , c) Analyze and relate critically to different sources of information and apply them to formulate and structure the scientific reasoning. d) reflect on relevant technical and ethical issues.

  • Lectures, workshops / seminars, field trips and

    fieldwork, project work in interdisiplinary groups and individually,

    presentation and critique in plenary session to clients, individual supervision.

  • Supervision individually and in groups. Critique in plenary sessions.
  • 3-year basic block landscape architecture study or equivalent
  • Folder assessment; which consists of part 1 compulsory group assignments and exercises as approved compulsory activity, calculated for 1/3 of the work. This will form the basis for the latest project / engineering assignment part 2, calculated for 2/3 of the work. This is grade-giving and is done individually or in groups of 2-3 students.

    The students are responsible for programming their own assignment in part 2, and have the opportunity to choose their own profile (detail design, planning or green management).

    Individual (mandatory) answers are assessed by internal examiners and are used to adjust the grading if there is reason to deviate from the group submission.

  • External examiner for approval of academic program/content at mid-term and final plenary critique sessions.
  • Group work connected to workshops /literature studies including written materials. Tasks and program of activities related to project must submitted and approved. Applies to group work, contract / work schedule and a final project. Field trips, fieldwork and plenary critique sessions.
  • The course can be customized English-speaking guest students but these students will also be required to access and engage with information in Norwegian
  • Lectures 35 hours, 25 hours of workshops, excursion

    10 hours, field work 40 hours, plenum presentations 40 hours,

    individual and group supervisions 6 hours

  • M-LA students have priority,
  • Letter grades
  • Minimum requirements for entrance to higher education in Norway (generell studiekompetanse)