APL360 Planning for Sustainable Urban Regions

Credits (ECTS):15

Course responsible:Jin Xue

Campus / Online:Taught campus Ås

Teaching language:Engelsk

Limits of class size:35

Course frequency:Annually

Nominal workload:

In total 375 hours:

Lectures: ca. 50 hours

Project work with supervision: ca. 160 hours

Individual essay: ca. 40 hours

Self-study (reading literature, preparing for lectures, etc.): ca. 125 hours

Teaching and exam period:This course starts in Spring parallels. This course has teaching / evaluation in Spring parallels.

About this course

The focus of the course is primarily on planning in urban regions for sustainable development. The course will introduce urban sustainability debates and provide a critical perspective on the prevailing growth-based sustainable urban development paradigm; discuss spatial mechanisms at the urban regional level, through which planning strategies can have positive and negative impacts on both environmental and social sustainability; and stimulate creative planning thinking and approaches to improve environmental sustainability and social justice. The course consists of 15-16 lectures and a research project work in groups. The course includes four themes: (1) Definition and driving forces of urban regions; (2) Coordinated land use and transport planning; (3) Urban regional land use; and (4) Urban regional planning and governance. In parallel to the lectures, students will write an individual essay of around 1000 words, and conduct a research project in groups, which leads to a report of ca.6000 words long.

Learning outcome

Upon successful completion of the course, the students will be able to:

Knowledge

debate different concepts and understandings of sustainable urban development;
identify social and economic driving forces of urban-regional spatial development;
explain relationships at an urban regional scale between land use, transport infrastructure and travel behavior;
identify and describe main strategies in land use and transport infrastructure planning at an urban regional scale for environmental sustainability;

Skills

obtain academic writing skills through preparing a research report involving analysis, critique and argumentation for or against spatial planning strategies;

Competence

critically assess concepts, methods and procedures in transport infrastructure planning;
analyze the consequences to environmental and social sustainability of land use solutions and proposals on the urban regional scale;
argue for or against certain land use, transport and housing solutions and polices based on certain values and norms;
propose alternative solutions and proposals for land use, transport infrastructure and housing development in urban regions based on certain norms and values.

Learning activities
Lectures, seminar, project work, individual essay, supervision
Teaching support
Each project group will be assigned a supervisor to facilitate their group work. The course responsible will normally be available via email.
Syllabus
Introduction
Mandatory:
Davoudi, C. (2008). Conceptions of the city-region: a critical review. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Urban Design and Planning, 161(2), pp. 51-60.
Brenner, N., Marcuse, P. & Mayer, M. (2009). Cities for people, not for profit. City, 13(2):176 -184.
Supplementary:
David Harvey and the City - An Antipode Foundation film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPGvXhicF2M
Theme 1: Land use and transport
Mandatory:
Næss, P.; Peters, S.; Stefansdottir, H. & Strand, A. (2018). Causality, not just correlation: Residential location, transport rationales and travel behavior across metropolitan contexts. Journal of Transport Geography, 69, pp. 181-195.
Banister, D. (2008). The sustainable mobility paradigm. Transport Policy, 15: 73-80.
Holden, E., Banister, D., Gössling, S., Gilpin, G., & Linnerud, K. (2020). Grand Narratives for sustainable mobility: A conceptual review. Energy Research & Social Science, 65, 101454.
Supplementary:
Styret for Osloregionen (2008). Samordnet areal- og transportstrategi for Osloregionen, s. 3-13. Oslo: Prosjektgruppen fra fylkeskommuner og delregioner.
Næss, P. (2012). Urban form and travel behavior: experience from a Nordic context. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 5:21-45.
Næss, P. (2016). Built Environment, Causality and Urban Planning. Planning Theory & Practice, 17(1), pp. 52-71.
Næss, P., Næss, T. & Strand, A. (2011). Oslo’s farewell to urban sprawl. European Planning Studies, 19(1). 113-139.
Theme 2: Transport planning and evaluation
Mandatory:
Nicolaisen, M. S. & Driscoll, P. A. (2014). Ex-post evaluations of demand forecast accuracy: A literature review. Transport Reviews, 34(4): 540-557.
Næss, P. (2006). Cost-benefit analyses of transportation investments: neither critical nor realistic. Journal of critical realism, 5(1), 32-60.
Næss, P. & Strand, A. (2015). Traffic forecasting at ‘strategic’, ‘tactical’ and ‘operational’ level: A differentiated methodology is necessary. disP, 51(2): 41-48.
Banister D. & Hickman R. (2012). Thinking the unthinkable. Transport Policy, 29:283-293.
Supplementary:
Næss, P., Nicolaisen, M. S. & Strand, A. (2012). Traffic forecasts ignoring induced demand: a shaky fundament for cost-benefit analyses. European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, 12(3): 291-309.
Börjeson, L., Höjer M., Dreborg, K., Ekvall, T. & Finnveden, G. (2006). Scenario types and techniques: Towards a user’s guide. Futures 38: 723-739.
Höjer M., Gullberg, A. & Pettersson, R. (2011). Backcasting images of the future city—Time and space for sustainable development in Stockholm. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 78: 819-834.
Theme 3: Sustainability-oriented planning in urban region
Mandatory:
Mouratidis, K. (2018). Is compact city livable? The impact of compact versus sprawled neighbourhoods on neighbourhood satisfaction. Urban Studies, 55(11), 2408-2430.
Di Marino, M., & Lapintie, K. (2018). Exploring the concept of green infrastructure in urban landscape. Experiences from Italy, Canada and Finland. Landscape Research, 43(1), 139-149.
Xue, J. (2017). Eco-metropolis planning conditioned by the growth ideology: the case of Greater Copenhagen. Urban Design and Planning, 1-10.
Xue, J. (2021). Urban planning and degrowth: a missing dialogue. Local Environment, 1-19.
Mete, S., & Xue, J. (2020). Integrating environmental sustainability and social justice in housing development: two contrasting scenarios. Progress in Planning, 100504.
Næss, P. & Xue, J. (2016). Housing standards, environmental sustainability and social welfare. In: Næss, P. & Price, L. (eds.) Crisis System: A Critical realist and critical environmental critique of contemporary economics, pp. 130-148 London: Routledge.
Supplementary:
Lennon, M. (2019). Grasping green infrastructure: an introduction to the theory and practice of a diverse environmental planning approach. In S. Davoudi, H. Blanco, R. Cowell, & I. White, (Eds). Companion to Environmental Planning and Sustainability. London/New York: Routledge, pp 277-288.
Xue, J. (2014). Is eco-village/urban village the future of a degrowth society? An urban planner's perspective. Ecological economics, 105, 130-138.
Cavicchia R. & Cucca R. (2022). Urban Densification and its social sustainability. In: Brears R. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Futures. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Marcuse, P. (2012). A critical approach to solving the housing problem. Cities for People, not for Profit: Critical Urban Theory and the Right to the City. New York, London: Routledge, 215-230.
Post-growth planning podcast: http://www.postgrowthplanning.com/
Prerequisites
MA level
Assessment method
Portfolio assessment consisting of:
- individual essay during the semester (weighted 40%)
- project group assignment (weighted 60%)
Portfolio assessment in the form of a grading scale A-F.

Group task Karakterregel: Letter grades
Examiner scheme
Two internal examiners evaluate and grade. A meeting will be organized where the examiners give oral feedback to the project groups attending the meeting. Written feedback to the group work is given afterwards. Attendance in the meeting is not obligatory.
Mandatory activity
Lectures, seminar, project work.
A minimum of 80% attendance is required for lectures and seminars.
Teaching hours
100 hours
Preferential right
M-BYREG, M-EIE; M LA
Reduction of credits
There is no overlap with other courses.
Admission requirements
Minimum Requirements for entrance to higher education in Norway (general admission)