SDG250 Socially Sustainable Local Communities

The course provides both a practical and theoretical introduction to what social sustainability entails in neighborhoods and local communities.

The course offers insight into key concepts, as well as different ways of understanding and assessing social sustainability. These perspectives are explored through several social science disciplines, including public health, urban and regional planning, property development, and landscape architecture.

The course emphasizes how social sustainability is about creating neighborhoods and communities that meet human needs and support good health and wellbeing - now and in the future. Particular attention is given to how physical environments and social conditions influence residents’ daily lives, health, and wellbeing.

You will also learn about practical approaches to developing socially sustainable neighborhoods, illustrated through examples from municipalities. This includes methods and tools used to investigate, assess, and measure social sustainability in real-world contexts.

Throughout the course, there is a strong focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and on addressing complex issues that require knowledge from multiple fields.

Upon completing the course, students are expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

The student should:

• Have good knowledge of different ways to define and theorize social sustainability in local community contexts, and understand differences and similarities between various approaches.
• Have insight into factors that influence social sustainability
• Have a good understanding of how physical and social environments are related to, and influence, human health and wellbeing
• Be familiar with methods and tools used for analyzing and assessing social sustainability
• Be familiar with how different disciplines approach and operationalize social sustainability
• Be familiar with challenges and dilemmas related to developing socially sustainable neighborhoods and local communities

Skills

The student should be able to:

• Use a local challenge as a starting point and explain how social sustainability can be strengthened within that specific context
• Apply relevant theory and empirical knowledge to discuss key aspects of social sustainability
• Identify and assess ethical issues and dilemmas that arise in the interaction between social sustainability and other dimensions of sustainability

General competence

The student should be able to:

• Analyze, communicate and present complex issues clearly and effectively
• Engage in interdisciplinary dialogue and contribute constructively to interdisciplinary collaboration processes