Syllabus for |
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| BOM165 - Urban metabolism |
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| Syllabus adopted 2013-02-21 by Head of Programme (or corresponding) |
| Owner: MPIEE |
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7,5 Credits |
| Grading: TH - Five, Four, Three, Not passed |
| Education cycle: Second-cycle |
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Major subject: Civil and Environmental Engineering |
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Department: 50 - CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
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Teaching language: English
Open for exchange students
Block schedule:
C
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Credit distribution |
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Examination dates |
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Sp1 |
Sp2 |
Sp3 |
Sp4 |
Summer course |
No Sp |
| 0112 |
Project |
7,5c |
Grading: TH |
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7,5c
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In programs
MPIEE INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, MSC PROGR, Year 2 (compulsory elective)
MPIEE INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, MSC PROGR, Year 1 (compulsory elective)
Examiner:
Docent
Yuliya Kalmykova
Course evaluation:
http://document.chalmers.se/doc/e40207c3-7aaa-4e73-96ab-582ad826d4fe
Eligibility:
In order to be eligible for a second cycle course the applicant needs to fulfil the general and specific entry requirements of the programme that owns the course. (If the second cycle course is owned by a first cycle programme, second cycle entry requirements apply.)
Exemption from the eligibility requirement:
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling these requirements.
Course specific prerequisites
BSc in Civil Engineering, Architecture, Environmental engineering or equivalent.
Aim
The aim of the course is for students to understand functioning of cities in terms of their infrastructures, resource use and waste production as well as exchange between the cities and the environment. The obtained skills will enable students to assess performance of contemporary cities and suggest necessary transformations in order to meet challenges of global urbanization, resource scarcity and environmental degradation.
Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)
explain critical aspects of sustainability for urban areas with focus on environmental impacts and resource constraints;
summarize the concept of Urban Metabolism and its possible applications;
describe the concept of the city as a socio-technical and socio-ecological system and the role of inhabitants as drivers for resource flows;
make simple models of technical systems and resource flows and identify eventual problems of technical systems and resource flows in relation to sustainable development;
apply data visualization and analysis tools in the context of urban areas;
simulate, predict and evaluate the impact of changes in technical systems, technology and lifestyle on resource flows;
select urban design, urban form, materials and building technologies that create an attractive livable city and enable efficient resource use.
Content
The following topics are included in the course: urban futures, city as a socio-ecological-technical system in dependence with its hinterlands and global ecosystems; the concept of Urban Metabolism and its applications; basics of ecological economics, basics of urban data visualization and analysis; a set of methods that apply a systems perspective to analyze functioning of urban spaces and their impact on nature (MFA, GIS, footprint analysis etc.); influence of inhabitants preferences and lifestyles, technology choices, urban design and form on the functioning of urban areas.
Organisation
The course is given within the framework of the Built Environment Area of Advance. Teachers and researchers from the Civil and Environmental Engineering, Architecture, and Energy and Environment departments are instructors in the course.
The course includes lectures, web-based lectures, study visits, projects, literature, workshops and tutorials. There are two types of projects: a group project with guidance from the teachers and written individual assignments.
Literature
Lecture handouts, web-based lectures, scientific publications and data for the projects will be made available during the course at the course web page.
Examination
Continuous assessment is the central examination form, through a group project and individual assignments. The final grade (graded F, 3, 4 or 5) for a student is based on the written group report and oral presentations/opposition (50%) and on the written individual assignments (50%). There are compulsury web-surveys and calculation assignments with pass/fail evaluation.
We have no traditional written examination at the end of the course, but the compulsory attendance during the course is high. Seventy percent (70%) attendance to the lectures, workshops, tutorials and supervised group sessions is required to pass the course.