Urban Environment

Code:

GEOGR004

Acronym:

AURB

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Geography

Instance: 2024/2025 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Geography
Course/CS Responsible:	Bachelor in Geography

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
GEOGR	48	study plan	2	-	6	41	162
			3

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

(1) know and distinguish concepts on urban environment and urban sutainability; (2) understand the different urban environmental issues in the interdependence between different scales of analysis and between the natural and social environments. (3) select, manage and interpret appropriate geographical information to assess issues and proposals in the context of urban sustainability issues

Learning outcomes and competences

The syllabus is organized into two main parts. The first part is devoted to the concepts and methods in the fields of urban environment and urban sustainability. With the approaches to “Urban environment and urban sustainability” (1) and “The city as an ecosystem: methods of analysis” (2) it is expected that students know the main concepts in the fields of urban environment and urban sustainability and that they know and distinguish the main methodologies and respective scales of analysis. The second part of the syllabus includes the various urban sustainability dimensions in both the dimensions of the issues (3) and of the sustainability practices (4); it is expected that students recognize the specificity of the different environmental issues as well as the diversity of policies promoting environmental sustainability in cities.

Working method

Presencial

Program

(1) Urban environment and urban sustainability: concepts and principles. 1.1. Conditions for the emergence of urban environmental issues; 1.2. The concepts of sustainable city and sustainable urban development;

(2) The city as an ecosystem: methods of analysis

(3) Environmental impacts generated by the urbanization processes: 3.1. climate and air quality; 3.2. water; 3.3. green areas; 3.4. resources and waste; 3.5. production and consumption; 3.6. land use, urban form and mobility;

(4) Instruments for change; 4.1. National and international policies; 4.2. National and international case studies

Mandatory literature

Benton-Short, L., Short, J.; Cities and Nature, Routledge, 2007
Hough, M. ; Naturaleza e ciudad: planificación urbana y processos ecológicos, Gustavo Gili, 1998
Jenks, M., Jones, C. (Ed.); Dimensions of the Sustainable City, Springer, 2010
Wheeler, S.; Beatley; T.; The sustainable Urban Development Reader, Routledge, 2004
Williams, K., Burton, E.; Jenks, M.; Achieving Sustainable Urban Form, Spon Press, 2000
Herzog, Cecilia Polacow; Cidades para Todos: (re)aprendendo a conviver com a Natureza, Mauad X, 2013
Madureira, Helena; A^infra-estrutura verde da Bacia do Leça. ISBN: 978-972-36-1141-0
Douglas, Ian; The^urban environment. ISBN: 0-7131-6392-5

Teaching methods and learning activities

Expository classes, that aims to provide students the concepts and methodologies in the fields of urban environment and urban sustainability, are complemented with classes devoted to the analysis and discussion of specific environmental issues as well as different policies promoting environmental sustainability in cities. These classes are based on information previously collect by the teacher (documentaries, text, images, internet sites, ...). On the other hand, the development of individual and group research projects is particularly important in this UC, because students can develop and apply their knowledge in specific issues and they may also improve their skills in collecting, analyzing and interpreting geographical data.

keywords

Social sciences > Geography

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Teste	50,00
Trabalho escrito	50,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	71,00
Frequência das aulas	41,00
Trabalho de investigação	25,00
Trabalho escrito	25,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Attendance of 75% of classes is mandatory;

Calculation formula of final grade

1. The research project (50%)
2. Two written exercises (50%)*

*To obtain aproval, students must have a minimum grade of 7.5 in the written exercises (in a scale from 0 to 20)

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Students with special statuses should contact the teacher at the beginning of the semester to establish a plan for developing and monitoring their work. The avaliation includes:
1. The research project (50%)
2. Two written exercises (50%)

Classification improvement

Students may require improvement of classification according to the Evaluation Rules of FLUP. Classification improvement focuses on the individual written exercises.