Sustainable Development for the Built Environment

At the end of the course, the student is expected to know about: 

• The evolution of the profession in a historical perspective
• Outline of key global challenges, trends and drivers
• The basic principles of Sustainable Development and its historical development
• The application of Sustainable Development principles in the built environment and in the civil engineering profession
• Basic principles of System Thinking and complexity
• The structure and development pathway of the Sustainable Development Goals
• The basic principle of transdisciplinary and participation
• The importance of design in Re-thinking the built environment

At the end of the course, the student is expected to be able to: 

• explain and reflect on the different professions in design of the built environment
• analyse and discuss the make-up of the built environment
• identify and describe physical, environmental and socio-cultural factors at play in the built environment
• identify and describe the legal, economical and policy factors at play in the built environment
• describe, explain and discuss principles of Sustainable Development
• identify and analyse Sustainable Development principles in the built environment
• describe and interpret the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
• describe and explain the nature of complex systems and dynamics at different scales

At the end of the course, the student is expected to be able to: 

• analyse and interpret data and information critically
• analyse complex issues related to the built environment, including physical, socio-economic and environmental dimensions
• apply System thinking and the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals on complex issues in the built environment

In this course, students will be introduced to sustainable development principles, in the context of, and applied to the built environment. The course will provide a general introduction to the built environment at different scales, and to the design professionals that shape it. On that basis, the course will address the global challenges of sustainability, development and climate change and it will provide a framework for understanding those challenges in the form of complexity and system thinking. The course will allow students to critically work with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

The content of a general SDU e-learning course on UN Sustainable Development Goals will be used as an integrated part of the course. The e-learning course is a cross-disciplinary and cross-faculty module. The e-learning content and the lectures will give the student fundamental knowledge on the historical and political context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

• Theoretical Lectures
• The content of an introductory e-learning course on the UN Sustainable Development Goals will be integrated in the course

The content from the e-learning course on UN Sustainable Development Goals will be a part of the oral examination and will therefore not follow the evaluationform provided in the e-learn course.

The course is part of the first-year examination.

Students who have previously taken the exam in the course T140001101 Applied Engineering 1, Architectural Geometry and Modelling, Sustainable Development for the Built Environment, but have not passed the exam, must participate in the exams offered in the courses T140022101 Architectural Geometry and Modelling (5 ECTS) and T140021101 Sustainable Development for the Built Environment (5 ECTS). Any used examination attempts will be transferred.