| Forest & Landscape
55 % Department of Agricultural Sciences 45 % | |||||||||||||||||
| Earliest Possible Year | MSc. 1 year | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | One block | ||||||||||||||||
| Credits | 7.5 (ECTS) | ||||||||||||||||
| Course Level | MSc | ||||||||||||||||
| Examination | Final Examination written examination and oral examination Portfolio Examination All aids allowed Description of Examination: Description of examination: Evaluation of: oral presentation and discussion of group project, the project report (or other agreed upon written material, e.g. power point presentation with notes), and individual answers to questions relating to the general course material. Weight: 50% group project, 50% individual questions 13-point scale, internal examiner | ||||||||||||||||
| Requirement For Attending Exam | To be allowed to participate in the final examinination, 75% of exercises and other compulsory activities (to be announced at the start of the course) must be completed. | ||||||||||||||||
| Organisation of Teaching | |||||||||||||||||
| Block Placement | Block 1 Week Structure: B | ||||||||||||||||
| Teaching Language | English | ||||||||||||||||
| Optional Prerequisites | A bachelors degree from KVL within Natural Resources (relevant subspecializations: 'environmental science' and 'nature and society') or within 'Landscape Architecture', 'Landscape Management' or equivalent degrees from other universities. | ||||||||||||||||
| Areas of Competence the Course Will Address | |||||||||||||||||
| At the end of the course, students should have demonstrated the ability to: Basic Science: - Understand and transfer ecosystem theories and principles to problem oriented studies in the urban environment. Applied science: - Apply principles from their specific discipline with a view to obtain improvements in urban ecosystem functionality and design. Ethics and Values: - Reflect upon and discuss the value systems that underlie structure and functioning of various urban ecosystems across the globe, with particular reference to north European urban areas. | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Objectives | |||||||||||||||||
| The course aims to provide an in-depth understanding of structures, functions and dynamics of urban ecosystems, and how these can be researched, designed and managed in a sustainable way. The group project in 2006 will apply this knowledge and the skills on Nordhavn, a large unsettled area of Copenhagen that will be developed over the coming 20-30 years. The course combines natural science in and landscape architecture to exchange and evaluate methods and concepts for urban development. | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Contents | |||||||||||||||||
| Lectures will introduce the concepts and tools of urban ecosystems design, planning and management. These will fall within the following general areas: Principles of urban ecosystems; structure, metabolism, dynamics; Changing urban structures to enhance natural processes Biodiversity of urban areas, control and enhancement Management of the urban water and nutrient cycles Management and treatment of polluted soils Methods for analysis of urban ecosystems The legal framework of environmental control in Danish cities Urban land use and global change Thus a level of general knowledge is ascertained, while the group projects provide an opportunity for in-depth problem based learning. Project: Nordhavn is a major near-future urban development area in Copenhagen, and will serve as research area in course projects. The projects will explore issues such as: biodiversity, water, wastes, polluted soils, design, structural and functional diversity of built environments, traffic, etc., all from a natural science point of view and (or) a social-esthetic point of view. While the natural science point of view includes description of techniques and concepts in terms of processes and their capacity, the social-esthetic point of view refers to the urban context, i.e. what are the consequences and possibilities for the citizens etc. Projects can focus more exclusively on either a natural science based problem, or a landscape architecture problem. In both cases students will present the project to Copenhagen city planners, and/or others with interest in Nordhavn. Inter-group feedback and exchange of knowledge will also be promoted. | |||||||||||||||||
| Teaching And Learning Methods | |||||||||||||||||
| Planning, design and management of urban ecosystems are interdisciplinary tasks. Therefore, the course is jointly organized and taught by experts from natural, social, engineering, planning and design sciences. The course consists of lectures, exercises, seminars, field trips, a project, and a 'public' presentation of results, followed by examination. The projects, which will be completed in groups, will include problem formulation, objective, outline of approach, site analysis, application of method/idea/concept, evaluation of application, graphics like sketches, maps and tables, and presentations ('public' to external persons with interest in Nordhavn, and internal examination). Overall structure of course: First 4 weeks: Lectures and exercises on general topics and tools. Field trips. Project start-up including problem formulation and first analysis etc. Supervision of groups mainly in plenary sessions. End of week 4: An external day outside KVL with mid-term presentation of projects and feed back from other groups and teachers. Next 4 weeks: Still some lectures and exercises, but mainly project activities and supervision of individual groups. Final week: 1) Delivery of written material (report, powerpoint presentation with detailed notes, other material). 2) Half day session with presentation of projects to invited external Nordhavn actors, followed by discussion. All teachers and all students are expected to participate and contribute to discussion. 3) Afterwards each student receives a thematic question to be examined in orally the following day. This question will be of relevance to the group project the student has contributed to, and relate to some of the general topics that have been introduced as well. | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Litterature | |||||||||||||||||
| A compendium of essential papers and book chapters will constitute the course textbook. Additional core reading: Hough M., 1995. Cities and Natural Process. Routledge, London. Marcotullio P.J., Boyle G., 2004. Defining an Ecosystem Approach to Urban Management and Policy Development, United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies, Tokyo (downloaded 2005 from: http://www.ias.unu.edu). Wheeler, S.M., Beatley, T., 2004. The Sustainable Urban Development Reader. Routledge, London. Further literature will be recommended during the course in connection with specific themes. | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Coordinator | |||||||||||||||||
| Stephan Pauleit, sp@life.ku.dk, Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning/Unit of Landscape, Phone: 35331787 Jakob Magid, jma@life.ku.dk, Department of Agricultural Sciences/Plant and Soil Science, Phone: 35333491 Torben Dam, toda@life.ku.dk, Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning/Unit of Landscape, Phone: 35331797 Marina Bergen Jensen, mbj@life.ku.dk, Forest & Landscape Denmark/Unit of Landscape, Phone: 35331790 Jesper Luxhøi, jelu@life.ku.dk, Department of Agricultural Sciences/Plant and Soil Science, Phone: 35333494 Marion Frandsen, mafr@kvl.dk, Department of Economics and Natural Resources/Unit of Landscape, Phone: 35281785 | |||||||||||||||||
| Study Board | |||||||||||||||||
| Study Committee NSN | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Scope | |||||||||||||||||
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