Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Structure of The Ams Mooc: Urban Sustainable Development Discover Advanced Metropolitan Solutions
Structure of The Ams Mooc: Urban Sustainable Development Discover Advanced Metropolitan Solutions
Hi there!
Thank you for joining this MOOC on Sustainable Urban Development! We will support
you to discover Advanced Metropolitan Solutions and we actively invite you to get
involved!
We invite you to join or form a team for the 100 x 100 challenge, where you will work
on solutions for specific metropolitan areas. Although this is not a requirement for the
certificate, it will be an engaging and interesting learning experience. We are looking
forward to finding out what your solutions are to the challenges in your area! Every
week you will work on these challenges.
1
In the matrix shown below you can see the setup of the MOOC. We will focus each
week on one major challenge for metropolitan areas, the so‐called global drivers for
change, here placed in the horizontal axis.
Vertically there are five main themes. These are perspectives, or areas of expertise,
from which each week or each of the challenges will be investigated.
When taking part in this MOOC you will thereby realise that the global challenges that
cities face, when viewed from different themes, result in a number of different
problems. At the same time you will find that each theme-or perspective- is also
offering its own type of solutions.
Finally, we hope you will realise at the end of the MOOC that the problems and
solutions actually span across all these boxes of the MOOC matrix.
2
EACH WEEK ONE MAJOR CHALLENGE
Now, let’s have a closer look at the MOOC matrix, and first define the challenges.
In week 2 we will look at Urban Growth. As you already know, at the moment more
than 50% of the world-population is living in cities. With an estimated 70% living in
cities in 2050.
The questions regarding to this challenge are ‘What are the consequences of
urbanization?’ ‘How must our cities cope with this extensive growth and at the same
time become sustainable and prosperous?’
As the global community becomes more wealthy, new types of challenges emerge, for
instance related to how we manage resources, or how to protect street life and
community building.
Week 4 addresses the challenge of Climate Change. This is currently perceived as one
of the major challenge to human kind. It involves many different effects, like for
instance temperature rise, flood risks, and other weather extremes.
We will first look at the basic process that drive global climate change and then explore
how cities can mitigate and adapt to climate change.
In week 5 we will addresses Resource Shortages. Cities are responsible for about 70%
of the resource consumption, but only occupy 2% of the land surface.
So in this week we will look at opportunities that arise from another approach to
resources, based on reducing, reusing and recycling. The focus will be on the interplay
and relationships between carbon, water and nutrients for food production.
3
In week 6, the focus is on Digitization & (Geo)data. Digitization concerns the
challenges and opportunities regarding ‘geo data’ and the ‘Internet of things’ for both
cities and citizens.
This includes concepts of so-called ‘smart sensing’ and user feed-back systems. By
connecting it to Geo Information Systems you will discover opportunities on how to use
new ICT technologies to provide cities with real-time feedback, and help empower
citizens.
The aim is to discover cross-overs between solutions. and how smart integration and
involvement of ALL perspectives will help support innovative and lasting solutions
towards liveable and prosperous metropolitan communities!
4
WEEKLY THEMES
Now let us look at the themes. As a reminder, they represent different areas of
expertise, or you may say different lenses through which to see the world. Each week
you will find the following themes:
NATURAL RESOURCES
The third theme concerns Natural Resources. You already know that cities are hubs of
resource consumption. In this theme we place special emphasis on natural resources
in relation to the global challenges.
Note: In week 5 this theme is replaced by a peer review of the practical assignments
from weeks 1 – 5.
5
TO SUMMARIZE
You are invited to explore a specific theme in which you have a special interest, thus
following a ‘horizontal route’ in our matrix.
Or you simply follow the MOOC week by week, along the line of challenges.
In both cases we are sure you will discover innovative and advanced metropolitan
solutions.
6
COURSE CALENDAR
7
GRADING
To obtain a certificate for this MOOC you need to pass 60% in total of all the tests and
assignments of this MOOC.
8