Sustainable Spatial and Regional Development

In the summer term 2012, the online course “Sustainable Spatial and Regional Development” will again be offered by Prof. Friedrich Zimmermann from the Department of Geography and Regional Science at the University of Graz, Austria, and his team of e-tutors, Marlene Mader and Elisabeth Görsdorf-Lechevin.

This online course illustrates the various approaches of and concepts for sustainable spatial planning and regional development, with Europe as its main focus of interest. Students will gain insight into the history of planning as well as be confronted with current projects, which will be presented as case studies. Furthermore, the course covers concepts, such as New Urbanism and New Regionalism and also gives a future outlook on sustainable planning.

General course information

Title	Sustainable Spatial and Regional Development
Level	Bachelor and Master Degree
Course type	Lecture
Target group	University students (international)
ECTS Credits	4
Term	Summer term 2012 (1March - 30June)
Registration	13 February -29 February 2012 mail to: marlene.mader@uni-graz.at
Language of instruction	English

Online

This lecture will be designed within the virtual concept of Graz university. The lecture will be held online only, including all teaching and learning material.

The e-learning platform for this lecture is Moodle. It offers a variety of features useful for completely virtual lectures, thus allowing the use of a variety of teaching methods to respond to different learning types required for an online course to be successful.

Course Objectives

Students should:

analyze and evaluate issues of sustainability in regional development and planning

apply acquired knowledge and skills with the help of case studies

put knowledge and skills in sustainable regional development and planning into practice

COURSE SCHEDULE & OUTLINE

Course schedule – Sustainable Spatial and Regional Development

Pre-Module

Welcome Phase

- Overview of the course’s aims and contents

- “Getting to know” Prof. Zimmermann, e-tutors and participants

- Breaking the ice and motivating

Module 1

Sustainable Development – An Overview

- Sustainable Development – Etymology & Historical Development

- Dimensions of Sustainability

- Systemic Approach towards Sustainability

- Case Studies

- Future outlook

Module 2

Definitions and Concepts for Spatial Planning & Regional Development

- The Concept of Regional / Spatial / Urban Planning

- Interfaces of Planning Approaches

- The Concept of Regional Development

Module 3

Rural-Urban Relations

- Rural-Urban Relations

- Theoretical Framework and Spatial Models

- New Urbanism

Module 4

Planning in Europe since 1945

- Major Strands of Planning in Europe

- European Planning Families

- Examples of European National Planning

Module 5

Strategic Planning, the Logical Framework Approach and Logical Levels

- Strategic Planning

- The Logical Framework Approach

- Logical Levels

Module 6

New Developments under Sustainability Approaches

- Learning Regions

- Creative Milieus

- Graz Model of Integrative Development Processes

Module 7

Sustainable Regional & Urban Development Case Studies

- SEKEM – Sustainable Development in Egypt

- Vienna’s Urban Development Plan STEP 05

Module 8

Sustainable Cross-Border Development

- Borders in Europe

- Institutional Efforts for Cross-border Development

- Cross-border Tourism Initiatives

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENT

As this is an online course, all documents and activities will be posted via Moodle. In order to participate in the course, it is obligatory to participate in the welcome phase at the beginning of the semester. The short activities in the welcome phase aim at familiarizing you with the online learning environment and getting to know all the people involved in the course better. In this phase, you will also get more information about functionalities of certain Moodle activities.

In the following weeks, each module consists of the following elements:

Weekly presentations incl. practical examples & case studies (downloadable pdf-files)
Additional Video and/or Audio files (flash / mp3)

In order to check if you have reviewed the course contents, you have to take three short online tests (after Modules 2, 4 and 6). Each test refers to the previous two modules only and is thus part of continuous assessment. You will receive more information on the exam well in advance.

Throughout the semester, you have to fulfill three project assignments in order to prove that you have reached the learning objectives. Two projects will be done on an individual basis, one of them in pair/group work. From the release date, you have 2 weeks to complete each project assignment.

You have to present each of your project assignments in a follow-up live conference with Prof. Zimmermann and the other course participants. The live-conference will be held with Mikogo (more information on this in the welcome phase) and take approx. two hours, participation is obligatory. Check the dates for live conferences in the course schedule above.

Some requirements for the projects:

Complete the projects in time – late work will not be accepted!
Focus on quality rather than quantity.
Do not copy and paste – plagiarism will not be tolerated!

GRADING

from 90 % ……… 1

from 76 % ……… 2

from 62 % ……… 3

from 50 % ……… 4

Some student voices from the first run of the course in 2008:

Double Bracket: “I liked the flexibility that e-course offer in general. The assignments were very interesting and inventive. I think there was good balance between theoretical and practical parts.” Double Bracket: “I really enjoyed the online lectures and liked the fact to "interrupt and proceed any time later". According to me, I mostly profited from the variety of topics covered.”