Sustainability and Environment

Taking a starting point in the debate on Sustainable Urban Development and Climate Resilience, you are invited to write a reflective, critical, and evidence-based paper analyzing a city initiative/concept from the list below in relation to sustainable urban development. The objective is to produce a reflective, evidence-based paper that explores the historical context, aims, methods, opinions, and impacts of the initiative. This document
will guide you through the key elements expected in your paper.

The paper will be presented as a Seminar Paper in class on the second week of term 2. During the Seminar, you will receive feedback on your paper and have the opportunity to interact with your colleagues and tutors to discuss cross-cutting themes that will benefit your paper. You can select one of the following city initiatives and base your work on it, drawing inspiration from the module’s lectures and the attached reading list:

• Green Cities
• Circular Cities
• Resilient Cities
• Healthy Cities

Your Seminar Paper should cover the following points:

• The historical context of the city initiative in relation to Sustainable Development and its evolving approaches.
• A critical review of the main aims, concepts, methods, and technologies underlying
  the city initiative.
• A critical examination of agreements and different opinions regarding the selected city initiative’s contribution to sustainable development.
• A comparison of implementation aspects in two selected cities, considering context,
  time, and focus. The paper should also explore the involved policies, actors, funding, and various benefits, all from a critical perspective.
• Identification of the different factors that impact sustainable development.
• Lessons learned (successes, failures, and challenges).
• Future opportunities – how can this initiative be integrated into sustainable urban development and support the SDGs and climate-resilient cities?

The final paper should not exceed 2000 words in length, excluding the Appendix. The Appendix should include your personal summary of the key articles used in your reading (300 words for each article).

The paper must be written in coherent academic English and demonstrate your ability to reflect critically and make judgments. It is important that the paper reflects your own thoughts in your own words and does not consist of lengthy quotations from other sources.

Please use well-chosen examples and relevant city precedents to support your argument and prompt thoughtful discussion. Feel free to pose questions even if you do not have all the answers. Be confident in bringing your reflections forward.

Do not forget to include your allocated reading sources and carefully selected references and adhere to the Harvard Referencing System. The guidelines on referencing can be found in the University Library. Also, make sure to include well-selected illustrations that are relevant and enhance your paper.

The reference list should include a balanced range of sources covering theoretical, policy, and practical references.

Assessment:

This assignment accounts for 50% of the module marks. If you fail to submit your summary and discuss it in the Seminar on 12th February, your final mark will be reduced by 10%.
Our assessment is based on the extent to which the student demonstrates the ability to:
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of sustainable development, climate resilience, and related initiatives. This should be appropriately grounded in theory, relevant debates, and literature. The Seminar paper should demonstrate awareness of the knowledge base in research and relevant organizations.
• Draw on carefully analyzed examples to explore implementation and stimulate reflective discussions on different interpretations of sustainability, climate resilience, and environmental policy.
• Critically review the methods and techniques used in initiatives designed to support sustainable development and evaluate sustainable planning at different scales.
• Show a strong link between theory and practical references.
• Display intellectual skills through strong analysis, coherent arguments, and well- grounded conclusions.
• Maintain a high-quality standard in terms of the written paper, including its English language and structure, the clarity of ideas and visual material, the relevance of selected photos and graphics in supporting the ideas, and the quality of references and referencing using the Harvard System.

The marking rubric will be shared in class before the submission.

General Information: The pass mark for this module is 40%, with a minimum mark of 30% in each component (Coursework 1 and Coursework 2).