Course content

This course is a project-based studio with an advanced spatial focus on climate-responsive urban regeneration and planning. By exploring diverse themes related to addressing climate challenges at multiple scales, the course envisions diverse adaptive pathways to achieve inclusive, resilient, and urban climate-responsive futures. Students will apply their previous learning of GIS and other digital tools in practical cases within this Urban Studio.

Urban regenerative design enhances ecological function, increases biodiversity, promotes protection and reuse of the built heritage, decarbonises the environment over time, and consequently improves people’s well-being. The students will work on planning and climate-responsive design regeneration of a neighbourhood area in selected cities in Norwegian, European, and global contexts (including regions such as Asia, Africa, and other continents).

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

Candidates will have knowledge of

• diverse planning approaches for climate-responsive urban regeneration.
• Implementing adaptive, complexity-oriented, and resilience-oriented approaches and best practices in urban planning and design.
• Evaluation of barriers and drivers of urban climate resilience across diverse contexts through multi-scalar analyses.
• Application of digital tools to inform climate-responsive, adaptive approaches and urban planning heritage-based urban regeneration strategies.
• Synthesis of findings into place-based strategies to communicate proposals/concepts to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Skills: The students will gain skills in:

• Systems thinking for diverse urban climate and built heritage environment issues.

• Adaptive planning approaches to address climate change.

• Data-driven and evidence-based urban planning methodologies.

• Collaboration in real-case and simulated environments.

• Preparation and delivery of professional presentations and project concepts.

General competence

• Cross-cultural awareness in urban regeneration, addressing both Nordic and international contexts.

• Ethical and sustainability literacy: understanding climate justice, socio-cultural, and heritage implications of urban interventions.

• Capacity for reflective practice and constructive feedback within team and community collaborations

Learning methods and activities

This is studio-based course with a focus on project- and/or research-oriented work that addresses real-world issues and cases. It requires the applied use of digital planning tools. Teaching may include lectures, presentations, seminars, workshops, critiques and tuition. Peer reviews may also be programmed. Both individual and group presentations will be scheduled.

The course activities may include engagement with stakeholders from academia, industry, and public authorities.

Optional excursions can be arranged as part of the teaching of the course. The teacher will inform students at the start of the semester if there will be an opportunity for excursions or fieldwork. Students who participate in optional excursions may be expected to pay a share of the expenses. For students who do not participate in optional excursions, an alternative activity will be offered.

This course is also offered to international master's students. Language of instruction is English.

Specific conditions

Recommended previous knowledge

Prior exposure to GIS, BIM, Revit or Grasshopper can be beneficial.

Required previous knowledge

Climate Action and Urban Planning (BYP4102), GIS og metoder for planlegging (BYP4104) or similar courses

Course materials

Concise reader on adaptive planning approaches, climate change and urban regeneration, urban ecology and landscape, urban heritage basics for the built environment, and people’s well-being in urban settings (provided on the course page).

Credit reductions