ASTK15451U COURSE: Climate change adaptation – building resilience in cities

Volume 2016/2017
Education

Bachelorlevel: 10 ECTS

Masterlevel: 7,5 ECTS

 

 

Content

Climate change is no longer an abstract phenomenon but has become a part of the reality, which we as societies, organisations and individuals have to deal with. Climate change constitutes a serious threat against private and public property, infrastructure such as transportation systems, utilities and supplies, and ultimate against human lives. Many bigger cities have experienced extreme climate events within the last 5-10 years. These events have initiated and speeded up both academic research as well as concrete plans for climate change adaptation. Such organization as the Rockefeller Foundation and ICLEI, a global organisation of local communities working on sustainability, have been at the forefront in attempts at transforming knowledge in the area into workable strategies on the ground; strategies that involve a wide range of actors from the public as well as from the private and voluntary sector.

     On this background the purpose of this course is:

  • To investigate the theories and concepts that have been developed in relation to climate change adaptation, such as resilience,response capacity and transformation.

  • As a part of the course the students will work in groups on a case (a city), which might imply some field work such as for example interviewing civil servants, businesses, NGO’s and other stakeholders. The case study is to be presented and discussed at class.
Learning Outcome

After successful completion of the course students should be able to:

  • Describe how climate change may impact bigger cities, and the plans that certain cities have devised in order to counter this problem

  • To account for the theories and concepts used in order to understand the rationality of such plans

  • To use these theories and concepts in the analysis of concrete cases of climate change adaptation in bigger cities

  • To understand the applied policy instruments for governing urban resilience

  • Critically assess the explanatory value and reach of the theories used, especially in relation to the case(s) worked with.

This is an very tentative reading list.  A full list will be provided in fall 2016.

Adger, N. et al. (2005) Successful adaptation to climate change across scales. Global Environmental Change, 15, 2, 77-86.

Adger, N. et al. (2009) Are there social limits to adaptation to climate change? Climate Change, 93, 335-354

Pelling, M. (2011) Adaptation to Climate Change . From resilience to transformation. Routledge: London & New York.

Reid, T. et al. (2010) Earth system science for global sustainability: grand challenges, Science, 330 (6606).

Smith, B. & Wandel,, J. (2006) Adaptation, adaptive capacity and vulnerability. Global Environmental Change, 16, 3, 282-292

Tomkins, E. & Adger, N. (2005) Defining response capacity to enhance climate change policy. Environmental Sciences and Policy, 8, 562-571.

Yohe, G.W. (2001) Mitigative capacity – the mirror image of adaptive capacity on the emissions side. Climate Change, 49, 3, 247-262.

It will be a huge advantage for the participating student to hold a bachelor (BA) degree in a social science discipline. No prior knowledge of climate change politics is required. However, an interest in the field and active participation in class is important.
Professor Jens Hoff and Ph.D. Candidate Anne Bach Nielsen are responsible for planning and teaching the course and examination of the students. Teaching will take place once a week; normally a 2-hour session. The case study work will involve independent work by the student out of class; doing for example interviews with involved stakeholders. The course will also involve 1-2 workshops allowing the students to present their case study, and work intensively with their case.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 28
  • Total
  • 28
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral examination
Oral
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Criteria for exam assesment
  • Grade 12 is given for an outstanding performance: the student lives up to the course's goal description in an independent and convincing manner with no or few and minor shortcomings
  • Grade 7 is given for a good performance: the student is confidently able to live up to the goal description, albeit with several shortcomings
  • Grade 02 is given for an adequate performance: the minimum acceptable performance in which the student is only able to live up to the goal description in an insecure and incomplete manner