Facilities for Social Sustainability

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2013:

120 hours

It is expected that students commencing this subject will come from a variety of knowledge areas that will inform their participation in this subject. At least, any of the following could apply:

• Design
• Construction
• Property management
• Policy creation
• Environmental management
• Cultural and heritage management
• Urban Planning

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject is a multi-disciplinary and inter-cultural investigation of social infra-structural needs for socially sustainable communities. Field trips will be an integral part of the subject. The subject provides an opportunity to explore culture, people and places by addressing complex real-life problems in unfamiliar social and cultural settings. An integrated teaching/research approach is adopted building on faculty expertise including:

• Chris Heywood – management and governance
• Dominique Hes – sustainability
• Ajibade Aibinu – cost planning
• Clare Newton – material/design nexus
• Anna Hurlimann – environmental management
• Clare Mouat - planning
• Lindy Joubert – inter-cultural communication.

External experts will also contribute landscape and cultural knowledge to the subject.
Students will provide design solutions for a multi-disciplinary project.

The subject provides Knowledge Transfer and inter-cultural education through collaboration with local experts, local communities, local universities and non-governmental organisations. The subject promotes students’ analytical and research skills, design skills, ability to engage with the local communities and will expose students to social, cultural, ethical, psycho-social, environmental, policy, management, construction, economically viable and design issues.

The subject is aligned with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Program, the University of Melbourne’s Certificate of Global Communication and Leadership and the UNESCO Observatory for Multi-disciplinary Research in the Arts.

This subject provides a platform to make a positive difference to local economies that satisfies students' growing need for social and global responsibility by way of projects in unfamiliar settings.

The subject aims to:

• Facilitate students’ abilities to identify and critically engage with problems faced by rural and/or urban communities.
• Evaluate the cultural, social, ethical, psycho-social, policy, and environmental contexts for social infrastructure needs.
• Collaboratively create proposals for sustainable construction and economic design; management forms that reflect local culture; heritage and cultural issues to improve community sustainability and wellbeing.

• One major group assignment equivalent to 3000 words per student (60%) (including a number of staged submissions) and;
• One individual assignment equivalent to 2000 words (40%).

Assignments to be presented in week 12 and 13 for assessment.

Week 12. Group submission
Week 13. Individual presentation and assessment

None specified

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Through participation in this subject students will be expected to have developed the following generic skills:

• High-level, multidisciplinary, collaborative skills.
• Valuing and working in different cultural contexts.
• Initiate and implement constructive change in communities.