Development and Urban Environments

This subject is not offered in 2008.

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 examines the relationship between development and urban environments. The innovation of this subject is to consider both the physical and human systems that make up urban environments. The subject covers how development impacts manifest as problems, and also the variety of ways in which these problems are understood and managed. Topics discussed include the impacts of globalisation on urban environments, urban transport, cities and human health, pollution causes and control, urban hydrology and biological systems, urban environmental activism and ideas of sustainable development. Students should gain an appreciation of cities as part of, rather than separate from, the physical environment; the complex interactions between social agents, historical processes, political structures and natural phenomena in urban spaces; and the often contested political and policy responses to urban environmental issues.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

• be able to: think critically about issues relating to Australian environmental politics and management;

• develop a conceptual framework appropriate to understanding and interpreting Australian environmental issues;

• learn research skills appropriate to understanding and interpreting Australian environmental issues;

• write coherent and well-researched essays;

• engage in effective oral presentations.