Building Resilient Settlements

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

This subject has a Quota of 80.

Selection will be based on the order in which students Enrol in the subject ('first in, best dressed').

170 hours

It is recommended that students have knowledge of urban sustainability issues and some understanding of the processes and possible implications of climate change.

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 explores the notion of resilience and its application to the planning, design and management of urban settlements at various scales. The notion of resilience is related to the capacity of systems to adapt to disruptions without them changing to entirely different states, which in the case of human settlements often results in catastrophic consequences for the inhabitants. The subject will explore approaches for enhancing existing settlements, as well as creating new ones, to be better prepared to confront future environmental changes, both predicted and unpredicted, as they occur, with a focus on changes associated with climate change, such as increasing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, as well as more gradual changes, such as rising sea levels. Students will explore ways of decreasing the vulnerability of urban settlements to these types of risks and while at the same time promoting sustainable development through planning and design interventions.

• To encourage students to identify and engage critically with issues associated with making human settlements more resilient in the face of both predicted and unpredicted climate change.
• To stimulate creative thinking and problem solving through the application of planning, design and management processes with regard to creating resilient human settlements with the aim of protecting communities to various types of environmental changes and associated risks.

• Group presentations due final day of teaching (30%)
• Student essays or design (equivalent of 3,500 words) due a week after the last class (70%)

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

• Link climate change to urban outcomes and measures to mitigate and manage change
• Critical evaluation of the potential for reducing environmental harm
• Policy analysis and writing

Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations:

Melbourne School of Design multidisciplinary elective subjects

Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Regions