AG2803 Ecosystem Support and Environmental Justice 7.5 credits

• Educational level

  Second cycle

• Academic level (A-D)

  D

• Subject area

  Built Environment
  

• Grade scale

  A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

• http://www.infra.kth.se/fms/

• Course page on KTH Social

Learning outcomes

In order to pass the course the student should have achieved the following learning objectives:

1. Be able to explain the concept of environmental justice and approaches for demonstrating environmental injustices
2. Be able to explain what ecosystem support is and describe encompassed concepts and approaches
3. Be able to explain and give examples of how urban and affluent societies depend on ecosystems and suggest models/tools for illustrating these interaction
4. Be able to discuss the relation between different consumption levels and environmental injustices between different groups
5. Be able to explain and discuss how ecosystem support and environmental justice are related to each other and how they differ from the sustainability concept
6. Be able to use the theories of environmental justice and ecosystem support, apply them to real world planning situations, give suggestions for how to integrate these perspectives in spatial planning and/or environmental engineering and reflect on the potentials for this.

Course main content

This course introduces fundamental concepts of ecosystem support and environmental justice – perspectives often neglected in policy and planning. The course deals with the ecological basis for sustaining urban and affluent life-styles as well as the distribution of environmental resources and environmental impact between different groups in society. During the course, alternative management for sustainable use of ecosystems and potentials for furthering just environmental distribution in spatial planning and environmental engineering will be discussed.

Disposition

The course will be structured around discussions on prepared assignments and group projects where the students will apply the course theories to real world situations. There will also be a series of lectures with invited guests presenting case studies of relevance for the course theories. The learning activities are constructed to help the students to achieve the learning objectives.

Lectures/seminars (SEM1): During the first half of the course lectures with integrated seminars will take place. In preparation for the seminars the students will read parts of the course literature and write assignments. The lectures/seminars will require active participation and in order to participate students have to prepare in advance. One excursion will be made, which is compulsory.

Literature assignment (LIT2): During the first half of the course students will also write an individual written assignment on the course literature. Students will also read and assess each other’s papers and give comments and suggestions for improvements both written and orally during a group seminar.

Project work (PRO1): During the second half of the course the students will work in groups of 3-4 students. The group will jointly write a report presenting their findings and a discussion. The project work should be based on lessons from lectures and from literature as well as own research about a specific case.

The reports will be presented and discussed during seminars. Each group will read and be opponents to another group’s project.

Each student also has to write a reflective text about the experiences of the group project showing evidence of how well they have achieved learning objective 6.

Eligibility

Three years of academic studies in spatial planning, regional planning, architecture, engineering, social sciences or equivalent. Documented proficiency in English B or equivalent (TOEFL, IELTS e g).

Prerequisites

AG2811 Planning for Resilience and AG2805 Sustainable Planning and Design, or AG2142 Political Economy for Environmental Planners and AG2143 Sustainable Rural and Urban Development or similar courses.

Literature

Kurslitteratur presenteras vid kursstart.

Examination

• LIT2 - Literature Assignment, 3.0 credits, grade scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F
• PRO1 - Project work, 4.0 credits, grade scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F
• SEM1 - Seminar, 0.5 credits, grade scale: P, F

It is required to complete:

• a seminar (SEM1) discussing key concepts
• an individual assignment (LIT2) on the course literature
• a project work (PRO1) on planning with ecosystem dependency and environmental justice perspectives 

All assignments include writing a short report. In the reports the students should explain the meanings and limits of the methods they have used. A compulsory part of the LIT2 and PRO1 is to discuss own and other students papers in a seminar. 

For LIT2 and PRO1 the grading scale is A-F where A is the highest and F means that the student did not pass the assignment. Students that are close to passing an assignment can receive the grade Fx which means that it is possible for them to pass if an extra task is done. The supplementing task must be made within six weeks from when the student received his/her result and before the next exam occasion. After that, the grade corresponds to F. For SEM1 the grading scale is pass or fail.

Requirements for final grade

The minimum demand for passing the course is an E at Literature Assignment (LIT2; 3.0 cr) and Project Work (PRO1; 4.0 cr) and pass at Seminar (SEM1; 0.5 cr)

The final grade is calculated as a rounded, weighted average of Literature Assignment (LIT2) and Project Work (PRO1) where the PRO1 has weight 4 and LIT2 has weight 3.  It is not possible to improve given grades.

Offered by

ABE/Environmental Strategies Research - fms

Contact

Åsa Svenfelt, asasun@kth.se, Tel. 08-7908626

Examiner

Mattias Höjer <hojer@kth.se>

Supplementary information

Compulsory course for THSSM HSSC year 2,
Elective course for TEESM2.

Version

Course plan valid from: Autumn 12.
Examination information valid from: Autumn 09.