Get updates on Eligibility, Admission, Placements Fees Structure
Quick Facts
| Medium Of Instructions | Mode Of Learning | Mode Of Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| English | Self Study | Video and Text Based |
Course Overview
The University of British Columbia is offering the Ecodesign for Cities and Suburbs programme by edX that focuses on ecodesign. Ecodesign is a way of incorporating natural systems in urban design and planning to produce an environment built on sustainability and nature. From vexing challenges to customizable solutions, candidates develop application and solution thinking through real-time examples.
This introductory-level course conducts sessions for six weeks. The edX Ecodesign for Cities and Suburbs online course covers trends changing from disorganised layouts to environmentally conscious plans. Learned at one’s own pace, it believes in transforming urban developments into compact, desirable, and walkable communities.
Faculties of the University of British Columbia, Prof Jonathan Barnett- Critic, and Prof Larry Beasley are the course instructors. Students can opt for a verified certificate for edX’s Ecodesign for Cities and Suburbs programme by paying a certain fee. Else, students can take the course for free through edX’s free enrollment.
The Highlights
- Online programme
- An introductory course in Environmental Studies
- Paid course completion certificate
- Industry-expert instructor
- Research-based teaching
- Case reviews
- Self-paced
- Video transcripts
- Career-focused learning
- Six-week course
Programme Offerings
- Case Reviews
- Video transcripts
- Career-focused learning
- Verified Course Completion Certificate
- Research-based Training
- Global Faculty
- Introductory-level training
Courses and Certificate Fees
| Certificate Availability | Certificate Providing Authority |
|---|---|
| yes | The University of British Columbia, Vancouver |
What you will learn
Learners of the edX Ecodesign for Cities and Suburbs training course will understand the following on completion:
- Principles of ecodesign
- Why it is important to the current disorganised urban growth model
- Ways of designing suburban and urban regulations to make cities more environmentally compatible and liveable
- Policies to balance aeroplane and auto transportation with cycling, transit, high-speed rail, and walking
- Ways to adapt to changing climate, and ways to mitigate climate changes locally
- Strategies for managing and designing the public realm, plus innovative arrangements and processes for implementing ecodesign
Who it is for
Ecodesign for Cities and Suburbs course by edX is relevant to anyone who shapes and influences the future of cities and suburbs. It includes the following:
- Students
- Politicians
- Citizens
- Designers
- Public officials
Admission Details
- Go to the official page of edX’s Ecodesign for Cities and Suburbs programme here https://www.edx.org/learn/architecture/university-of-british-columbia-ecodesign-for-cities-and-suburbs and read the course offerings.
- Once through, click on ‘Enroll’ at the top of the course page.
- You will be directed to an online registration page. You can either register with your social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn account or use your mail address and create an account.
- You can log in on successful registration and begin your learning process from the date mentioned on the course page.
The Syllabus
- Three growth models that we can learn from: Vancouver, Helsinki, and Portland. The six axioms of Ecodesign
- The four urgent sets of issues that are at the heart of this course.
- Ways to adapt to sea level rise, changing coastlines and storm surges;
- Adapting to other climate risks and to threats to global food supplies.
- Limiting global warming locally by using alternative energy sources.
- Prototypes for urban and environmental harmony – Stockholm’s Hammarby Sjostad, Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City, Vancouver’s Southeast False Creek Village.
- Toronto’s Big Move and other balanced transportation systems – where the most energy-efficient mode for each kind of trip is also the most attractive.
- Transit-oriented development – how the Washington Metro is transforming suburban Tyson’s Corner; and how BRT could also restructure suburbs in places where rail transit is not economic.
- Cutting traffic related deaths – the Sweden and New York examples.
- Improving walkability and cycling.
- High-speed rail as the backbone of multi-city regional development.
- The experiential perspective.
- Blind spots in development regulations which make places less livable, and spread out urban growth far more than is necessary;
- Relating regulations to nature.
- The power of neighbourhood – history and current relevance of a key concept for urban and suburban structure.
- The benefits of mixed use and diversity – managing the mix for neighbourliness.
- Ways to make housing more affordable.
- Making living in compact, urban places competitive with suburban lifestyles.
- The relationship of living and working in walkable places to overall health.
- Social demands for public space; maximizing the experiential dimension.
- Economic demands for public space; maximizing quality, utility and value.
- People-oriented public space.
- Creating complete streets with primacy for pedestrians and green infrastructure.
- Managing the public realm as an active place, for safety and to serve people better.
- Recovering forgotten urban places and turning industrial waterfronts into parks and neighbourhoods – Brooklyn Bridge Park, Battery Park City in New York, False Creek North in Vancouver.
- Re-creating a natural environment in urban settings.
- Public and private, we all have a role in implementation;
- Public-private collaboration is essential for livable, sustainable cities.
- Implementing adaptation to climate change and reducing causes of global warming locally.
- First steps towards balancing transportation systems.
- Making regulations more discretionary and development management more transactional.
- Financing the public realm - leveraging the relationship between development rights and land values.
- Concluding discussion.