Geography

The course has two sections, with the first section focusing on urbanization, urban form and structure, urban biodiversity and conservation, and the second section focusing on urban hydrology, urban rivers, urban river restoration and both terrestrial and aquatic pollution.  The lecture series ends with a field trip to an urban river site in London.

This course offers a study of the different concepts, methods, and techniques of geographic analysis to identify and assess the endogenous potential of the territory within the framework of integrated development strategies. It explores the configuration of territorial management models and the implementation of regional development policies.

This course examines the functional and locational changes of economic activities in the new context of the global economy. It discusses the role of territories (countries and regions) as main actors in the recent dynamics of economic activities. Topics include: the global, regional, and local scales of economic dynamics; scenarios of the new economy and their meaning; policies and instruments for the promotion and management of economic activities in the territory.

This course familiarizes students with the theory and methodology of planning for urban quality of life. The course activities include theory lectures and a practical group assignment. The theory lectures focus on selected aspects of quality of life relevant to urban and regional planning. The group assignment focuses on analyzing and designing the regional spatial organization and building spatial scenarios for the future spatial development of a region. The assignment and related instruction lectures familiarize students with methods for prospective and projective scenario study. The methods and techniques are applied in the context of an urban region in the Netherlands. The overall planning task for the assignment is to develop an integrated spatial vision, scenarios, and strategies for the region for the long term (30 years) that can support the discussion about the future development of the region.  The assignment addresses some selected topics, while each group can choose its own focal issues. The main emphasis is on practicing methods and techniques for analyzing and designing spatial organization and building scenarios. The concepts for analyzing and designing the spatial organization of the area are provided in theory and instruction lectures. A study trip helps students to understand the context of the issues at hand.

Mapping and cartography have long been used in social sciences, in geography and beyond. Political scientists, historians and sociologists have increasingly used such tools, which have become more and more present in the media, the administrations and the corporate world as well. Maps in all their forms have gained a strong foothold in all these fields and are now easier to produce thanks to the digital tools making their production easily accessible by non-specialists. This workshop has two main objectives. The first is to master critical approaches to cartographic designs, not only thanks to a better understanding of the foundations of cartography but also of their status as a discourse on various objects of study. The second is for the students to acquire skills enabling them to make their own maps and designs with some of the basic digital tools available, in relation to multidisciplinary issues.

To what extent can climate change be mitigated by improved stewardship of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems? In this course, students examine how conservation, restoration, and improved management of ecosystems can increase carbon storage and/or avoid greenhouse gas emissions. Students evaluate a range of 'natural climate solutions' (NCS) for their feasibility, cost-effectiveness, environmental co-benefits, and climate mitigation potential. Students take an active approach to learning through participation in lectures, small-group discussions and a non-residential field trip.