The Urban Sustainable Environments (USE) option introduces students to the relationship between urban environments, their functionality, and key aspects of healthy living. Recognizing the challenges of urban growth worldwide, students actively engage in transdisciplinary dialogues exploring opportunities and solutions for fostering sustainable and healthy urban environments.

This option delves into the ‘workings’ of cities, identifying crucial and often complex urban sectors such as energy, water, waste management, transport, and land use planning. It assesses the intricate interplay between the built, natural, and social environments, analysing these sectors through proposed solutions. This approach emphasizes the need for systems thinking and integrated assessments, enabling students to develop a deep understanding of urban environments and their profound impact on human well-being. Example solutions include technological innovations like smart buildings, land use planning practices such as greenspace provision, transport policies promoting active travel infrastructure, and strategies for societal engagement to ensure community support.

To address the question of how future cities can be resilient, sustainable, and liveable, students study the interactions among individuals, government entities, and the environment within each sector. This transversal analysis scrutinizes the roles played by each actor (individuals, government, and the environment) in solving urban challenges. The option places a strong emphasis on understanding social justice issues within cities. This empowers students to engage in critical discussions and analysis of the issue, equipping them to consider and incorporate social justice principles when formulating sustainable urban policies and solutions.

Lectures, seminars, case studies and group work are delivered and facilitated by members of staff, researchers and professionals working across a range of urban-relevant sectors. Additionally, weekly field trips provide firsthand experiences that illustrate the challenges and real-world implications of sustainable urban policies.

Aims

• To nurture competent graduates who can apprehend urban challenges and build on opportunities provided by urban living to critically assess and provide visionary solutions for healthy and sustainable urban environments.  

Content

Governance and Engagement in Urban Environments

This module delivers a strategic overview of the key elements of governance that cities require to function: Policy, strategic and local bodies, technological change, behaviour change, stakeholder engagement, planning. 

There is a focus on solutions, policy and policy frameworks, thus enhancing the students’ understanding of the interrelationships between science, technology, legislation and policy development in effectively addressing urban problems and developing measures to reduce environmental impacts.

Infrastructure of Urban Environments

This module delivers a strategic overview of the key elements of infrastructure that cities require to function: Water, Energy, Waste Management

There will be a focus on both current and future technologies and strategies and their impacts on health and the environment. There will be weekly field visits with practical sessions that enable students to have first-hand experience with key technical practice and interact with leaders in urban infrastructure.

Integrated Urban Systems

This module is about the integration of the various perspectives and solutions discussed across the different modules to help cities improve decision-making towards healthier and more sustainable urban environments. 

It will focus on digesting and discussing the different components learned in the other modules to identify co-benefits, trade-offs, opportunities, and barriers for sustainable decision-making in cities. Examples of successful systems integration from other fields will also be discussed as possible templates for urban environments.

Consultancy Project

Students complete a consultancy project in collaboration with (and working for) ‘real’ clients, such as local councils, NGOs, consultancy firms, and urban sustainability start-ups. This hands-on experience involves research, analysis, and the development of practical solutions to real urban sustainability challenges, most of the time independently (collaborating with each other within the group). Each term, there are 4 or 5 projects defined by clients.

Careers

If you are passionate about creating thriving, eco-friendly cities for future generations, this option is your gateway to a dynamic and impactful career in the world of urban sustainability. Graduates from the USE Option are well-prepared for a wide range of career paths, including as urban sustainability practitioners, sustainability consultants, advocacy roles, and positions in NGOs and in government. Over 80% of graduates gain employment in the environmental field within months of graduating. A few will go into further study.

Find out more about the MSc course