Sustainable development - between global and local perspectives

ogólnouniwersyteckie

w sali

This course is a general introduction to the concept of sustainable development. It aims to explore key issues of the concept from geographical perspective.

Sustainable development is one of the most important discourses of the 21st century. This multi-dimensional concept aims to integrate environmental, social, and economic aspects. This course presents sustainable development as a complex, multiscale system. The concept will be critically discussed using a range of different examples in urban, rural and natural environments. Concepts of ecosystem services and landscape will be introduced as a framework to discuss various aspects of sustainable development, including biological and social diversity, energy, water and food management, urban sustainability and human well-being.

Kronenberg J., Bergier T. (2010), Challenges of Sustainable Development in Poland, Sendzimir Foundation, Kraków.

Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (2005), Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis, Island Press, Washington DC.

Sachs J. (2015), The age of Sustainable Development, Columbia University Press, New York.

More sources will be given during the course.

A student understands the concept of sustainable development. They can describe main development challenges and are able to discuss them referring to various scales and geographical settings.

1. During the course: student's active participation in the classes is expected - asking questions, offering examples from their experience, etc.

2. At the end of the course:

- all students take the final exam

- there are two classes dedicated to workshops at the end of the course. The presenters can get extra points to their active attendance part of the grade for well-prepared presentations.

3. Final grade

Active participation in the class (incl. presentation extra credit) = 40% of the final grade

Final exam = 60% of the final grade