Course Syllabus

Strategies for Urban Livability C

Semester & Location:	Spring 2024 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:	Elective Course - 3 credits
Major Disciplines:	Sociology, Urban Design, Urban Studies
Prerequisite(s):	Many classes will be spent visiting sites via bicycle, so confidence in cycling is mandatory.
Faculty:	Rasmus Koustrup Larsen (current students please reach out to faculty via Canvas Inbox)
Time & Place:	Mon 14:50-17:45 in N7-C23 (New classroom)

Description of Course

Please read this page througrougly to prepare for the course!

Note that the sequencing of sessions can be switched around

This is an interdisciplinary course that alternates between scales of public space and street design and urban policy and planning, with the aim of equipping students with the ability to think critically about and play an active role in the creation of livable cities. In this course, we will explore urban livability through three lenses.

1. Theory: Livability on Paper: What are the key principles of livability - terminology, definitions, factors, indicators, measures, metrics and rankings

2. Practice: Livability in Reality: Using Copenhagen as a laboratory, we will explore when, where, and what the parameters are for urban livability in terms of societal context—what shapes our parameters for well-being—and physical context—the tangible environment and how we shape our urban landscape

3. Implementation: Facilitating Urban Change: What are the mechanisms for fostering urban livability, Who are the different stakeholders, and how are they involved?

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to identify three strategies, both at a political/policy level, an urban planning/urban design level, and a socio-cultural level. In addition, you will be able to understand the dynamic interdependence between all elements of the urban environment. By the end of the course, you will not only have gained new knowledge but will also have acquired new tools on how to put new and existing knowledge into a new perspective. More specifically, by the end of the course, you should know:

• How to identify and analyze political intentions and design strategies within the urban environment
• How to reflect on the policy, design and use of the urban environment and the interdependent relationship between these
• How to develop a ‘personal livability encyclopedia’ based on the information of the lectures and the personal findings of the field trips
• How to convert these findings into a set of strategic tools for urban livability

Faculty

Rasmus Koustrup Larsen

Cand.Soc. Nordic Urban Planning Studies (Roskilde, Malmø, and Tromsø University 2022). Freelance consultant for organizations such as EIT Urban Mobility. Presenter and facilitator of client and investor events within the area of green mobility. Co-working on education projects on liveable cities and active mobility for students in high school and higher education. Cooperation with the start-up Økoskabet on developing sustainable last-mile delivery solutions in Copenhagen. Working with Carlberg ApS as an academic tour planner and analyst, post-occupancy evaluator, as well as developing evaluation tools for Copenhagen Municipality for schools. With DIS since 2023.

Selected Readings

Please note that there is no textbook for this course, and most readings are found exclusively on Canvas.

• Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities - 1961
• Gehl, Jan. Cities for People – Island Press, 2010
• Gehl and Svarre. How to Study Public Life – Island Press 2013
• Peters, Terri - Social sustainability in Context: rediscovering Ingrid Gehl's Bomiljø
• Kern, Leslie. Feminist city (2019)
• Wang, Wilfried, “Sustainability is a Cultural Issue” (2003)
• Handbook in Nordic placemaking 
• Freudendahl Pedersen, Malene - Cyclists as a part of Copenhagen
• Wheeler, Stephen. “Planning Sustainable and Livable Cities”. Routledge, 2003
• Turner, Chris. The Leap - 2011
• Copenhagen Municipality documents (Integrated Urban Renewal, Disadvantaged Areas, The Danish Bicycle Account etc.)

Field Studies

Lectures will be supported by site visits and field trips by bicycle. All topics will be covered both by literature, lectures, and field trips. The field trips will include mapping and observation exercises. All course assignments will be based in these findings and investigations. The individual student notebook/sketch book will be a central element in the learning experience.

Guest Lectures

The field of urban studies and livability is a multifaceted one. It requires an interdiciplinary approach, which calls for the importance of different perspectives. Therefore, several guest lecturers have been invited to speak in this course. The students will, among others, meet DIS faculty Regitze Hess on a few occasions. 

Approach to Teaching

In this course, we spend approximately 50% of classes on site. This means that teaching is varied and often very engaging, but this also requires students to be able to adapt their learning to interactive both site visits and in class lectures.

Expectations of the Students

Active participation and critical thinking is highly encouraged!
All students are expected to be independent learners and thinkers, good observers, and capable of and comfortable riding a bicycle. The academic content of the lectures will be substantial, but the learning objective is primarily the ability to translate that academic knowledge into usable, applicable knowledge, using the city as the urban laboratory for this. Students are expected to be able to conduct individual observation exercises as well as storytelling exercises and what-if-scenario assignments. Students are expected to be smart and imaginative in relation to the exercises and assignments, as well as sensible and sensitive in relation to lectures and field trips. There are times to discuss and create, and there are times to look and listen.

Team spirit: All students are expected to be helpful and pay attention to their fellow classmates, especially in relation to the field trips and mapping and observation exercises. Sharing information and experiences is highly encouraged; together, we know more.

Evaluation

Each student will be graded on the level of engagement in the class discussion and conversations in relation to lectures as well as the field trips. The mapping and observation exercises in the city’s urban spaces will be graded on the quality of the information gathered rather than a preciseness of the notation/sketching techniques. No former drawing/diagramming skills are required. The findings from the exercises will form the basis of information from which the final paper will be created. To be eligible for a passing grade in this class, students must complete all of the assigned work. Late papers will be accepted but points will be deducted from the total mark relative to the delay. 

Grading

Assignment	Percent
Active individual participation in class and on field studies	20%
Mapping, observations, and creative exercises (20% + 20%)	40%
Final project	40%

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on: 

• Course Enrollment and Grading  
• Academic Expectations and Honor Code 

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org