Biennial course.  Not offered in 2013.  Next offered in 2014.

The course applies the core human ecology concepts developed in ENVS6020 to the urban environment. The emphasis is on how human activities affect ecological processes and human wellbeing in urban areas and how they affect the health of the hinterlands on which those urban areas depend. Students will study the effect that different human values, institutional arrangements and management strategies have on urban energy and material stocks and flows. Case studies covered by the course include: the changes that the urban form places on water, energy and material flows as well as how urban design and planning processes affect transport and settlement patterns. For each of these topics, different human interventions will be considered, including those aimed at improving governance, harnessing ecosystem services and engaging with the community.

On satisfying the requirements of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. apply key concepts in Human Ecology to the urban environment, and communicate these to a range of audiences
2. describe the ecosystem services demanded by modern urban systems
3. explain material and energy flows of modern cities, including food and water, and carry out a material stocks and flows analysis of a chosen aspect of the urban environment
4. describe constraints and opportunities for future sustainable cites

Assessment will be based on:

• Completing a short test on basic concepts (10%)

• Contribution to, and facilitation of, student-led seminar activities (10%)

• Material Stocks and Flows Research project, involving original reflective-evaluative research into the ecological load of some aspect of students' everyday lives, and recommended strategies to reduce that load, and class presentation. Must include critical evaluation on the strengths and weakness of MSFA (45%)

• Reflective field trip report analysing how and why and to what extent ecosystem services are affected by human activity and appraise possibility of this continuing (35%)

65 contact hours, including lectures, tutorials, workshops and fieldwork

Hargroves, K and Smith, M (eds), (2005), The Natural Advantage of Nations, London, Earthscan