General entry requirements for bachelor's level (first cycle) Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.
Specific entry requirements
The same as for the programme that owns the course. Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.
Course specific prerequisites
A Bachelor's degree in Art, Science and Engineering or relevant discipline is required. In addition, basic courses in Environmental Science and Environmental engineering are recommended.
Aim
The course will give an in-depth insight into what sustainable development is and how it relates to the professional role of the civil engineer. Students will gain knowledge about concepts such as strong and weak sustainability, important ethical considerations and lines of critique surrounding them. Furthermore, students will acquire basic knowledge in environmental economics, ecosystem services and cost-benefit analysis, all framed in a civil engineering context that will give them opportunity to implement the acquired knowledge in their future roles in the society. The course include a case study, which require students to apply introduced theoretical concepts and tools in practice.
Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)
After completing the course, the student should be able to:
Explain what strong and weak sustainability means in theory and practice
Explain important ethical issues related to sustainable development across several dimensions
Describe the most important commonly occurring criticisms of sustainable development
Describe important concepts in the environmental economy, which instruments exist and how to manage common resources
Apply the concept of ecosystem services to be able to identify and describe examples
Describe the most common methods for valuating ecosystem services and be able to apply and give concrete examples
Apply in the course introduced concepts and tools for analyzing and evaluating challenges in civil engineering from a sustainability perspective
Content
The course is divided into six themes:
Theoretical foundations, ethics and criticism for sustainable development
Summary resource theory and circular economy
Environmental economy, valuation and recovery effects
Actors and negotiations
Sustainable construction and housing
Sustainable resource management from a civil engineering perspective
Each theme includes one or several digital resources, such as video lectures which are available throughout the course. A larger project will be conducted in the form of group work with applied focus.
Organisation
The course consists of the following learning activities:
Students use the digital material that belong to respective topic to prepare for subsequent seminar where learning takes place through discussions, role plays and workshops.
The course includes an assignment in the form of individual project, in which students may choose an area to specialize in and develop in a written report.
The course also includes an assignment in the form of a project performed in groups. The project will result in a written report which is presented to the class in a seminar. The project will have an applied focus on sustainability issues in civil engineering.
Examination including compulsory elements
The final grade will be based on the individual assignment (40%) and the group work, including presentation and feedback (60%). The final grade will be recorded as fail, 3, 4 or 5.
Overview
Swedish nameHållbar utveckling för samhällsbyggare
CodeBOM280
Credits7.5 Credits
OwnerTKSAM
Education cycleFirst-cycle
Main field of studyCivil and Environmental Engineering
ThemeEnvironment 6 c
DepartmentARCHITECTURE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING
GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail
Jesper Knutsson