Course syllabus for Environmental and resource analysis for a sustainable built environment

Course syllabus adopted 2020-02-19 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameMiljö- och resursanalys för hållbar samhällsbyggnad
  • CodeENM165
  • Credits6 Credits
  • OwnerTKSAM
  • Education cycleFirst-cycle
  • Main field of studyCivil and Environmental Engineering
  • ThemeEnvironment 6 c
  • DepartmentTECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS
  • GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language Swedish
  • Application code 58119
  • Open for exchange studentsNo
  • Only students with the course round in the programme overview.

Credit distribution

0116 Examination 4 c
Grading: TH		 4 c
  • 17 Mar 2021 pm J
  • 26 Aug 2021 am J
0216 Written and oral assignments 2 c
Grading: UG		 2 c

In programmes

Examiner

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Eligibility

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 pass grade in the following courses (or courses that are equivalent with regards to learning outcomes) fulfills the entry requirements :
Buildings functions and design (BOM205), Urban space and functions (BOM210), Building materials (BOM195).

Aim

The aim of the course is for students to attain the capacity to perform basic sustainability analyzes and to make decisions that contribute to a sustainable development in their future professional roles. The student will be able to adopt the social, economic and ecological perspectives on sustainable development and also appreciate the necessity of making personal standpoints, both privately and professionally.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

  • Describe sustainable development and explain how limited resources and an increasing population define requirements for societal development
  • Describe how the conditions and the need for sustainable development is different in different parts of the world
  • Describe different types of natural resources and their potential limitations
  • Structure future major environmental problems by using the DPSIR (framework for a chain of cause and effect that includes society's response to the particular problem)
  • Critically analyze and evaluate technical solutions and construction projects with the help of environmental systems analysis models and tools such as life cycle thinking and sustainable development indicators
  • Construct the basic conceptual models to support systems thinking
  • Explain how technical solutions at various levels in society affect its energy and material flows
  • Describe and discuss how a society's technical systems (including buildings, energy, infrastructure, water and wastewater and waste management) can and should be designed to contribute to a sustainable society
  • Describe and discuss the motivations and strategies for sustainability work in the industry in general and in the construction industry in particular
  • Describe the basics of how society controls the work on sustainable development by for example environmental legislation and economic instruments
  • Explain how standards, ethics and values ​​lead to different interpretations of sustainability issues and the consequences of this
  • Describe their personal opinion on sustainable development and their role in this, both as private individuals as well as in their future professional roles
  • In the context of sustainable development critically examine texts and communicate views on complex issues

Content

This course approaches sustainability from a few different angles, though mostly from a purely scientific/technical perspective, i e with somewhat greater focus on the environment than on the other dimensions of sustainable development, but social science perspectives are also included. We want the course to show the most important aspects of how human activities affect the environment and especially emphasize a Chalmers graduate's potential to contribute to a sustainable development in the future.

Organisation

The course consists of two main parts. The first part, which corresponds to 4 credits, is taught through lectures followed by group exercises. This part of the course is assessed through a written examination and graded (U, 3, 4, 5). The second part, equal to 2 credits, is to write an individual reflection on the knowledge and skills aquired during the education so far by applying them to a concrete case and analyzing the outcome. This reflection is scrutinized through peer review and presented and discussed in a smaller group. The group also writes a summary of the discussion and explains the discrepancies between individual reflections. This part of the course is assessed pass/fail.

Literature

Gulliksson och Holmgren 2018, Hållbar utveckling - Teknik, samhälle och livskvalitet, Studentlitteratur AB, Lund.

Examination including compulsory elements

Written examination and home assignment.