This course will take a hands-on approach to some of the most pressing climate issues currently facing the municipality of Amsterdam.

In a Pressure Cooker format of four weeks of intensive collaboration, you and your team of fellow students will make a climate-proof plan and present it to representatives of the municipality. Workshops in urban planning, design thinking and group work will prepare you to become a professional who can collaborate and take an interdisciplinary approach to work on tomorrow’s challenges. Help tackle real-world problems and join this exciting urban lab! 

The course will start with an introduction day with the client and several workshops focusing on content and skills. Students will then actively collaborate on the analysis phase.

The second week will start with a workshop and reflection session, and students will continue with the second phase of visioning.

The third week will start with a workshop and reflection session, after which the students will work on the third phase of plan development, using a backcasting and prototyping approach.

The fourth week will focus on elaboration and refinement. It will start again with a workshop and reflection session, and end with the presentations of the plans to the client.

Coordinator

Mr. Mendel Giezen

Learning objectives

By the end of the course, students are able to:

• Apply concepts from the minor to concrete urban practices
• Organise effectively and collaborate in group work
• Apply Design Thinking to an urban sustainability issue
• Apply a planning process to an urban sustainability issue
• Develop a coherent plan and present it both verbally and in written form

Teaching format

• Seminar
• Fieldwork/excursion
• Presentation / Symposium
• Self-study
• Work independently on project/thesis

Assessment

The course will be assessed through a final group report and presentation.

Entry requirement

This course is only open to students who take part in the Rethinking Sustainable Societies minor programme.

Study material

• Literature: Academic articles accessible through library.uva.nl

• Other materials will be provided on Canvas

Timetable

You can find the timetable on Datanose.

Number of participants

60

SDGs in education

The IIS strives to reflect current societal issues and challenges in our elective courses, honours modules and degree programmes, and attempts to integrate the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in this course. For more information about these goals, please visit the SDGs website