It is now increasingly recognised that environmental concerns are closely
linked to the way development theory and practice are conceived and applied.
In this context, the concept of sustainable development (SD) has rapidly
emerged as an approach similarly advocated and criticised by local and
international organisations, broadly described as an envisioning strategy
to save the earth for future generations.
A central concern of the course is to equip participants with a critical
understanding of the SD debate and practice, unveiling the political,
social and economic forces underlying environmental conflicts and exploring
concrete approaches to address their causes. The course adopts an international
comparative perspective, exploring the specific conditions for intervention
in different contexts from all over the world.
Objectives of the Course
The course looks at conventional approaches in development planning,
and the environmental conflicts generated by them, with specific reference
to the context of developing countries. It contrasts these approaches
with the need for long-term environmental sustainability and social justice
and examines concrete attempts to incorporate a deeper awareness of these
goals into development policy making, planning and management.
By critically examining the theory and practice of environment and sustainable
development at the international, national and urban levels in a variety
of contexts, the course seeks to provide participants with an understanding
of the processes generating social and environmental change and with
the skills and abilities to respond to such changes. The course retains
the DPU's long-standing preoccupation with planning for action. Its approach
is critical, analytical and comparative so that it leads to discovery
and exploration by participants.
Participants and Career Opportunities
The course is strongly interdisciplinary, attracting participants from
a wide variety of disciplines, including anthropologists, economists,
geographers and natural scientists, as well as planners, architects and
engineers. Since its inception in 1997, over 200 students have successfully
completed the ESD course. Most ESD graduates follow one of two possible
career paths. Some are engaged in various professional activities, from
local and national government, consultancy firms and national and international
NGOs, to United Nations programmes and international aid agencies the
world over. Others pursue an academic career, either through doctoral
studies or through teaching and research in a number of prestigious universities.
Examples of organisations where ESD graduates are currently working
include: Ministry of the Environment (Brazil), Development Alternatives
(India), Waste Management System (Costa Rica), World Bank, British High
Commission (Ghana), Friends of the Earth (Japan), London Environment
Council (UK) and University of Coimbra (Portugal).
The course is structured so that 75% of the taught components of the
course (90 credits) are devoted to the core subjects of the environment
and sustainable development and 25% (30 credits) to an option from a
range of modules on offer. The core course modules provide the theoretical
and methodological components
of the
course while
the specialist module
allows students to examine different approaches and problems in accordance
with their own particular interests.
The course consists of reading, essay writing, and individual and group
project work, in the context of lectures, seminars, workshops, case study
analysis, and field trips within the UK and abroad. Student performance
is assessed through course work, examinations, and a dissertation report.
Academic Year
The course extends over one calendar year of full time study from the
commencement of the academic year in September. There are four terms
in an academic year. The first two teaching terms (from October to March)
consist of lectures, seminars, personal tutorials, workshops and assessment
of student performance. The Third and Fourth terms (from April to June
and June to early-September respectively) are dedicated to an overseas
field trip and the preparation and writing up of the dissertation report.
The Dissertation Report
In addition to the taught and fieldwork components, the course entails
the preparation of an individual report (60 credits) on a topic selected
by the student.
FORMER STUDENT REPORTS
Has Child Participation Mainstreamed Children’s Needs
to the Urban Environmental Planning and Management Process?
Discourses as a pre-condition for violent environmental conflicts:
Analysis of two case studies: the Israeli Green Patrol and the Indonesian
New
Order Regime.
The Political and Institutional Context of Solid Waste Management
in Portugal.
Critique of the Slum Upgrading Programme in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Squatter, Bureaucrats, and Politicians: Conflict between Environment
and Development in the Oemerli Watershed, Istanbul, Turkey.
The Release of Genetically Modified Organisms: Exploring the Social
Construction of Environmental Problems in the UK.
A Critique of Community-based Sustainable Resource Management in
a Transitional Environment: Land Management with Reference to the North
Central Regions
of Namibia.
Foundations of the Social Perception of Water Problems in
Jordan: Exploring the Social Constructionist Theory.
THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE (BENVGES1)
This module provides a comprehensive review of the contemporary debate
on development and environmental sustainability and equips participants
with a critical understanding of environmental conflicts, and of various
approaches to environmental governance, the policy process, the mechanisms
and the key agents involved.
The first part of this module is building up an in-depth understanding
of the current and historical debates on development and environmental
sustainability, and the assumptions deeply ingrained within Western development
paradigms. It examines the politics and discourses on sustainable development,
exploring their environmental implications for the countries of the North
and South. A significant aspect is to place the environmental and sustainable
debate into an international political economy perspective.
The second part is dedicated to the critical analysis of socio-environmental
conflicts, their roots and potential approaches to their resolution,
with specific reference to the Third World. It looks at the way in which
environmental concerns are institutionalised in the policy process, contrasting
the role, power and practices of different actors and institutions. Students
explore and examine the assumptions, potentials and flaws of different
approaches to the institutionalisation of environmental concerns through
the application of a variety of policy instruments and institutional
designs.
On completion students will:
have a critical understanding of the assumptions ingrained within
western development paradigms;
be able to examine the environmental implications of these paradigms
for the countries of North and South;
have a critical understanding of the current debates on development
and environmental sustainability;
have a critical understanding of the field of political ecology
and the articulation between environmentalism, political
culture and
social organization;
be able to understand how environmental concerns are socially
constructed and institutionalized in the policy process;
have an understanding of various approaches to environmental
governance, policy making and of environmental policy
instruments.
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URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT IN DEVELOPMENT (BENVGES2)
This module seeks to identify environmental problems in urban areas and
their underlying causes and how to go about applying environmental
planning and management to solve these problems to move towards sustainable
development.
The first part of the module surveys urban environmental problems in
an integrated way together with a wider view of the sustainability of
urban development. It provides an understanding of a range of urban environmental
problems at different levels and how they affect health and local ecosystems.
Participants examine practical experiences in identifying environmental
problems and their underlying causes at the local level, focusing on
issues related to water supply, sanitation and garbage; environment and
health and the social and spatial distribution of environmental risk
among others.
The second part analyses the potentials and limitations of environmental
planning and management (EPM) strategies and techniques to deal with
environmental problems. It evaluates concrete experiences, exploring
a range of tools and techniques available to steer urban EPM towards
sustainability. It further focuses on the role of different stakeholders
and institutions involved in defining and implementing Local Agenda 21.
On completion students will:
have a comprehensive understanding of the range of environmental
problems in cities and how they affect human health and local ecosystems;
be able to develop approaches for the resolution of these problems
within the broader political economy of urban regions and the societies
within
which they are placed;
understand the current and potential role of community organizations,
NGOs, governments and international agencies in addressing environmental
problems in urban regions;
be able to critically engage with the processes and procedures of
environmental planning and management strategies and techniques.
ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN PRACTICE (BENVGES3)
This module creates an opportunity for students to be exposed to real
life planned interventions mainly in the field of urban and regional
EPM. At the same time it helps the participants to develop their analytical
and evaluative capacity and strengthen their professional skills.
This is a composite module that runs over three terms. It consists of
four principal elements as follows:
Themed workshops
These activities provide participants with an opportunity to apply
ideas, skills and knowledge to "real-life" situations.
Case study evaluation
This exercise is structured around the implementation of urban EPM.
Participants are asked to evaluate local planned interventions,
allowing them to gather
and process first hand information for their assessment.
Overseas field trip in the 3rd term
The overseas fieldtrip provides an opportunity to put into practice
the knowledge, approaches and tools acquired during the course
into a real
context. The field visit, undertaken in recent years in North Africa,
West Africa and Southern Europe, is preceded by individual and
group preparation activities (including lectures, private reading
of case
material, group discussion and seminars), and followed by group
discussions and presentations, and finally the production of a
group report.
Series of skills development seminars
This seminar series runs throughout the first three terms and helps
to build up participants’ academic and professional skills,
including sessions on prospective career paths.
On completion students will:
have acquired a methodology for diagnosis and strategy development
in order to a address complex set of challenges;
have built up essential
academic and professional skills;
have gained a better appreciation of the development contexts in
both developed and developing countries by having been exposed to real
life
situations;
be able to critically assess and respond to the planning approaches
examined throughout the course.
A number of 30-credit options are currently available to students
enrolled in the ESD programme. These include:
URBAN AGRICULTURE Urban agriculture (BENVSGES4) has always been part of cities, North and South. It subverts the binary opposition of town and country, one of the most unhealthy forms of alienation wrought by industrial capitalism. It has usually (except when temporarily taken on board by official agendas, e.g. in wartime) been subject to attack and encroachment, and if it still exists at all, this is only because of a popular struggle to defend it. Urban agriculture has indeed always had a subversive facet, laying bare the interests which really govern the resources and form of the city: there is a hidden history here which we need to uncover.
The module combines in a unique way Yves Cabannes’ expertise in urban agriculture and participatory governance in all regions of the world, with Robert Biel’s research on the global political economy and experiments as a practising agriculturalist. Nevertheless, though this background guides us in posing the questions, we don’t yet have all the answers. For this reason, the module is experimental and participatory: the new theory/practice is still not defined, and students will be actively involved in creating it.
URBAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
UED offers two specialist options. The first
specialist option (BENVGUE1) is designed to demonstrate the application
of economic concepts and theories
to urbanisation and urban development. It also examines the broad international
and national contexts for these processes and the respective role of
the key stakeholders. The second specialist option (BENVGUE2) is designed
to demonstrate the application of economic criteria to the management
of the city economy. It examines the key components of the city economy,
their internal and external dynamics and the related theoretical and
practical issues. It also provides training in the analysis of structural
changes in the city economy and in formulating and evaluating city development
strategies.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE
Two modules can be chosen as options. The first option (BENVGSD1) introduces
social development and the social agenda with specific emphasis on understanding
and planning for socially sensitive development through an examination
of diversity, including gender; social inclusion; socially sensitive
policy formulation, design of indicators and social impact assessment.
The concept of participation as a way of ensuring socially sensitive
development is critiqued and a number of participatory methodologies
and tools, used at different stages of development interventions, are
examined and practiced. Students undertake two practical assignments
in London Boroughs; one as part of the ‘Tools in Action’ component
and the other a more substantial piece of work undertaking a social impact
assessment. The second option (BENVGSD2) is a critique of key development
paradigms; liberalism/neo-liberalism; Marxism; reformism and theories
of underdevelopment. It specifically addresses the role that the various
paradigms have assigned to government (state), market and civil society
and how the key societal concerns of social justice, efficiency in the
allocation of scarce resources, freedom and security are met (or not
met). The theme of poverty, as a manifestation of inequalities at both
the national and international levels, is developed. Causes of poverty,
poverty assessment and governmental and donor anti-poverty policies are
discussed, as well as the roles of civil society and the market.
DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION AND PLANNING
Three of the DAP modules currently on offer may be chosen as options.
The first option (BENVGDA1) introduces basic notions of development
management and administration, state, market and bureaucracy and
the role of NGOs
in the development process. It places national development in the context
of the international
division of labour and examines alternatives to hegemonic development
practices. It critically reviews the recent history of international
aid, particularly its implications for poverty reduction, growth and
equity. The national dimensions of development are also critically
explored, particularly in terms of a range of development trends and
interventions such as national and regional development planning and
key aspects of local, metropolitan and regional development.
In the second option (BENVGDA2) the first part reviews the historical
evolution of development theories and examines the relationship between
theory and development policy in practice. The second part addresses
the issues of rural social relations, food security, rural, urban and
peri-urban land, agricultural production & distribution,
and rural resource management that underlie any successful development
strategy.
In the third option (BENVGDA3) the first part reviews the historical
evolution of development theories and examines the relationship between
theory and development policy in practice. The second part provides a
systematic analysis of the notions of industrialisation and infrastructure
building as key elements in initiating and sustaining national, regional
and local development.
BUILDING AND URBAN DESIGN FOR DEVELOPMENT
This option explores the form, formation and functioning of cities in
order to gain an understanding of the shape, size and structure of
cities especially in the context of developing countries. It traces
the influence of historical, physical, natural and cultural aspects
as well as that of economic and administrative forces on the origins
and spatial development of cites. It reviews urban design theories
and evaluates their ability to explain and understand cities. It develops
an understanding of the workings of cities, showing how the various
aspects interact in multiple and complex ways to provide the underlying
structure and form of urban areas. It also explores how areas of cities
can be transformed and regenerated, revitalised, upgraded and/or conserved,
as may be appropriate. It develops a model for responsive intervention
and approaches to the development of participatory dialogue and discussion
to identify stakeholder positions. The possibilities and potentials
of the local area are assessed and evaluated through the use of tools
of rapid urban analysis. These are brought together and used to develop
win-win strategies that maximise the opportunity of each stakeholder
to meet their objectives through multi-objective strategies.
URBAN DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
Three of the UDP modules currently on offer can be chosen as options.
The first option (BENVGPU1) explores the economic, social and physical
transformation and restructuring of cities in the wider context of development
and globalisation. In assessing the challenges this poses for urban development
planning, the roles and relations of actors in civil society, the public
and private sectors are examined in theory and practice. The institutional
and organisation frameworks in which they operate are reviewed, while
investigating access to and control over financial, human and physical
resources in the context of contemporary urban development planning practice.
The second option (BENVGPU2) explores strategic action in urban development
policy, planning and management which recognizes social justice in cities.
In this light, it reviews the evolution of urban development interventions
and define the theoretical and methodological challenges which face contemporary
urban development in different parts of the world. To this end, it also
assesses a range of cases of urban development practice, drawing out
their contribution to the current debates on strategic action towards
social justice in urban development policy, planning and management.
Finally, it explores the implications of these debates for problem diagnosis,
participation, organizational development and ‘public learning’ in
strategic urban action.
A third option (BENVGPU4) examines gender relations in the socio-economic,
political and environmental processes in the development of human settlements.
In doing so, it highlights the intersection of gender with other social
relations, examining diversity and difference in human settlements. In
assessing the challenge this poses for urban development planning, the
institutionalisation of gender equality in policy, planning and management
of human settlements are explored. Gender relations in a range of development
sectors are assessed and the conditions for gender mainstreaming in these
sectors discussed.
Adriana Allen DipArch MSc
COURSE DIRECTOR
Urban development planner specialising in environmental planning and management
(EPM), environmental governance and urban and regional political ecology
studies. Over fifteen years of training, research and consultancy assignments
in national and international organisations, including the Department
for International Development (DFID/UK), Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO), European Commission (EC) and Directorate General for International
Cooperation (DGIC, Belgium), and in-country including, India, Egypt and
various countries in Latin America and Europe. She is also a Visiting
Professor at various universities in Latin America.
Robert Biel BA MA PhD
Political scientist, specialising in international political economy and
issues of globalisation. Has lectured at the School of Oriental and African
Studies (SOAS) and at Birkbeck College in the University of London. He
is the co-founder of the Centre for Research in Economic and Social Trends
(CREST) and author of The New Imperialism, Zed Books, London, 2000.
Pascale Hofmann Dip LPlan MSc
Development planner specialising in environmental planning in urban areas.
She formerly worked for Groundwork (UK environmental charity) on local,
regional and international projects for sustainable development with broad
community participation. Her experience also includes working in several
landscape planning studios in Germany.
David Satterthwaite PhD
Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Environment and Development
(IIED) and editor of the journal Environment and Urbanization. With a
Doctorate in social policy, he has worked in urban research in Africa,
Asia and Latin America. He was a member of the Inter-governmental Panel
on Climate Change 1999-2002 and is currently a member of the Millennium
Project's Taskforce on Improving the Lives of Slum Dwellers.
The ESD Course provides participants with the following:
Knowledge And Understanding Of:
the contemporary debate on development and environmental sustainability;
the
complexity and variety of environmental problems in urban regions,
their underlying causes and subsequent impacts;
the potentials and limitations of environmental planning and management;
how to respond to processes that generate social and environmental
change;
how to develop strategies to steer urban environmental planning
towards sustainability.
Intellectual Skills:
The programme aims to help students:
to develop analytical and critical skills in contrasting the role,
power and practices of different stakeholders in the policy process
dealing
with environmental concerns;
to critically assess current EPM tools and techniques;
to refer to and analyse case studies;
to develop strategic proposals that incorporate environmental concerns
into social, economic and political processes;
to learn by doing.
Practical Skills:
The programme helps students:
to prepare well-supported and critical (written and oral) analyses
of theory and empirical evidence;
to formulate proposals aimed at dealing with the complexity of a
range of development situations;
to formulate a conceptual framework and use a range of information
sources in research;
work in a multi-disciplinary team;
to elaborate and communicate proposals, evaluations and strategies;
to operate professionally and sensitively in different environments.
Transferable Skills:
The programme encourages students to:
write well-argued essays and reports;
use computer resources and information technology;
listen and contribute to group discussions;
challenge conventional wisdom;
reflect on their own ideas by becoming more acquainted with unfamiliar
initiatives and arguments;
live and work in a multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural environment;
critically assess evidence for themselves through independent
judgement;
develop negotiation skills;
Improve time management and develop self-discipline.
The variety of teaching/learning methods and strategies through which
the skills will be achieved, and how the different elements of the
course are assessed, is explained below.
Teaching/Learning Methods And Strategies:
Seminars, lectures and work in small teams (both inside and outside
the classroom);
Individual reading and research;
Integrative 2-3 day workshops;
Visits to specific London sites and projects;
Subject-specific academic skills sessions;
Overseas fieldtrip to a developing country and subsequent presentation
and report.
Assessment:
Students are assessed through a variety of methods: unseen examinations,
individual essays (typically 1,000 to 3,000 words in length), course
work, team work reports, oral presentations and a 10,000 word final report.
The course commences in September each year and lasts for 12 calendar
months. Students who cannot devote a whole year to full-time study may
enrol part-time over a maximum of five years.
Entrance Qualifications
Candidates should have a first degree, awarded by a university or polytechnic,
approved by University College London. Candidates who lack the required
qualifications but have other relevant educational or professional experience
may be considered in exceptional circumstances.
English Language
Please note that all DPU courses are taught in English, therefore, you will have to show evidence of proficiency in the English language. There are a variety of English language qualifications that are acceptable.
Computerised TOEFL score of 237 plus 4 in written Engligh (TWE)
Internet TOEFL score of 92 plus 24/30 in reading and writing and 20/30 in listening and speaking
PaperTOEFL score of 580 plus 4 in written Engligh (TWE)
IELTS score of 6.5 with a minimum of 6 in each subject
Costs and Fees
Tuition fees are fixed annually by University College London and are
therefore subject to modification. The fee for this course for the 2009/10
academic year for overseas students is £14,915 and for European Union students £7,310. The fee covers the cost of all tuition and basic course costs, including field visits and the field trip overseas. Participants should allow approximately £915 per month to cover the cost of living, clothing, books and local travel in London.
