TCI

Online Courses: Urban Climate Resilience And Natural Disaster Management

Online Courses: Urban Climate Resilience And Natural Disaster Management

ISOCARP Institute and Think City Institute have partnered to develop Smarter, Dynamic, Greener, a series of three online courses that explore environmental and technological challenges in cities across Asia. The programme is oriented around actionable strategies to meet SDGs in the region and targets public and private sector professionals working in Asia. Drawing on up-to-date knowledge from a range of expert lecturers, each course will promote co-creative strategies for resilient development in Asian cities. 

Course Overview

This course was developed to address the increasing challenges and risks posed by climate change on urban areas, focusing on a range of frameworks and strategies to minimise impact. The course explores three main topics. 

The first, Modelling and Assessing Environmental Impact, focuses on the science of climate change and its environmental impact. Participants will explore climate modelling techniques and study various methodologies for environmental assessment. 

The second topic, Infrastructural Solutions for Climate Resilience, is dedicated to the understanding of the strategies, planning and design of climate-resilient infrastructure. 

Finally, the last topic, Mechanisms for sustainable change, explores the policies, practices and strategies aimed at promoting resilience, sustainability, and adaptation in the face of climate challenges.

Take a look at the course structure and detailed information on this link.

For any further inquiries, send an email at duncan.cave@thinkcity.com.my

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Discussing Collective Mobilisation. The ISOCARP Institute at Designing Cities for All: RE-generation In Common.

Discussing Collective Mobilisation. The ISOCARP Institute at Designing Cities for All: RE-generation In Common.

On 6th of June evening, project manager Samir Amin participated in the concluding episode of the Designing Cities for All series: RE-generation In Common. In the third and last episode with fellow Roberto Rocco, the panel of speakers discussed pathways for collectivisation and re-generative relationships with the commons.  

Samir shared his experiences in community mobilisation, drawing on the many ways we connect communities, policymakers, and researchers in our projects. In particular, Samir explored the value of storytelling as a tool to lobby for co-creative change and to challenge decision-making that is fundamentally removed from citizens.  

The event saw thoughts and experiences shared across an amazing panel of speakers, including activist Martine Doppen, postdoctoral researcher Shahryar Sarabi, and Roberto Rocco, associate professor of spatial planning at TU Delft. Through conversations and meaningful inputs from audience members, moderators, and guests, we came to the point that bottom-up collective initiatives are essential to recognise the intertwined relationships between communities and nature. By working together, we can celebrate biodiversity and human diversity in parallel and work towards healthier and more just cities.

If you would like to watch this episode and the Designing Cities for All series, take a look at the video below. 

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Sustainable Urban Planning And Development Masterclass

Sustainable Urban Planning And Development Masterclasses

The ISOCARP Institute and Think City Institute have partnered to develop a series of three online masterclasses on Sustainable Urban Planning And Development.

This first course will take place over the first three week of May 2023, with one module per week and the final case study workshop in the third week. Through a number of activities, attendees are guided through the modules and equipped with knowledge and strategies that they can apply, to work towards fairer and more sustainable cities. The activities in the course are divided between individual and group work.

The first course, Governace, will touch on topics of policy scale, governing cities in inclusive manners, and involving urban populations in decision-making.

APPLY NOW by filling out the application form
*early bird USD399 if registration is before 15 April

📨 For any further inquiries, please contact amin@isocarp-institute.org or duncan.cave@thinkcity.com.my

And for more details about topics, course structures, and timeline, check our the website.

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Call for guest lecturers – TRAINING ON SUSTAINABLE URBAN PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

Call for guest lecturers – TRAINING ON SUSTAINABLE URBAN PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

Context

The ISOCARP Institute is developing a new training programme on Sustainable Planning and Development targeting professionals working in the city-making disciplines – mainly in South-East Asia. This initiative is the result of collaboration initiative between our partners in the region and the Institute. The overall goal is to deepen the capacity of city-makers, improving decision making and the implementation of projects at the local, regional and national level. The programme is primary composed of three different themes (Urban Governance, Urban Environment and Strategic Planning) and localise their application in the regional context.  Each of module will be divided in three subtopics.

Course content 

 

Module 1: Urban Governance 
  1. Multi-level governance processes 
  2. Inclusive urban planning  
  3. Citizen Engagement in sustainable urban development 
  4. Gender Equality in environment & urban planning 
  5. Barriers between local & national sustainable urban development 
  6. Sustainable urban development in education processes 

Module 2:  Urban Environment 
  1. Energy transitions and neutrality in cities 
  2. Smart city designs for energy positive cities  
  3. Greening & nature-based solutions to support quality of life and enhance urban biodiversity  
  4. Promoting healthy cities (built environment & healthy communities) 
  5. Urban waste management & the circular economy 
  6. Urban water management for climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience

Module 3: Strategic Planning 
  1. Land use planning and management as a means of promoting compact, mixed-used and transit-oriented development (TOD) 
  2. Redesigning urban infrastructure, public spaces and facilities to adapt to climate change;  
  3. Innovative approaches to housing for low-income and vulnerable groups;  
  4. Land and property rights for displaced people;  
  5. Access to basic services for all, and SME development 
  6. Economics of planning practice and multi-scalar budgeting 

The developed learning materials consist of case studies and best practices, videos, further readings and references to other interactive media. Additional to the overall themes, current global planning concepts and approaches will be covered. 

The materials will be complemented with viable approaches and tools, such as vision building, action planning, monitoring and assessment approaches, digital tools and tackle the question of what suitable planning and which elements must be considered depending on various contexts. 

Call for guest lecturers 

The programme will be organised online through a dedicated learning platform in late spring 2023.

To provide the best content and offer accurate material for each module, we are looking for Guest Lecturers. Guest Lecturer would be expected to a) support the preparation of the module and b) deliver a 1,5 – 2h online lecture.
 
Are you an academic or a professional with expertise in one of the three Themes, please submit your interest using this application form until 04/01/2023. 

The application form:  https://forms.gle/wiEEZmhBj1GQFgpv6

Enquiries 

For any enquiries, please contact info@isocarp-institute.org

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Online workshop and conference: Mass Housing and Climate Change, Challenges and Solutions (EUD, Strelka KB, ISOCARP Institute and WUC)

Online Workshop and Conference: Mass Housing and Climate Change, Challenges and Solutions, organized by the EU Delegation to Russia, Strelka KB, ISOCARP Institute and the World Urban Campaign (UN-Habitat).

 September 18-20, 2021

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In Russia, approximately 70 million people live in mass housing units, the vast majority of which was built during the Soviet time, with little consideration for climate change and sustainability. This housing stock is in dire need of refurbishment today. However, Russia is not an exception. Mass housing units were erected both in Western and Eastern Europe in the second half of the 20th century, as well as on all continents. The stock of mass housing worldwide is so huge that it cannot be replaced in the foreseeable future for ecological, economic and social reasons; and it keeps on growing today. Mass housing units should be considered an opportunity for developers, architects and planners, as good solutions bear the potential to be reproduced worldwide. Their modernization could have a significant impact in the fight against climate change. 

The EU Delegation to Russia, together with urban consultancy Strelka KB, ISOCARP Institute and the World Urban Campaign, are organizing both an online workshop (18-19/10) and an online conference (20/10) on the theme of mass housing regeneration in the context of climate change.

The practical workshop is designed to bring forward solutions to regenerate mass housing units in the context of climate change. Participants will have the opportunity to work on a theoretical case study using the actual data from four locations in the world. 

The conference will bring professionals from the EU, UN-Habitat, ISOCARP, Strelka KB and others, who will share their experience on the challenges and solutions to address the inadequacy of mass housing in a changing climate. It will feature, among others:

– Didier Vancutsem, Director at the ISOCARP Institute 

– Christophe Lalande, head of the housing division at UN-Habitat 

– Hilmar von Lojewski, councillor at the German Association of Cities (Städtetag) 

– Christophe Hutin, architect 

– Michaela Kauer, Director of the Brussels Liaison Office of the City of Vienna and coordinator of the EU Urban Agenda Housing Partnership

– Ekaterina Maleeva, project director at Strelka KB

– Alexandra Chechetkina, managing director at Strelka KB

The results of this event will be further presented online at the COP-26 on November 10th.

To participate to the workshop, please register here:

MASS HOUSING AND CLIMATE CHANGE ONLINE WORKSHOP REGISTRATION (typeform.com)

To participate to the conference, please register here:

MASS HOUSING AND CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE REGISTRATION (typeform.com)

For further information, please find the link to the official website of the event:

Strelka KB: Masshousing and climate change. Challenges and solutions — Homepage (strelka-kb.com)  

 

The project has been supported by the European Union Delegation in Russia.

 
 

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Urban Thinkers Campus “Climate Adaptation in Challenging Environments in the MENA Region”

Urban Thinkers Campus “Climate Adaptation in Challenging Environments in the MENA Region”

UTC Objective: The main objective of this UTC is to discuss and explore solutions that are being tested to ameliorate the future of urban living conditions. The Campus explored and discussed solutions on how cities can better respond to changing climate conditions, using Dubai as an example of a city which due to its demanding climate conditions, has from the beginning had to plan in ways, which can offer valuable best practices to urban planners around the world.

The session lasted 3 hours and was via Zoom. We aimed to make this session as interactive and inclusive as it is possible.

Check out the agenda to learn more!

See the recording of the session here:

UTC Background: ISOCARP Institute together with Middle East Cities Center at the American University in Dubai University and other partners organized on the 22nd of June 2021 the UTC on Hot Cities in the MENA region. According to the latest IPCC simulations, the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) has been identified as a hotspot for future temperature changes due to its arid environmental conditions. Heat extremes are expected to increase significantly in both frequency and intensity across the MENA region. Heatwaves will occur for 80 days of the year by 2050 and 118 days of the year by 2100. Combined with increased sandstorms associated with longer drought periods, predicted temperature rises would make large parts of the region uninhabitable. Extreme heat has been identified as a serious threat to human health, heightening an individuals’ susceptibility to exhaustion, heart attack and mortality.

Hot cities in the MENA region – with the reference to Dubai- are a current trend which will be highlighted and discussed during the UTC. Meanwhile we would like to expand the discussion on what other trends related to the Hot Cities trends are emerging? Among the main trends that we would like to touch upon and discuss possible solutions are: water scarcity, biodiversity loss, sea level rise, loss of coastal defence and storm surges. 

Check out some screenshots from the session: