SMUA4500 Smart Cities Course description

The current Smart City paradigm is characterized by a human-centric approach, in which a variety of technological tools help to improve quality of life for people. The main aim of the smart city is to enhance the existing built environment, through a circular management of resources shaping sustainable cities. Nowadays smart cities are geared towards facing future multifaced environmental, social, economic and political challenges of societies. Residents are coming to the forefront in the co-creating of cities, expressing their needs with increasing interest and influencing the design of livable, sustainable cities.

Citizen Science, defined as the participation of the general public in the urban planning process with digital tools and through modern information and communication technology (ICT) has been developed as a strategy for people to integrate civilians’ ideas and wishes in the urban planning process. It adds human observation, cognition, experience and local knowledge into a scientific scheme that improves the planning, design, management and transformation of cities as a bottom-up approach where public stakeholders are key factors for better building together Smart Cities. Achieving sustainable, smart cities, frameworks such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), or the New Urban Agenda (UN Habitat III) have proven as solid guidelines over the years. Inclusive sustainable smart cities also foster the creation of just cities.

The main focus of this course is to gain an understanding of smart cities and connect it to the debate of sustainable cities and public engagement in theory and practice using digital tools. Further, to assess in a systematic manner smart cities (SCA) and apply digital participatory practices, aimed at increasing a greater sensitivity to the planning and design process of smart cities to shape policies. This, from the broader paradigm of smart cities through a practical application to a case study. This course will strongly collaborate with the course ‘Geographic Information System (GIS)’.

None.

No formal requirements over and above the admission requirements.

The work and teaching methods used include lectures, student presentations, seminars and skills training in the form of laboratory work. Digital learning resources will be made available to students in advance and some of the teaching will be organised as flipped classroom.

The following must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:

• attendance at the course introduction
• minimum attendance of 80% at seminars
• minimum attendance of 80% at laboratory courses
• individual lab report based on specified criteria.

Individual oral exam, up to 30 minutes.

The exam can be taken in English or a Scandinavian language.

Simple handheld calculator.

Grade scale A-F

All answers are assessed by two examiners. An external examiner is used regularly, at a minimum of every third completion of the course. When selecting answers for external evaluation, a minimum of 10 percent of the answers shall be included, with no fewer than 5 answers. The external examiner’s assessment of the selected answers shall benefit all students.

• The course builds on MABIO4110 or the equivalent.
• Basic technical laboratory skills in methods in biochemistry and cell biology at bachelor’s degree level.

10 credits overlap with MABIO4200 Biochemical and Cell Biological Methods.