Environment, Economics and Planning
This self paced course by Pleasa Serin Abraham and Rohit Pansare looks at the "environment-economy nexus" and role of architectural planning in accommodating the existing paradigm.
Course Brief
“Avoiding climate breakdown will require cathedral thinking. We must lay the foundation while we may not know exactly how to build the ceiling.”
- Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old student Climate Activist.
More than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas. Due to the ongoing urbanisation and growth of the world’s population, there will be about 2.5 billion more people added to the urban population by 2050, mainly in Africa and Asia.
Today, cities and towns face a variety of environmental challenges concerning food production, energy, water, waste management, and pollution. Yet as economic and infrastructure needs take precedence, land availability becomes a necessity. Despite the need to preserve our habitat, ecosystems are being sacrificed at an increasing rate. As of August 2019, 30000 fires were burning in the Amazon to accommodate the growing demand for agriculture. Indonesia is also planning an ambitious transportation grid in Borneo, the oldest rainforest in the world. In this codependent hemisphere of environment and economics, how can humans enact the role of a samaritan using tools of architecture and planning?
This 9 module course studies the application of economic theory to the management of the environment in cities. The existent environment-economy nexus and the need for architecture planning to accommodate environmental issues. The course also introduces the ecological approach to urban planning through different instruments and scientific methodology.
Special Discount for NASA members
Are you a NASA member? Then you have a chance to avail a discount of 30% on our self paced courses, using the code given on NASA's social media handle.
Who should take this course?
The course has been designed so that anyone can join and learn, it looks into the role of economics in urbanisation and its impact on our environment. Learners who are interested in the fields of environment, city design, architecture, sociology, econmics and related fields are encouraged to join this course.
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Students of Architecture, Design, Geography, Conservation etc.
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Environmentalists, Economists and Ecologists interested in cross-disciplinary studies
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Climate change activists, citizen scientists, curious learners, social media influencers, pretty much everyone who wants to understand the ecological approach to urban development
Course Curriculum
The entire course is divided into 9 modules. Every module is divided into multiple short lectures of 7-15 minutes. Modules consist of assignments, MCQs, additional resources and interactive material that will enrich the student’s learning experience.
- Day 1: Environment, Economics and Urban Life
- Day 2: Cities and Sustainable Development
- Day 3: Environment + Valuation
- Day 4: Economics of Pollution
- Day 5: Economics of Climate Change
- Day 6: Urbanisation & Environment
- Day 7: Introduction to Environmental Planning
- Day 8: Urban Ecology
- Day 9: Tools of Environmental Planning
Course Mentors
Dr. Pleasa Serin Abraham
Economist | PhD, IIT Bombay
Pleasa Abraham is a Bengaluru based instructor specialising in Environmental Economics, Energy Economics and Econometric Modelling. She finished her PhD from IIT Bombay in Economics. She is a subject expert in her field and had also done a dissertation on the topic 'Barriers to the adoption of green buildings and willingness to pay for green certified buildings'.
Rohit Pansare
Environmental Planner | CEPT University
Rohit Pansare is an independent researcher and environmental consultant with over 8 years of experience in the conservation and environment planning field. This includes experience in conducting environmental assessments and habitat risks assessments using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS). He has a Master’s in environmental Planning from CEPT University, Ahmedabad and Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from Mumbai University with a specialisation in urban and industrial waste management.