Humanity is increasingly becoming an urban species. Cities play a crucial role in why and how we are fundamentally altering the Earth System. The speed of this alteration demands for immediate change. Cities have the potential for transformation, which is crucial for global sustainable development within Earth’s biophysical planetary boundaries. To this end, effective urban responses to climate change are extremely important through adaptation and mitigation.
This course provides a sound interdisciplinary introduction to
- climate change impacts in cities
- how cities (can) adapt to and mitigate climate change and thereby increase their resilience
- how cities function as barriers and solutions to transformative sustainable development in the „urban century“
We will explore this on a global and local level, through short and long time frames, and by making ample use of real examples. The focus is more on getting a bigger picture than on „hard practice“ on the planning level.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be familiar with and will have substantially broadened their horizons regarding
- principles, as well as ample measures, strategies, and tools, for climate change adaptation and mitigation in cities
- multiple examples of good practice
- some examples and ideas for transformative change in urban development
- selected global processes and risks on short and long time scales which influence and interact with urban development
Course Content
- The Planetary Boundaries concept, and the global sustainable development agendas, through the lens of cities
- Rapid urbanization
- Increasing urban resilience towards climate change impacts
- Ecosystem-based adaptation
- Tried and tested methods for navigating the adaptation cycle
- Climate risk assessment basics
- (Peri-)urban agriculture
- Selected measures and strategies for mitigation and adaptation in high-, middle, and low income economy cities
- Transformation - ideas, requirements, and examples
- Relevant trends on short and long times scales
- Guest speakers from science, practice and policy advisory
Course Programme
The programme will focus more on climate change adaptation than mitigation.
There will be 7 live sessions during the 7-days training course. Each session will be grouped in three 90 minutes sessions interrupted by two long and some shorter breaks. There are no training sessions on the weekend. Please have a look at the detailed course programme on the website for further details.
What does live online training mean?
Our live online trainings are not pre-recorded training videos, webinars for large audiences or self-paced e-learning courses. They are virtual live trainings delivered by our trainers in real-time, focusing on the interaction of a small group of remote participants. Just like our face-to-face trainings, these virtual classrooms aim at tailoring the discussions and learning experiences to the training needs of the participants.
Requirements: to attend our live online trainings, a reliable high-speed internet connection and a computer or laptop running Windows or iOS are required. The Humboldt-Universität of Berlin uses the videoconferencing platform Zoom for virtual classrooms as well as digital tools such as Moodle.
Course Methods
Virtual classroom sessions with the trainer and the fellow participants via Zoom are diversified and enriched by group exercises, assignments, ample time for reflection and self-study, guest speaker presentations, purposeful use of other easy to use online collaboration software packages for rapid surveys, brainstorming, group work, plenary sessions, and presenting results
Target Group
Level: Beginner to intermediate. The course is a comprehensive interdisciplinary introduction. Parts of the content can be useful complements for applicants who are already familiar with some aspects of the topic.
Our participants come from all around the globe: they include staff from development agencies and city authorities, national and international NGOs, public institutions, university students and researchers as well as professionals from the private sector. Good command of English is mandatory.