| Unit name | Cities, Governance and Urban Sustainability |
|---|---|
| Unit code | SPOL32024 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Sweeting |
| Open unit status | Open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None. |
| School/department | School for Policy Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit examines the issue of sustainability through the lens of urban governance. It focuses on the interconnected issues of resource use and climate change, and how they impact on urban areas. The unit will include examination of how cities contribute to climate change, what the impacts of climate change are on cities, and the policy responses of urban actors to the sustainability agenda. The unit will also focus on the policy and politics of particular sustainability issues (e.g. waste, recycling, transport). In understanding these issues, the unit will draw on theories related to governance, local governance, and mult-level governance. The unit will consider the extent to which individulal and institutional level collective action problems are present in urban sustainabilty issues, and therefore draw on rational choice theory in analysing urban sustainability and associated policy responses.
