Contents:
Many environmental problems are the result of the economic choices of individuals and how these choices interact with policies producing different outcomes at the urban system scale: what products we buy, how much we heat our homes, which mode of transport we take for our daily commute. Addressing these problems also requires an understanding of how people make their choices, how social interactions and the biophysical environment influence them in complex ways, and how specific policy interventions can also influence those choices. In urban areas, the cumulative impacts of those individual choices are particularly visible, simply because many people and firms share limited space. Designing and evaluating effective interventions and policy solutions to urban challenges is of key importance, in light of local and global environmental problems that an increasingly urban population is confronted with. This course deals with the analysis of individual economic choices in urban areas, the city as a complex system subject to multiple influences, and potential policy solutions for a sustainable future.
Learning outcomes:
After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
Understand the city as a complex system of social, economic, and biophysical factors;
Apply principles of economic and behavioural theory to environmental challenges in urban areas and regions;
Assess the individual and policy responses to environmental challenges;
Analyze the role of individual characteristics, and biophysical, spatial and policy factors in human behaviour and its implications for the urban system
