Sustainability for Built Environment Practice PgCert/PgDip/MSc/MA

Sustainability for Built Environment Practice is one of a new suite of postgraduate courses aimed at the next generation of sustainability informed professionals. Students from the different pathways work together around key issues concerning the economy, society and the environment.

The programme is designed to be career enhancing – built environment professionals with an understanding of how the sustainability agenda interfaces with professional practice have an increasing competitive advantage.

What will you study?

This course addresses a range of environmental, social and economic concerns, with option modules supplementing a core curriculum. In each module you will explore potential impacts on society; practical and policy responses; and regulatory mechanisms.

Practical learning is central to the course philosophy – from understanding scientific principles and procedures to learning about economic and social accountability and legal frameworks. For masters students, the research project provides an opportunity to explore in depth a particular area of interest within sustainability for the built environment.

Find out more by watching a video of principal lecturer Amanda Lewis talking about the Sustainability for Built Environment Practice MSc/MA:

Many of the staff in the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture are research active. This ensures they are in touch with the latest thinking and bring best practice to your studies.
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Please note that this is an indicative list of modules and is not intended as a definitive list. Those listed here may also be a mixture of core and optional modules.

Core modules

• The Challenge of Climate Change

• The Challenge of Climate Change

  This module reviews current ideas on climate change and its implications for society. The complexities of this debate and their relevance to a sustainable future for human societies, and to ecosystems and planetary well being, more generally, are explored. Keynote lectures will introduce the science of climate change; uncertainties and challenges in global climate change modelling; implications of climate change predictions; appropriate societal responses; and 'best' strategies for mitigating potential climate change and its impacts. The challenges of policy-making against a background of uncertain science are explored through case studies and role-play scenarios and by site visits.

  
   
• Environmental Law and Regulation

• Environmental Law and Regulation

  This module is an introduction to environmental law and regulation for lawyers and non-lawyers alike. It covers:

  • the basic law on the protection of the environment;
  • a more in-depth consideration of the legal and institutional framework within which environmental regulation is achieved; and 
  • the ways in which particular issues of environmental importance are addressed.
  
   
• Economic Sustainability

• Economic Sustainability

  In this module, you will:

  • learn about conventional economic theory and how to apply it to property and construction;
  • analyse the contributions of key contemporary and historic economic theorists in relation to the quest for a sustainable economy; and
  • explore the limits of capitalism, funding concepts in both public and private sector property provision, and environmental economics as they relate to the business of real estate.

  We teach this module through a series of key note lectures reinforced by seminars and group work. Assessment consists of:

  • written and oral seminar presentations; and
  • a marked individual synoptic paper in which you illustrate the application of policy, propose alternatives and critically evaluate actual solutions.
  
   
• Sustainable Environmental Management

• Sustainable Environmental Management

  Mainstream businesses now recognise the need to run their operations in a sustainable manner and improvement of environmental performance is fundamental to achieving this.

  This module examines the leading strategies being adopted for better management of the environmental impacts of organisation's activities, products and services. Pressing issues like global climate change and loss of biodiversity are driving rapid evolution in this sustainable business agenda.

  
   
• Sustainable Cities

• Sustainable Cities

  This module is a critical appreciation of urban society and its future – as it becomes the norm for the majority of the world's population, it is an essential requirement for the built environment professional.

  The module provides an opportunity to debate the theoretical concepts of sustainable cities, allowing critical analysis of the drivers, legislation and processes governing sustainable urban environments. The ability to consider issues from a variety of perspectives and evaluate strategies for spatial planning is engendered.

  The module intends to encourage a commitment to social, economic and environmental issues, which influence the creation, delivery and maintenance of sustainable cities.

  
   
• Regeneration

• Regeneration

  Integrating sustainable strategies in regeneration practice is an important aim, as places – far from being exclusively clusters of buildings – are complex socio-economic systems that need more integrated answers to solve the problems they are affected by. This module on Regeneration provides an opportunity for a deeper understanding of social, economic and environmental issues, problems and their causes in urban, suburban and rural spatial contexts. Also there is the opportunity to critique different types of strategies and drivers, funding options and plans and the role of key players in providing solutions to the revitalization and regeneration of communities.

  
   
• Research Methods
• Research Proposal
• Dissertation/ Critical Practice Project
• Conference

Option modules

• Biodiversity and Conservation

• Biodiversity and Conservation

  This module aims to:

  • review the concept of biodiversity and examine current conservation strategies and issues;
  • examine the application of biodiversity concepts and conservation strategies at local, regional, national and global scales; and
  • introduce ecological fieldwork for rapid site appraisal.
  
   
• Minerals and Energy Resources

• Minerals and Energy Resources

  The module focuses on the Earth's major non-renewable mineral and energy resources, and develops an understanding of the socio-economic and environmental consequences of extraction and the approaches used to limit environmental damage.

  
   
• Social Sustainability

• Social Sustainability

  This module provides a critical analysis of socially orientated theories as they apply to property and construction. It covers:

  • ethics;
  • citizenship and public governance;
  • philosophy of public sector provision;
  • stakeholder dialogue;
  • ethical auditing and reporting;
  • corporate social responsibility;
  • community and environmental psychology; and
  • key performance indicators for social sustainability.

  Seminars and group work support the key-note lectures. Assessment is through:

  • a marked seminar paper; and
  • a case-study based synoptic paper, which should illustrate the application of policy, propose alternatives and critically evaluate actual solutions.
  
   
• Waste Management and Contaminated Land Remediation

• Waste Management and Contaminated Land Remediation

  This module provides an understanding of the types, sources and effects of contaminants in the environment, and their effects on ecosystems and human health. It covers an awareness of the feasibility and limitations of the main techniques and strategies for the remediation of contaminated land. There is a specific focus on the policies and practice of waste management in developed countries.

  
   

The School of Surveying & Planning is hosting a series of postgraduate open days.

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Learn more about the facilities available to you as a student of this course.

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Our links with professional practice provide a real-world base for our courses. They also help us to ensure your studies are kept up-to-date and relevant to the workplace.

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