- Students are able to demonstrate knowledge of governance theory, governance concepts and practices, and are able to map and analyze the functioning of governance arrangements within urban settings. (UG)
- Students are able to demonstrate knowledge of sustainable development goals (SDGs), how they differ from traditional economic strategy, and how they make demands on the governance and policies of city government. (UG)
- Students are able to demonstrate knowledge of ways in which technology, investments and other factors of production can be combined to pursue social inclusion, gender equality and ecologically-friendly development (UG, SC).
- Students are able to demonstrate knowledge of how cities deploy new technologies, programs, and policies in order to pursue their ambitions, sustainable or otherwise (SC).
- Students are able to demonstrate knowledge of research designs, how to assess them and the needed data management and research ethics procedures.
- Students demonstrate competency in basic analytical reasoning behind research methods and how they contribute to research designs.
- Students are able to demonstrate use of specific academic tools (poster, presentation, executive summaries) to demonstrate the validity of their governance analysis to an academic audience, and to public servants responsible for policy and governance (SCP)
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This module serves to study governance as a concept and a practice in urban settings. Governance is all about steering. It concerns who sits at the table when discussing priorities and benchmarks for public policy, urban planning, allocating resources or evaluating performance in preparation for policy assessment and change, and the dynamics between them. It is the process through which resources are accessed and distributed in a polity. We apply these concepts to urban policies related to the United Nation’s 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the same time, the city is shaped by accompanying developments (e.g. globalization and digitalization) that has both enabled and spurred cities to innovate their governance systems, and given rise to new dynamics which are interesting for study. Thus, this module focus in on city making at the locus of policy, governance and technology, and evaluates its performance.
Set against the backdrop of rapid societal, ecological, and technological change, this module examines how governance arrangements impact the ability of cities to become more sustainable and resilient. Local communities are where the “rubber meets the road” in the pursuit of SDGs. To understand these processes, students will examine a broad range of urban governance arrangements that veer away from traditional governance architectures, which are highly centralized and tend to favour business interests. Recently, activists, scholars, and citizens have begun to challenge old paradigms and ask, “Who has the right to the city?” These stakeholders make a claim on their rights to participate, advise and (co-)determine outcomes. City officials are increasingly heeding these claims, and involving citizens in city making. The current impetus (both political and practical) for governance arrangements to balance attention to various stakeholders and requires a revision of how local officials do their jobs. Rapid digitalization in cities create new challenges and opportunities in this regard while influencing how citizens relate to one another and to government. Accordingly, the module explores the biases that different governance arrangements carry forward and evaluate their impact on sustainability outcomes (as outlined in the SDGs).
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