Social Sustainability in Human Habitats

Initiated by staff members from the Departments of MBE and U, this thematic package is a collaboration with the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, and the IHS Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam. It applies a multidimensional understanding of the concept of sustainable development, which goes beyond the technical and environmental aspects. Through a three-pronged thematic structure - the interrelationship between equitable distribution and consumption, liveability, and societal relations -, the course aims to equip students with an integrated and critical understanding of the social, cultural, and political aspects of sustainability in the built environment, leading to an intervention case.

The learning objectives follow a stepped approach whereby students are enabled to first explain the main challenges of social sustainability in human habitats across the globe, followed by their ability to apply theory to explain and assess these challenges and ultimately their ability to examine critically an “intervention” (i.e., a policy, programme or practical approach) applied to solve a social sustainability challenge. The course adopts an interdisciplinary approach, which is embedded across all learning objectives. Furthermore, this interdisciplinary character will be tested and assessed through its inclusion in the evaluation rubrics of the course’s assessment methods.

a) Individual essay (50% of grade) – LO’s 1 and 2

Each student writes a 3,000-word essay on a subject from a list of topics provided by the teachers, matching the theories covered in the first part of the course. The aim of the assignment is to critically reflect on these key concepts and theoretical frameworks. The essay will have to be researched, and references provided, and link up to the course material (lectures, videos, class discussions, literature). A minimum of 5 peer reviewed references, and 8 references in total must be provided. Students will receive formative feedback on progress with their essay at the weekly sessions with their assigned tutors. In addition, students will provide and receive feedback on their essay through peer review.

b) Group assignment (40% group grade and 10% individual) – LO’s 3 and 4

This assignment departs from a basic understanding of the challenges and theories dealt with in the individual essay, which are applied in the collective critical examination of concrete ‘cases’ of interventions. The exercise enhances students' ability to critically assess and propose solutions for real-world issues across diverse global contexts. By the end of the exercise, students will have developed a nuanced understanding of the complexities of social sustainability and gained practical experience in interdisciplinary collaboration, critical analysis, and innovative design and policy.

Repair options:
Students pass the course with a 6.0 or higher. With a lower grade, the course can be repaired to change the grade into a pass. The repair is unsupervised and needs to be completed within 2 weeks after the end of the course. When the repair is unsuccessful, the student needs to follow the entire course again, or possibly another Q5 elective in the third education period.