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.