Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit convenor
Katherine Dafforn
Contact via 02 98507979
12WW 221
By appointment
Lecturer
Peter Davies
Lecturer
Michael Chang
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Credit points |
Credit points
10
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to MEnv or MSc or GradDipEnv or GradCertEnv or MEnvPlan or MPlan or MConsBiol or MPH or MMarScMgt or MScInnovationEnvSc or MSusDev
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit examines scientific and technical principles related to the management of sustainable cities. Major themes include city biodiversity and blue-green infrastructure (e.g. green walls and living seawalls), waste management (e.g. scientific innovation to support a circular economy and smart sensing technologies), air, land and water pollution (e.g. regulation and reduction through water sensitive urban design), and resource management (e.g. urban agriculture and vertical farming). The challenges for sustainable cities in a changing climate will be explored through each major theme. Different local, national and international case studies will be explored to demonstrate key concepts in the science and management of sustainable cities. The unit includes a field trip where students will apply their knowledge to enhance sustainability in an urban context. |
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Assessment Criteria
Assessment at Macquarie University is standards-based, as outlined in the Assessment Policy. This means that your work will be assessed against clear criteria, and these criteria (e.g. in a rubric) will be made available when the assessment tasks are released to you on iLearn.
Submission of Assessments
All assessments must be submitted online through Turnitin unless otherwise indicated. Links for the submission of each assessment will be available on iLearn.
You should always check that you have uploaded the correct file. If you have a problem, please email the Unit Convenor with your correct file. You must also keep a copy of your assessments until the end of semester in case there is a problem with your submission. It is your responsibility to ensure that you can provide a copy of your assessment if requested.
Marking of Assessments
Assignments will usually be marked through Turnitin with grades provided through Gradebook on iLearn. Please do not submit your assessments via email or in hard copy unless requested (e.g. a sketch or drawing).
We aim to return your assessment grades and feedback within two to three weeks of the date that you submitted it. We appreciate your patience and will advise you through iLearn when your marked assessments and feedback are available for viewing.
Late Assessment Submission Penalty
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report or presentation assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern. For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, please apply for Special Consideration.
Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted
Extensions for Assessments
To obtain an extension for an assessment task, you will need to follow the formal process as outlined in the Special Consideration Policy, and you must provide appropriate supporting evidence (e.g. medical certificate - see advice for Special Consideration requests). The final decision regarding the granting of an extension lies with the unit convenor. Permission for extensions must be sought before the due date unless there are exceptional circumstances. Please let us know of problems in advance or as soon as possible, not after the event. We are likely to be much more sympathetic and able to accommodate your circumstance if you follow this advice.
Special Consideration
The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.
Requirements to Pass this Unit
To pass this unit you must:
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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In class quizzes | 10% | No | Weeks 5 and 11 |
Sustainability plan evaluation | 50% | No | Week 7 |
Sustainability index and data report | 40% | No | Week 13 |
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 13 hours
Due: Weeks 5 and 11
Weighting: 10%
Multiple-choice quizzes and short answer questions in class to assess knowledge of theoretical frameworks and curent policy and practical approaches in sustainable cities.
Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 50%
Critically evaluate sustainable city plans or strategies drawing on both theory and practice.
Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 40%
Develop a sustainability index and collect physical or social science data during a fieldtrip to evaluate the sustainability perfomance of a local urban area or precinct. This will have individual and group contribution with group work moderated via Sparkplus
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
The content is based on a fortnightly workshop program that commences in Week 1 and is supported by core readings.
There is a mandatory full day field trip in the Sydney area. An exemption for attendance may be granted to students due to COVID or other exceptional reasons. Approval must be sought and is to be granted in advance of Week 4.
The unit is delivered with a mixture of lectures and workshops. The teaching process includes:
Students are expected to:
Methods of Communication
We will communicate with you via your university email and through announcements on iLearn. Queries to convenors can either be placed on the iLearn discussion board or sent to the unit convenor via the contact email on iLearn.
COVID Information
For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coronavirus infection page on the Macquarie website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs. Remember to check this page regularly in case the information and requirements change during semester. If there are any changes to this unit in relation to COVID, these will be communicated via iLearn.
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Date |
Tues AM Workshop 9am-12pm |
Tues PM Workshop 12-3pm |
Assessment and due date |
1 |
25 Jul |
Introduction to Sustainable Cities and sustainability ranking tools (PD) |
Urban ecology, green infrastructure and green city planning approaches (PD) |
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2 |
1 Aug |
No class |
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3 |
8 Aug |
Open space, recreation and placemaking for cities. Sustainability indices (PD) |
Community empowerment and action, developing a community survey (PD)
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4 |
15 Aug |
No class |
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5 |
22 Aug |
Cities and wellbeing. Sustainability indices (PD) |
Nature-based solutions and blue infrastructure. Blue policy and sustainable blue infrastructure (KD)
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Assessment 1: Quiz 1 (5%) 22nd August
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6 |
29 Aug |
No class |
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7 |
5 Sep |
Fieldtrip 9am-4pm (KD, PD) |
Assessment 2: Plan evaluation (50%) Due 8th September |
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Recess
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8 |
26 Sep |
No class |
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9 |
3 Oct |
Urban climate, nearmap and land surface temperature (MC) |
Transport and mobility, accessibility (PTAL) and socio-economic (dis)advantage (SEIFA index) (MC) |
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10 |
10 Oct |
No class |
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11 |
17 Oct |
Energy resources, Smart buildings and renewable energy (KD) |
Pollution control (KD)
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Assessment 1: Quiz 2 (5%) 17th October |
12 |
24 Oct |
No class |
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13 |
31st Oct |
Waste recycling and the circular economy (KD) |
Future cities (KD) |
Assessment 3: Sustainability index and data report (40%) Due 3rd November |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:
Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
We value student feedback to be able to continually improve the way we offer our units. As such we encourage students to provide constructive feedback via student surveys, to the teaching staff directly, or via the FSE Student Experience & Feedback link in the iLearn page.
Student feedback from the previous offering of this unit was very positive overall, with students pleased with the clarity around assessment requirements and the level of support from teaching staff. In response to student feedback we have swapped the order of assessment tasks to provide more time for positive group dynamics to develop.
Date | Description |
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03/10/2023 | "tutorials in a workshop format" replaced with "workshops" |
Unit information based on version 2023.02 of the Handbook