Topic outline

  • Welcome!

    Welcoming image with course name, code and an image of the Earth.

    The course will take place in periods IV and V on Wednesdays at 15:15–18h.

    Spring 2024, the focus of the course will be on human and planetary well-being. Established practices for balancing these in cities are still largely missing. Consequently, the course will address questions like: What does human and planetary well-being in cities and planning entail? How and why to address themes like planetary boundaries, climate change, biodiversity, and increasing material limitations on the human scale of cities? How and why to assess the policies and actions that aim for human and planetary well-being? And how could diverse tools and methods support (or not support) the planning of liveable cities?

    During the course, these questions are iteratively approached through lectures, in-class dialogues and a series of interrelated assignments (group and individual) with a case area of Varissuo centre in Turku, Finland. In the hands-on assignments, we will learn to cope with the uncertainties in available planning data and to consider the reliability of the available methods at the various phases of planning processes.

    The course is organized in collaboration with the City of Turku and Autodesk.

    In case of any questions already before the course, don’t hesitate to contact Susa (susa.eraranta(at)aalto.fi). Other mentors on the course are for assignment A2: Postdoctoral researcher Jonne Hytönen (Aalto university, University of Jyväskylä), and for assignments A4 and A5: Chief Architect Antti Mentula (City of Helsinki), Doctoral researcher Thu Pham (Aalto university) and Doctoral researcher Janne Olin (Aalto university).