Sustainable Cities by SDG Academy via Edx: Fee, Duration, How to Apply

Quick Facts

particular	details
Medium of instructions English	Mode of learning Self study	Mode of Delivery Video and Text Based	Learning efforts 4-6 Hours Per Week

Course overview

Societies are plagued by challenges of unemployment, poverty, poor housing, and productivity constraints. Not only are developing countries but most cities around the world are pulled back owing to these pressures. In Edx’s Sustainable Cities course, candidates get to study these major issues and enable extraordinary changes in the future.

Based on Sustainable Development Goal 11 of “making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable” by 2030, the Sustainable Cities programme by Edx is developed through a partnership between the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) and the SDG Academy.

Concepts touched on in the curriculum include urban sustainability through increased productivity, reduced inequality, and essential infrastructure provision. Sustainable Cities course, spread across nine weeks of learning, help students harness the power of urban development and determine opportunities in various fields, from cultural to economic infrastructures.

Moreover, the Sustainable Cities online course is an intermediate course, instructed in English. However, learners can also opt for transcripts in English or Hindi based on preference. On paying a fee, verified certificates are available to students. There are two options for pursuing the programme, namely, paid certificate and free audit modes. In the free audit mode, the students will be provided only limited access to the course.

Course and certificate fees

Type of course

Free

certificate availability

No

Who it is for

Civil engineer Urban planner Sustainability officer Construction manager

Edx’s Sustainable Cities course is ideal for individuals like:

Candidates who are interested in the concept of sustainable cities.
Those who seek to develop their own local community or set the foundations of modern urban development will be benefitted.
Graduates in related fields
Sustainable development practitioners
Private-sector workers in real estate, technology, telecommunications, transportation, or energy development industries.

Eligibility criteria

Candidates do not have to meet any specific criteria for joining the Sustainable Cities certification programme.

What you will learn

Knowledge of urban planning

After completing the Sustainable Cities programme by Edx, candidates will have:

An overview of land management, governance, utilities, and other entities belonging to urban systems
Understood how technology is shaping energy, transportation, urban resilience, and more in an urban setting
Recognised impacts of economic opportunity, health, poverty, and other people-focused issues on urban systems and development

The syllabus

Module 1: The urban opportunity

The urban opportunity
Cities: cultural and social transformation
Challenge of urban politics, planning and governance
Urban research methods
Urban theory and history

Module 2: What makes a city function?

Understanding urban systems
Municipal, regional and national governance
Urban utilities
Urban public finance and taxation
Law, order and conflict
Land management and planning
Lessons from London and Mumbai

Module 3: How can we reduce urban poverty and make cities inclusive and safe?

What is urban poverty?
Measuringurban poverty
Poverty reduction in cities
Affordable and adequate housing
Who can deliver the housing we need?
Safety and violence
Urban vulnerabilities

Module 4: Making cities productive and reduce inequality

City production and consumption
Women in the informal economy
Migration, mobility and the urban-rural continuum
Wealth and inequality
Case: SEWA, India
Migration and the refugee crisis

Module 5: Improving human development in cities

Addressing the challenges of urban public health
Colutions for improving urban health
Education and skills
Higher education in cities
Gender in the city
Human rights and justice
Law and equality
Apartheid in South African cities

Module 6: Providinguniversal urban services and infrastructure

Sustainable environmental services and infrastructure
Sustainable transport planning
ICT
Sustainable urban energy systems
Sustainable transport: Bangkok

Module 7: How can cities be resilient?

Air, water, food and natural resources
Urban ag for sustainable cities
Cityrisk exposure
Climate impacts, adaptation and mitigation
Building urban resilience
Environmental planning and the politics of change
Sustainable environmental practices: Durban
Urban disaster risk management
Post-disaster recovery

Module 8: Governing sustainable cities

SDGs and other global processes
New institutions and governance
Public participation and democracy
Financing sustainable development
Measuring and monitoring the SDGs
Opportunities of secondary cities

Module 9: Implementing change

Makingcities more sustainable
United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and urban sustainability
Urban innovation: community-based organisations and civil society (the case of SDI)
UN-Habitat and international development and financing agencies
Implementing urban sustainability
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and urban sustainability
Local leadership: a case study of Melbourne
International climate action: A case of Chinese cities

Admission details

Learners interested in the Sustainable Cities online course by Edx can enroll by following the steps mentioned below:

Step 1: Go through the details of the programme details here: https://www.Edx.org/course/sustainable-cities-2.

Step 2: Once you are done with the offerings, click on the 'Enrol' button at the web page's top corner.

Step 3: You will be redirected to the registration page. Sign in with Edx either with your social media accounts or email address to create a new account.

Step 4: On completing registration, choose your preferred learning option and begin learning once the course starts.

Filling the form

Learners of Edx’s Sustainable Cities programme do not need to fill out a full drawn application form. Signing up with Edx with your contact details will suffice.

How it helps

Reports estimate an additional three billion people will live in cities by 2050. To that end, the Sustainable Cities certification course by Edx brings in opportunities and potentials available in the emerging urban settings.

Students can access case studies of major cities across the Global North and South. By understanding social problems and coping mechanisms needed in society, they can look at different roles in active or speculative positions worldwide.

What's more, they can earn a verified, instructor-signed certificate from Edx to validate their successful course completion learnings.

Instructors

Mr Aromar Revi
Instructor
Freelancer

Mr Joshua Castellino
Professor
Freelancer

Ph.D

Mr Jeffrey D. Sachs
Professor
Columbia University,...

Ms Susan Parnell
Professor
University of Bristo...

Ms Sheela Patel
Instructor
Freelancer

Mr Peter Newman
Professor
Curtin University, P...

Mr Raf Tuts
Instructor
Freelancer

Dr Debra Roberts
Instructor
Freelancer

Ms Eugenie Birch
Professor
Penn

Ph.D

Mr Edgar Pieterse
Instructor
Freelancer

Mr Michael Cohen
Professor
Freelancer

Ph.D

Mr David Satterthwaite
Instructor
Freelancer

FAQs

How long will the course run for?

This is a 9-weeks long programme.

Are the videos available in Hindi?

No, the videos are not available in Hindi. However, learners can opt for transcripts that are available in Hindi.

Who offers this course?

Edx’s Sustainable Cities course is offered primarily by SDG Academy. The Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) is an educational partner for the programme.