International HESD Conference, Luneburg, September 14-16, 2011 0 INTEGRATED APPROACH TO THE ‘SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’ CONCEPT IN URBAN PLANNING EDUCATION:

International HESD Conference, Luneburg, September 14-16, 2011 1

INTEGRATED APPROACH TO THE ‘SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’ CONCEPT

IN URBAN PLANNING EDUCATION: A BULGARIAN PATH

ElenaDimitrovaDepartment of Urban Planning, Faculty of

Architecture, University of Architecture, Civil Engineering & Geodesy, Sofia

German Commission for UNESCOInternational Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility of the Nottingham University Business

SchoolCopernicus Alliance

The “Higher Education“ Working Group of the UN Decade in Germany (AG Hochschule)

4th International Conference on Higher Education for Sustainable Development, September 14-16, 2011, Leuphana University of Lüneburg


ISSUES TO DISCUSS

Planning education for sustainable development (SD) in context

The ‘sustainable development’ topic in the Programme in Urbanism at UACEG, Sofia

The partnership challenge Education effectiveness: evaluating what

and how? Lessons learned: SD education success

factors


PLANNING EDUCATION FOR SD DEVELOPMENT: peculiarities and contextual aspects

Urban Planning is: A border area between technical, social, cultural,

political, managerial considerations Integrating a broader range of key SD issues and

competences Requires action-oriented professional knowledge

and skills Contextually sensitive – ways of life, value

systems, economic frameworks


THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT: planning education challenges

Education of professionals for SD is about: Enhancing awareness/ appreciation about the importance

and urgency of the concept Accumulation of knowledge – theoretical and practical Developing critical thinking and creative abilities Building self-confidence and motivation for action

Needed capacities comprise: Specific knowledge and skills within the professional field Ability to integrate technical, social, humanitarian and

natural sciences.

Education for SD is not a linear process


BULGARIA in European process and space

below 30

30 – 40

40 – 50

50 – 75

75 – 100

100 – 125

above 125

Regional differences in GDP

EU 27 index = 100


POST-SOCIALIST BULGARIAN CITIES: changing urban context

Urban management – decentralization, changes in land ownership, quality decrease in urban services; inadequacy of legislation and normative basis; emergence of the civil sector.

Urban way of life – higher living standards and mobility in some social groups, broader market opportunities social stratification an spatial segregation.

Urban planning – emerging focus on strategic and integrated planning, EU influence – funding schemes and programmes, lack of experience in coordinating strategic and operational planning.

Urban structures – new urban development, densification, pressure on public green space, urban sprawl.


Sofia: urban transformations and urban

images 2009


SOFIA: INCREASED URBAN MOBILITY urban processes and urban values


SOFIA: BUILDING PRESSUREhousing in the periphery

Increasing market pressure in fashionable residential quarters, 20007


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The Students’ town, a new residential building on restituted land, 2000s

SOFIA 2000s: planning effects of urban land restitution

The Students’ town, student hostels from

1980s

Building permits (red contours) on public urban greenery (restituted urban land) in housing estates04/18/23

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BULGARIAN PLANNING SYSTEM: tasks and challenges

Re-thinking existing plans Developing new planning instruments; Building institutional capacity Involving new actors in new types of interactions Building a relevant information database

Acting within extremely dynamic urban processes Dealing with competing/conflicting demands Providing for transparency of the planning process

04/18/23


SD EDUCATION in the programme in URBANISM at UACEG

Programme development: BSc since 2002 (TEMPUS result), MSc since 2006;

Structure of the SD teaching modules: SD1 (compulsory) in Year 1, sem.2; SD2 (optional) in Year 2, sem.3

Principles of the educational approach Introducing the SD concept from the very beginning; Providing basic professional knowledge alongside with

stimulating intellectual curiosity and ethical debate; Linking theory (SD1) to local municipal practice (SD2); Linking educational activities to ongoing research and

practice projects, case-study based approach

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SUSTAINABLE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN SPACE

Pressure on the environment

Quality of life

Use of resources, energy and territory

Waste generation

Health aspectsEconomic aspectsSocial and sociocultural aspectsAspects of physical environment

Sustainable development criteria

Social and cultural

dimensions

Technical and economic dimensions

Temporal dimensions

Spatial dimensions

EFFECTIVENESS • of resource use• of consumption

ACCESSIBILITY • of resources• of products


SD1 MODULE Topic 1: The sustainable development idea

Educational messages Information sources, didactic materials

Type of communication in seminars

It is about Life and the Earth - a lasting relationship in history with philosophical and cultural dimensions.

The film of Baraka (Fricke, 1992)

no immediate comment; a written essay

It happens here and now – it is urgent, everything matters, everyone is responsible.

The Ecological Footprint Quiz (Redefining Progress, 2002)

On-line filled in and sent back; seminar discussion.


SD1 MODULE Topic 2: The theoretical discourse and the political process


communication in seminars

It is an ongoing debate There are many voices to hear and respect (South–North and East-West). Find out your own arguments.

Rio Summit documents,

Global Vision interviews;

Kyoto Protocol

Individual reporting and discussions


SD1 MODULE Topic 3: Spatial aspects of sustainability

Educational messages Information sources, didactic

materials

Communication in seminars

Urban space is the stage where human development happens - the city is an ecosystem; the city is a cultural process; the city as a complex technical system.

Cities,People,Planet(Girardet, 2004) COST C8 and C11 Individual

reports and group discussions on case studies

Spatial planning is a chance to influence (yet not predefine) social and cultural processes.

EU documents in spatial planning

The professional responsibilities – making decision making transparent and understandable; addressing complexity and interdisciplinarity.

Indicators, GIS applications; International research;


SD 1 MODULE Topic 4: The interdisciplinarity challenge


communication in seminars

Energy efficiency - interrelatedness of dimensions; the importance of international cooperation

Bulgarian EcoEnergy network

A simulation game to outline actors and conflicts;Individual reports; Group discussions on problems and solutions.

Urban Health and relation to urban equity

The Healthy Cities Project

Waste management – issues of urban metabolism and governance

The case of Sofia; EU experience

Tourism development – social impacts, the role of action research

The case of Bansko ski resort, Pirin mountain, Bulgaria


SD 2 MODULE in the BSc in Urbanism Programme

SD2 module contents: 9 case studies developed in the period 2003/04-2010/11

Topics addressed: modes of use of public green space / potentials and

conflicts; tourism development strategies; chances to take under economic restructuring (small

mining settlements); SD in Bulgarian peripheral / border regions. the preservation/ development balance

Number of participating students: 5 to 14 Team working


SD II MODULE : Linking Theory to Practice (1)

Topic Case study Partnership with Issues focused upon

Public urban space

Berkovitsa FP5 PETUS Project, Municipality

Development alternatives for a square and a town park undergoing changes as a result of restitution and privatization.

Gabrovo and Dobrich

FP5 PETUS Project, Municipality

Modes of use of public urban green space; existing capacity to implement EU evaluation tools for urban sustainability

Vrabnitsa, Sofia

AU-BG research project, Administrative unit

Governance approaches to the development potential of empty urban spaces


SD II MODULE: Linking Theory to Practice (2)

Topic Case study

Partnership with

Issues focused upon

Challenges of post-industrial development

Tvarditsa READY project, INTERREG IIIB

Development opportunities for small monofunctional mining settlements

Belovo Municipality Development potential and strategic alternatives

Lucki Municipality,Local NGO

Economic restructuring and underestimated local development potential


SD II MODULE : Linking Theory To Practice (3)

Topic Case study Partnership with Issues focused upon

Strategies forTourism development

Samokov Municipality Comparative analysis of two modes of tourism development

Development in peripheral regions

Ivaylovgrad

Municipality,Local cultural centre, Youth NGO

Overcoming weaknesses of sparsely populated peripheral territories- aspects of mobility, waste management and cultural identity

Mobility and demand responsive traffic

Razlog MMOVE, INTERREG IVC, municipality, consultancy company

The transfer and applicability of European good practices in spatial planning and management – demand responsive public transport, parking, cycling paths


‘SD’ PARTNERSHIPS: The ‘SD Team’ of the Programme

A flexible network of people – professionals and citizens - who share the idea that:

The Earth is more than a sum of resources to manage and utilise – it should be respected;

Quality of life is measured by the chances provided for creative action and spiritual development;

Facing SD challenges requires professional competence but also sensitivity to development ethics and environmental justice.


‘SD’ PARTNERSHIPS within the educational field

UACEG - the academic staff at the Faculty of Architecture;

TEMPUS Joint European Projects (JEP) –universities from UK, Ireland, Italy, etc.

AESOP (Association of European Schools of Planning) EESD (Engineering Education for sustainable

development) ERASMUS Programme – students from France,

Austria and Spain Colleagues from TU-Vienna – Sozopol project A PhD student from Algeria


‘SD’ PARTNERSHIPS with research

Bulgarian National Science Fund –late 1990s;

FP5, PETUS Project, 2002-2005, 8 European partner institutions

ASO-Sofia (Austrian Federal Ministry of Science) - Austrian-Bulgarian research cooperation, BOKU, Vienna, 2005-2006

COST Action C20 (The Urban Knowledge Arena), 2005-2009

University Research budget, 2009, 2011


‘SD’ PARTNERSHIPS with Bulgarianplanning practice and governance

Bulgarian municipalities - still limited local expertise and urgency of the requirement to meet EU standards;

General appreciation of the potential benefit of the partnership;

Building trust is sometimes a long process; Most effective partnerships are built where

research funding was also available.


‘SD’ PARTNERSHIPS with the NGO sector

The NGO sector is a newly developing one in the country, estimated need for expert support

Eneffect - Centre for Energy Efficiency– specialized, national and international level;

Scouts’ Land, local youth NGO, Lucki municipality

ZAEDNO – Communication for Support and Development Foundation, solidarity actions, NGO networking through Internet

Green School Village – sustainable development in rural areas through changing personal way of life .


THE ‘STUDENTS-TEACHERS’ PARTNERSHIP

Supportive and reliable, eager to invent Enthusiastically searching and/or critical to

approaches and results, insisting on : “More time for contacts” “Teachers listening longer to our opinion”

Estimation of important factors (both beginners and advanced ones): Direct contacts with real-life places and actors Relating visions to reality Proving the relevance of the professional intervention Team working


PARTNERSHIP ETHICS: lessons learned

In building lasting partnerships it proves important to be: PROACTIVE in identifying and approaching potential

allies and partners; HONEST about the vision/strategy proposed and about

the expectations on support and benefits; DIALOGICAL – open to criticism and respectful to

differences in points of view; PATIENT in building common language and trust; SELF-REFLECTIVE on current results FOCUSED ON PRIORITIES while keeping OPEN-

MINDED to a broad horizon and a long-term perspective.


PLANNING EDUCATION FOR SD: Evaluating what and how?

Evaluate what Awareness about the SD concept Professional capacity for analytical and integrative

approaches Communication skills Personal attitude and motivation for action

Evaluate how Direct feedback – exams, surveys, interviews Indirect feedback – course and diploma works, further

professional development Evaluation results

positive indications; identified shortcomings need for more in-depth analyses


Lucky project, SD2 module, 2008/09:in partnership with Scouts’ Land NGO

Discussing development alternatives after the mine closes down: photo tourism, biological agriculture, teleworking, green school


LUCKY PROJECT, SD2 module, 2008: students’ estimation of project results

Question: What were the three most important things you learned from this project?

“We came to know a marvellous place and I hope we could contribute to a better future for its inhabitants”

“Team working – I came to be more patient and self-content” “How such a small settlement could reveal a development

potential in so diverse and interesting aspects” “Everything is possible when there are people willing to do it” “I could contribute to a sustainable mode of existence”


And something more …


SOZOPOL PROJECT, 2007/2008: Between preservation & development

MSc Programme in Urbanism

One-year long educational project,

In partnership with TU-Vienna

Jointly with specialised modules in ICZM and in Integrated Planning


Partners:

Department of Urban planning, Centre of Regional Planning and Development, TU-Vienna;

Department of Urban planning, UACG, Sofia

Participants: 14 students from UACG, Sofia, 11 students from TU-Vienna (Austria, Italy, Turkey) from the fields of urban planning and architecture, working in 4 international teams.

Project aim: to investigate the possibilities for real-life action concerning:

Investigation on forms of EU and national funding; Various actors’ responsibilities in the process of self-organization, Arenas of dialogue, interaction and partnership – needed and possible

ones; Required new knowledge and skills.



TEAM А: “SOZOPOL ARENA 2020+”


TEAM B: “BUILDING THE SOZOPOL-PRIMORSKO REGION AND THE LEADER+ PROGRAMME”


TEAM С: “FREE HORIZON”


TEAM D: “A RECIPEE FOR A TASTY MUNICIPALITY”


STUDENTS’ ESTIMATION OF PROJECT RESULTS: Sozopol International Project, 2008

Question: What was the most inspiring moment in this project?

“Any moment when I realised I was capable of doing things, and my colleagues were capable as well; any moment when I was able to realise that there is a sense in doing things – and most of all, any moment when I had the need - and not the obligation - to go ahead. This last one was - at least for me – a completely new feeling.”



SD2, BSc in Urbanism winter semester, 2009/2010

Links the educational process to an ongoing NGO project on sustainable regional development – funded by an international organization after a competition;

The project was developed and submitted by current and ex-students of the Programme in Urbanism at UACG

IVAYLOVGRAD PROJECT, 2009/10:a value based approach (1)


IVAYLOVGRAD MUNICIPALITY: past and present






IVAYLOVGRAD project: the initiators


THE UNIVERSITY IN THE PROCESS

Content analysis: answers to 4 questions

What do you like best in your town?

What do you like least?

What do you what to be changed ?

What would you do to change it?


Do you like living here?

What traditions have you kept alive?

How do you spend your free time?

What would you show to a visitor?


IVAYLOVGRAD PROJECT:building on social capital


BSc in Urbanism Diploma work


MSc in Urbanism Diploma workThe student town in Sofia


04/18/23 NTUA, April 2011, ERASMUS Exchange Programme 54

MSc diploma work, 2011: Gabrovo Municipality spatial development concept








PLANNING EDUCATION FOR SD: success factors

INTERPRETING REAL-LIFE SITUATIONS – learning about the complexity of problems and the variety of conflicts, stimulating motivation for action

LINKING EDUCATION TO ACTION RESEARCH - methodological support

BUILDING UPON INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION situating local processes into a broader context, building awareness about peculiarities and common trends


Initiated RESEARCH on the SD educational process in UACEG: on SD education in Architecture, 2008/09; on integrated educational approach to sustainable urban development issues; 2009/10)

RESEARCH FINDINGS Growing number of disciplines in the curriculum addressing SD issues Lack of common SD message and educational strategy in the

University and largely uncovered border areas between disciplines Lack of structured debate on integral SD education; Low awareness about SD among 1st year students

RESEARCH PROPOSALS Development of integrated database on selected case-studies; Definition of case-study selection criteria, contents and structure to

promote interdisciplinary dialogue; Integral methodology of addressing SD issues at different educational

stages

PLANNING EDUCATION FOR SD: challenges to face


BUILDING A NEW PROFESSIONAL CULTURE sensitive to the priority and urgency of the SD concept needs time and persistency - and continual efforts in developing alliances around it.

THE SD MESSAGE needs to provide space for individual value choices and contextual interpretation of priorities.

ACHIEVING VISIBLE REAL-LIFE CHANGE is crucial in building students’ self-confidence about the effectiveness of the efforts;

LONG-LASTING EFFECTS OF EDUCATION are that matter as they provide a new capacity for crossing borders - both in professional and cultural fields.

CONCLUSION


THANK YOU!

Questions, comments

and ideas about future collaboration

are very welcome at

[email protected]

International HESD Conference, Luneburg, September 14-16, 2011 0 INTEGRATED APPROACH TO THE ‘SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’ CONCEPT IN URBAN PLANNING EDUCATION:

Documents

urban planning education

international conference

international hesd conference

urban images

urban transformations

urban sprawl

sd development

higher education