New online course: Urbanisation and Health – Promoting Sustainable Solutions
The University of Copenhagen, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and the University of Coimbra have launched a new online course about urbanisation and health on the online course platform, Coursea. The course offers the participants a unique opportunity to meet stakeholders in urban planning and learn about the key determinant of urban health and major trends in urban planning. The course is free of charge and everyone interested can join.
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities while only 5% did so in the 18th century. The rapid urbanisation has resulted in for example inadequate infrastructure, physical inactivity, gentrification, air pollution, and growing numbers of slum dwellers. All factors challenging health and wellbeing of the people living in the cities. In addition, when addressing climate change it has become of paramount importance to look at mitigation and adaptation investments tailored to the urban context.
See the course trailer here:
In the course, you will learn about the key determinants of urban health including demography, climate change, air pollution, noise, transport systems, public and blue and green spaces, and policies and investments affecting sense of community and public safety. You will get a historical overview of the major trends in urban planning and meet a range of stakeholders in urban planning who will provide examples of innovative methods and people-centered approaches to create sustainable solutions.
Finally, you will be provided with a series of resources to inspire you to help create awareness and action around an idea or sustainable solution in the field of urbanisation and health.
Researchers and stakeholders in urban planning will introduce you to cases from cities in Denmark, Spain, Portugal and many other urban settings across the world.
The aim of the course is to further interdisciplinary knowledge on urbanisation and health. We plan for the course to reach students, citizens in general including activists, as well as planners, practitioners and decision-makers from countries all around the world with an interest in sustainable urban planning.
The course takes approximately 25 hours to complete.
The course has been developed with support from EIT Health in a partnership between the University of Copenhagen, the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and the University of Coimbra.