Type of course

Course content

Through the course, you will learn to differentiate between urban, landscape and territorial practices. These practices make it possible to add different perspectives to the spectrum of human activities which impact and form landscapes in the Arctic/subarctic region. These three perspectives overlap with each other and are thematised in the studio courses.

This course’s start point and research work are connected explicitly to urban practices. With a practical focus, it underscores how we actively form landscapes through different practices in interaction with the landscape's specific ecosystem.

Urban practices are fundamentally linked to the city as a phenomenon but cannot be strictly limited to defined city structures or forms of development. In modern societies, where accessibility has, to a large extent, replaced density as a measure of proximity, traditional binaries such as city-country and centre-periphery will often be misleading in relation to the results of contemporary urbanisation processes. These urban practices can therefore unfold across densely populated regions and open landscapes. Not solely reserved for larger urban communities, which there are relatively few of in the Arctic/subarctic, they are equally connected to traditional towns and their transformation through contemporary urbanisation processes. Central to the course is an ecosystem-based understanding of the interaction between urban practices and natural processes. This understanding is essential when dealing with the climatic challenges which are connected to (urban) life in the Arctic/subarctic.

Objectives of the course

After passing the course, the student will have the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge:

• Specific knowledge about the interaction between urban practices and ecosystems in the Arctic/subarctic landscape.
• Specific knowledge about the climatic challenges which are connected to (city) life in the Arctic/subarctic.
• General knowledge about urban conditions in the Arctic/subarctic and a basic understanding of contemporary urbanisation processes.
• Understanding of the role of landscape architecture in relation to urban practices and the ambition of sustainable societal development.

Skills:

• Be able to analyse landscapes and identify the interaction between urban practices and ecosystems.
• Be able to develop landscape architectural responses to issue connected to urban practices, at an advanced level, through design research.
• Be able to incorporate and apply own observations and experience to qualify landscape architectural project proposals.
• Be able to incorporate and apply basic knowledge about biodiversity and ecosystems to qualify landscape architectural project proposals.
• Be able to convey landscape architectural intentions in a manner which expresses empathy with and understanding of the relevant landscape.

General competence

• The ability to independently apply knowledge, skills and, to a certain degree, facilitate own working process.
• The ability to describe the field’s issues with a certain degree of complexity.
• The ability to collaborate with others in the field and, to a certain degree, take responsibility for own and others learning.
• The ability, to a certain degree, to reflect critically on landscape architecture’s societal relevance and the potential role of the landscape architect.

Language of instruction and examination

Teaching methods

Project-based teaching with individual or group supervision. In addition, teaching will be implemented through site visits, fieldwork, lectures and workshops. Review of project work through group seminars constitutes an essential part of the teaching.

The teaching invites critical study of existing, and development of new, practices, which can support the ambition of sustainable societal development.