LUP-35806 Mobility & Network Infrastructures

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Contents:

The course provides an interdisciplinary perspective on the planning of network infrastructures and focuses on the interrelation between the flows of goods, people and energy in the metropolitan and urban landscapes. The central theme of the course is how the risks and impacts of site-specific infrastructures translate into land use planning measures and risk prevention strategies. Special attention is given to the interrelation between transportation routes and site-specific infrastructures like industrial and energy facilities. Examples of locational assessments are discussed together with the European regulatory framework (EIA, SEA and key European legislations) in concert with the Dutch legal framework. A key-learning objective of the course is developing a critically autonomous outlook on the feasibility and desirability of major infrastructural projects. This outcome will be reached by analysing one or more case-studies.
The course prepares students to identify the best possible integration of transport networks and site-specific installations according to the objectives of sustainability, safety and social equity. To facilitate these thematic distinctions the course is divided in three parts:
- introduction to network theory, sustainable infrastructures planning and to the analysis and dimensioning of major urban networks;
- environmental Impact Assessment (theory and techniques), risk assessment and technological risk prevention (theory and practice);
- introduction to the ethics of technology and to the societal and moral implications of the design and siting of network infrastructures.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- explain some important theories in the domain of mobility and network infrastructures;
- explain the notion and implications of sustainability for the planning of network infrastructures and how this influences the selection of technologies;
- apply software tools to generate and analyse mobility trends and patterns;
- discuss methods and practices of risk analysis, impact assessment and feasibility studies in the context of mobility and network infrastructures;
- discuss the socio-ethical implications of infrastructural developments from the perspective of spatial planning.

Activities:

Lectures and practical assignment (in both cases attendance is mandatory).

Examination:

The exam consists of 3 group-exercises on a proposed case-study to be performed along the course (e.g. practical part) and a final individual written exam consisting of 20 questions (e.g. theoretical part). An average sufficient performance at the 3 group-exercises (i.e. mark 6) is the pre-condition of admission to the theoretical exam, at which sufficiency is achieved when replying correctly to at least 12 of the 20 questions. The final mark will be the average mark between the practical and theoretical exams' results.

Literature:

A reader and further study material will be provided both at the beginning and along the course