Postgraduate Course: Data, Mobility and Infrastructure (fusion on-site) (EFIE11179)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh Futures Institute |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | Cities across the world are increasingly required to define policies aimed at meeting targets for a sustainable future for all (UN-Habitat 2009). This course will focus on how data can help supporting policy makers in developing a sustainable transport system centred on active travel.
Low- or non-emitting vehicular transport modes alone are known to be insufficient to reach this ambition hence the importance to encourage active travel. The course explores what active travel means and how understanding and analysing data can provide the tools to make resilient policy tools and impact to deliver this agenda. |
| Course description |
Policy makers have made commitments to decarbonise and transform our cities and there is now an expectation that such commitments are implemented in the immediate future. In this context, data is a vital asset as objective evidence to influence policy decisions. This course will focus on leveraging data to support the planning of sustainable transportation systems built around the concept of active travel.
The course will provide knowledge on sustainable transportation systems and active travel and how it relates to well-being and the environment. It will explore the use of both traditional and new forms of data to investigate human mobility and assess existing transportation infrastructure. Furthermore, it will introduce students to geographic data science approaches and open-source tools for transportation planning.
Students will work individually and in groups, to investigate how data can underpin and support decision making for sustainable cities. They will access a wide range of digital learning environments, such as livestreamed sessions, interactive coding sessions, and other tools for sharing materials and discuss with peers.
Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) - On-Site Fusion Course Delivery Information:
The Edinburgh Futures Institute will teach this course in a way that enables online and on-campus students to study together. This approach (our 'fusion' teaching model) offers students flexible and inclusive ways to study, and the ability to choose whether to be on-campus or online at the level of the individual course. It also opens up ways for diverse groups of students to study together regardless of geographical location. To enable this, the course will use technologies to record and live-stream student and staff participation during their teaching and learning activities.
Students should be aware that:
- Classrooms used in this course will have additional technology in place: students might not be able to sit in areas away from microphones or outside the field of view of all cameras.
- Unless the lecturer or tutor indicates otherwise you should assume the session is being recorded.
As part of your course, you will need access to a personal computing device. Unless otherwise stated activities will be web browser based and as a minimum we recommend a device with a physical keyboard and screen that can access the internet.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2023/24, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 20 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 5,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 2,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 6,
Formative Assessment Hours 2,
Other Study Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
81 )
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| Additional Information (Learning and Teaching) |
Other Study: Scheduled Group-work Hours (hybrid online/on-campus) - 2
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Summative Assessment:
The course will be assessed by means of the following assessment components:
1) Reproducible Notebook (30%)
Reproducible notebook elaborating on the data analysis carried out during the intensive.
[Learning Outcomes 1, 4]
2) 1500 Word Reflective Report (70%)
Reflective Report (1500 words) expanding on the analysis carried out during the intensive activities. Reports must be submitted 3 weeks after the intensive.
[Learning Outcomes 1,2,3,4] |
| Feedback |
Formative Feedback:
Data Analysis Plan (1hr for approx. 4 groups of 5 students): Proposals of the data analysis work to be carried out during the intensive phase is quickly presented by students on Day 2. Verbal comments from educator form the basis of the formative feedback. This will feed-forward the analysis work during the rest of the day.
Reflective Report (1hr for approx. 4 groups of 5 students): Educator will provide written formative feedback on a short abstract of the essay and on the final essay. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Develop and interpret metrics to evaluate active travel infrastructure and sustainable mobility systems.
- Extract, investigate and report on case study data using advanced geographic data science methodologies.
- Demonstrate the ability to think critically about data usage in relation to sustainable transportation.
- Acquire the ability to independently develop data analysis and visualisation.
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Reading List
Essential Reading:
Paul A. Chatterton, Unlocking Sustainable Cities, 2019, Chapter 1 The car-free city
Carolina Criado Perez, Invisible women, 2019, Chapter 1 Can snow-clearing be sexist?
Pereira, R., Schwanen, T. & Banister, D. (2017). Distributive justice and equity in transportation. Transport Reviews 37, 170-191.
Banister (2008). The sustainable mobility paradigm.
Lovelace R. Geocomputation with R Chapter 13 accessible at https://geocompr.robinlovelace.net/transport.html
OECD 2005 Handbook on Constructing Composite Indicators. Chapter 1, accessible at https://www.oecd.org/sdd/42495745.pdf
Alexiou, A., Singleton, A., & Longley, P. A. (2016). A classification of multidimensional open data for urban morphology. Built Environment, 42(3), 382-395.
Shashank, A., & Schuurman, N. (2019). Unpacking walkability indices and their inherent assumptions. Health & place, 55, 145-154.
Arellana, J., Saltarín, M., Larrañaga, A. M., González, V. I., & Henao, C. A. (2020). Developing an urban bikeability index for different types of cyclists as a tool to prioritise bicycle infrastructure investments. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 139, 310-334.
Lovelace, R., Goodman, A., Aldred, R., Berkoff, N., Abbas, A., & Woodcock, J. (2017). The Propensity to Cycle Tool: An open source online system for sustainable transport planning. Journal of transport and land use, 10(1), 505-528.
Recommended Reading:
Michael Szell Keynote Video accessible at ATI-website (this will be available soon) - https://nerds.itu.dk/event/keynote-talk-michael-szell-at-alan-turing-institute/ |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Research and Enquiry:
Graduates will be able to conduct independent research, think analytically and critically: developed by investigating on complex dynamics through theory and quantitative data, and evaluating information thoroughly.
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy:
Graduates will be able to think creatively and engage in independent learning: developed by being challenged with complexity and incentivised in thinking outside the box.
Personal Effectiveness:
Graduates will be able to work collaboratively: developed through group discussions, recognising and capitalising on individuals' different thinking, working with people from a range of cultures and backgrounds.
Communication:
Ability to develop oral and written communication of complex ideas and arguments: developed through a range of activities that involve public speaking and scientific reporting/writing. |
| Keywords | PG,EFI,Level 11,Sustainability,Sustainable Lands and Cities,Data,Mobility,Infrastructure |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alessia Calafiore
Tel:
Email: acalafio@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Yasmine Lewis
Tel:
Email: yasmine.lewis@ed.ac.uk |
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