10th Short Course

Developing Courses on Urban Adaptation to Climate Change

12th-18th July 2012: Independent University Bangladesh (IUB), Dhaka, Bangladesh

Facilitators

  • David Satterthwaite (IIED)
  • David Dodman (IIED)
  • Saleemul Huq (IIED, ICCCAD)

Short Course Summery

In the next 20 years the world’s urban population is expected to rise from 3.3 billion to 5 billion. Urbanisation promises to increase the pressure on infrastructure and services like road networks and the provision of electricity and water and sanitation. Climate change presents an additional challenge for cities in both developed and developing countries.

Increasing temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, rising sea levels and more frequent and severe extreme events threaten to overwhelm urban infrastructure, emergency services, social services and urban management systems. Adaptation will require action at the local level to adapt to climate change and protect the residents, industries, societies and economies from the impacts of climate change.

This course was aimed at strengthening the capacity of individuals and institutions to offer training on climate impacts, vulnerability and adaptation in an urban setting. Participants were provided with training on key climate change issues in an urban context, as well as on how to develop courses and conduct research to enhance students’ understanding of these.

Central to both of these will be building an appreciation of key research topics and approaches on climate change and cities, which will increase knowledge and understanding of the issues as well as providing a local knowledge base with which to engage students. The course was conducted using a range of teaching methods including lectures, participatory discussions and case studies. Participants will share their own experience of developing and delivering courses on issues related to climate change and cities. The course also included a field visit to a climate-affected area of Dhaka to see an example of urban adaptation. This component of the course demonstrated for participants how to integrate field visits and class work to enhance learning.

Download the Short Course Report