What are the challenges to the livability of contemporary cities, and what are the recent planning trends that deserve our attention? How do we interpret livability with urban development indicators? How can the indicators of Sustainable Development Goals be used to examine urban governance? How do classical urban theories and urban models deal with urban livability, and how can we articulate them to the understanding of our cities?

This course explores the concepts, theoretical framework, policy-making, and implementation of livable cities from a dynamic view of urban changes. Our course will be conducted through lectures, individual and group presentations, workshops, and on-site visits, etc.

*The City, Government, Action Plan, and SDGs

The first part starts with a scanning of the cities you live in. Class participants exchange their urban experience based on an autobiography embedded in urban growth (or decline). Then we unfold the journey by examining the urban agenda of the city you choose, with a comparison of other cities by taking in scale, political and social context as variables. Green Transportation, affordable housing, social care and protection, cultural and gender equality are the key issues to discuss. The framework of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by the United Nations will be introduced for the review. A few SDGs Voluntary Local Reviews (VLR) from cities across different cultures will serve as a reference.

*New Urban Agenda

The second part focuses on the new urban agenda. It focuses on urban transition and the capacity of urban governance. We explore how cities face the systematic crisis and how they struggle to keep their resilience. These challenges include, for example, (1) Demographic transition: the arrival of immigrants and the aging society. (2) Climate change: Countermeasures for resilient cities, green transportation, circular economy, etc. (3) COVID-19 crisis: social distancing vs. social connection. A lecture from the instructor will be given as the general guide, while the inputs from groups are expected to enrich the discussion. We will explore the role of digital governance by inviting experts and social groups to share their works. My collaborative research team from the Department of Civil Engineering is invited to demonstrate our project. “In Visible City” will share with us their ideas of visualizing the city from the bottom-up. And international renowned scholar Prof. Mike Douglass will also join to give a lecture.

* Re-examining Theory and Action
In the third part, we review urban theories and link concepts to the core values of livable cities. We will read the literature of important urban theorists including E. Howard, J. Jacobs, L. Mumford, W. Whyte, and H. Lefebvre. Concepts related to urban vibrancy, social inclusiveness, ecological justice, and quality of life will be highlighted.