Sustainable Infrastructure and Services in Development (DEVP0024)

Module Information

In a context of a highly globalised world and increasing sustainability concerns, this module critically looks at historical and contemporary forces that shape the present urban condition, particularly in the global South. It provides a theoretical foundation for the analysis of urban fragmentation, exclusion and urban and regional unsustainability, all of which tend to disproportionately affect poor women and men and, more generally, social groups and communities marginalised in decision-making processes. With a special attention to the governance of resources and services, the module critically examines mainstream approaches to sustainability and provides elements that allow for a reframing of ‘sustainable infrastructure’. In doing so, the module is attentive to actors and social movements that are creating alternative forms of decision-making and governance, which can in turn lead to more sustainable and socially just outcomes.

On completion of the module, you will have gained:

module aims to attain the following learning outcomes:

A comprehensive understanding of the underlying causes and consequences of the unequal conditions of access to essential resources and services, with a focus in urban and periurban areas.
 A critical understanding of how the creation of infrastructure and infrastructure networks is embedded in wider struggles for social, economic and political power.
 The ability to examine tensions inherent in urban-rural, public-private and formal- informal ‘divides’, while going beyond fixed dichotomies.
 A critical understanding of the assumptions and effects of mainstream governance discourses, policies and practices.
 An appreciation of the role of communities and social movements in the formation of alternative, democratic governance models and everyday practices.

This module builds on the academic foundation built in the modules “Advanced Scientific foundation of endodontic practice”, by providing supervised...