Sustainable Urban Systems Training Course

Participants can build a defensible baseline for urban sustainability planning using service and environmental data.

• Baseline inventories combine population, land use, service coverage and consumption
• ISO 37120 indicators benchmark city services and quality-of-life outcomes
• Data dictionaries specify definitions, units, sources, owners and update frequency
• Disaggregating indicators exposes inequalities by income, gender, age and location
• GIS layers connect assets, hazards, demand patterns and underserved neighbourhoods
• Data quality checks test completeness, consistency, timeliness and source credibility

Participants can prepare a city-scale emissions profile and identify priority reduction sources.

• GHG Protocol scopes distinguish direct, purchased-energy and value-chain emissions
• City inventory boundaries reconcile territorial, community-wide and consumption-based approaches
• Emission factors selected from national inventories, utilities and fuel suppliers
• Transport emissions estimated from vehicle kilometres, fuel sales and mode shares
• Building energy profiles separate electricity, cooling, heating and cooking demand
• Marginal abatement cost curves compare emissions reductions and investment requirements

Participants can assess how urban form affects mobility demand, infrastructure efficiency and environmental outcomes.

• Compact development reduces trip distances and network expansion requirements
• Mixed-use zoning supports local access to jobs, services and amenities
• Transit-oriented development aligns density, station access and affordable housing
• Floor-area ratios and plot coverage shape energy and public-realm performance
• Street-network connectivity measured through block size, intersections and permeability
• Urban growth scenarios test infrastructure demand under alternative development patterns

Participants can specify active-travel measures that improve safety, access and public health outcomes.

• Complete Streets principles allocate space among pedestrians, cycles and vehicles
• Level of Traffic Stress assesses cycling network comfort and continuity
• Pedestrian audits identify crossing delays, shade gaps and accessibility barriers
• Safe System approach separates vulnerable users from high-speed traffic
• School streets reduce vehicle exposure during arrival and departure periods
• Walkability indices combine connectivity, destination access, density and streetscape quality

Participants can develop mobility measures that shift trips toward efficient and inclusive modes.

• Travel-demand modelling estimates trips by origin, destination, mode and purpose
• Bus rapid transit design integrates dedicated lanes, stations and signal priority
• Network redesign improves frequency, transfers, coverage and operating productivity
• Mobility-as-a-Service integrates journey planning, fares and shared transport options
• Parking maximums and pricing manage car demand in constrained urban areas
• Accessibility analysis measures jobs and services reachable within defined travel times

Participants can assess electric mobility deployment requirements for fleets, public transport and private vehicles.

• Fleet electrification prioritises duty cycles, depot access and total ownership cost
• Charging typologies compare slow, fast, rapid and opportunity charging
• Load profiles identify grid constraints created by clustered charging demand
• Smart charging schedules demand around tariffs, renewables and operational needs
• Battery lifecycle management addresses procurement, degradation, reuse and recycling
• Charging-site selection considers dwell time, power availability, safety and accessibility

Participants can identify and prioritise energy-efficiency actions for urban buildings and services.

• Energy-use intensity benchmarks compare buildings by function and climate conditions
• Retrofit audits identify fabric, controls, lighting and equipment improvement measures
• Building energy models test demand reduction under alternative design assumptions
• District cooling evaluates diversified loads, thermal storage and network losses
• Public lighting upgrades assess LEDs, controls, maintenance and safety outcomes
• Energy performance contracting allocates savings risks between client and provider

Participants can evaluate decentralised energy options and district-scale supply strategies.

• Solar resource assessments estimate rooftop generation potential and seasonal output
• Distributed generation business models compare ownership, tariffs and power purchase agreements
• Microgrids combine generation, storage, controls and critical-load protection
• Battery storage evaluates duration, cycling, degradation and dispatch value
• District energy networks compare heat sources, pipe losses and customer density
• Grid-interconnection studies identify protection, voltage and capacity requirements

Participants can develop water-management measures that improve reliability, efficiency and catchment protection.

• Urban water balances track abstraction, treatment, distribution, use and losses
• Non-revenue water analysis separates physical losses, commercial losses and metering errors
• Demand management combines metering, tariffs, fixtures and consumer communications
• Rainwater harvesting assesses yield, storage, treatment and end-use requirements
• Wastewater reuse matches treatment quality to irrigation, industry and public uses
• Catchment protection links land management to source-water quality and quantity

Participants can select stormwater and flood-management interventions using catchment and asset criteria.

• Flood-risk mapping combines rainfall, topography, drainage capacity and exposure
• Sustainable drainage systems retain, infiltrate, convey and treat runoff
• Detention basins reduce peak flows through controlled temporary storage
• Permeable surfaces improve infiltration while requiring maintenance and sediment control
• Blue-green corridors combine drainage, biodiversity, cooling and public recreation
• Asset criticality identifies flood protection priorities for essential urban services

Participants can design circular waste strategies that improve recovery, service quality and cost control.

• Waste composition studies quantify organics, recyclables, residuals and contamination
• Waste hierarchy prioritises prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery and disposal
• Source separation systems specify containers, collection frequencies and communications
• Material recovery facilities assess throughput, contamination, markets and operating costs
• Organic waste treatment compares composting, anaerobic digestion and collection logistics
• Extended producer responsibility assigns end-of-life costs to product producers

Participants can assess waste-service improvements through health, safety, inclusion and livelihood criteria.

• Collection-route optimisation reduces fuel use, missed pickups and vehicle wear
• Occupational risk assessments address manual handling, sharps, traffic and heat
• Informal waste workers mapped by roles, risks, income and recovery contribution
• Service coverage indicators identify unserved settlements and illegal dumping hotspots
• Behaviour-change campaigns use audience segmentation, barriers and service readiness
• Landfill management controls leachate, methane, fires, vectors and worker exposure

Participants can integrate nature-based solutions into urban infrastructure and public-realm programmes.

• Nature-based solutions provide cooling, drainage, habitat and amenity benefits
• Urban heat-island mapping identifies priority areas for cooling interventions
• Tree-canopy targets consider species, survival rates, shade and maintenance
• Biodiversity net gain assesses habitat condition before and after development
• Ecosystem-service valuation compares avoided costs and community co-benefits
• Green-infrastructure networks connect parks, waterways, streets and ecological corridors

Participants can incorporate climate hazards and service dependencies into urban resilience plans.

• Climate-risk assessments combine hazard, exposure, vulnerability and adaptive capacity
• Scenario planning tests infrastructure performance under heat, drought and flooding
• Critical-infrastructure interdependency maps identify cascading service-failure pathways
• Adaptation pathways sequence actions against thresholds, uncertainty and investment windows
• Resilience standards specify redundancy, recoverability, safe failure and continuity
• Heat-health action plans coordinate warnings, cooling centres and health services

Participants can assess urban sustainability actions for distributional impacts, health outcomes and procedural fairness.

• Equity impact assessments identify winners, burdens and mitigation measures
• Environmental justice mapping locates disproportionate exposure to pollution and hazards
• Health impact assessment links urban interventions to physical and mental health
• Universal design improves access for older people and persons with disabilities
• Just transition planning addresses workforce change, skills needs and livelihood risks
• Participatory planning methods include marginalised groups in decision-making processes

Participants can establish governance arrangements for cross-agency urban sustainability programmes.

• Stakeholder mapping identifies influence, interests, dependencies and engagement requirements
• RACI matrices assign accountability for decisions, delivery and performance reporting
• Interagency coordination protocols align planning, utility, transport and public-health functions
• Public consultation plans define audiences, methods, feedback and decision points
• Community benefit agreements document commitments for affected neighbourhoods and developers
• Conflict-resolution techniques address contested land use, tariffs and service changes

Participants can prepare fundable urban interventions with appropriate procurement and financing structures.

• Lifecycle costing compares capital, operation, maintenance, replacement and disposal costs
• Cost-benefit analysis values travel time, health, carbon and avoided damages
• Green bonds finance eligible projects through documented use-of-proceeds frameworks
• Public-private partnership structures allocate construction, demand and performance risks
• Sustainable procurement criteria specify environmental, social and whole-life requirements
• Project business cases connect strategic need, options, affordability and delivery risks

Participants can translate priority interventions into controlled implementation and monitoring arrangements.

• Theory of change links activities, outputs, outcomes and intended impacts
• Implementation roadmaps sequence policy, design, procurement, construction and operations
• Key performance indicators define targets, baselines, thresholds and accountable owners
• Benefits-realisation plans track expected savings, emissions reductions and service outcomes
• Risk registers assign treatments for technical, financial, political and delivery risks
• Dashboard design presents decision-useful indicators, trends, exceptions and corrective actions

Participants can build, review and present a complete sustainable urban systems action plan for a defined city or district.

• Problem statement defines geographic scope, affected groups and priority service failures
• Baseline evidence combines emissions, resource flows, accessibility and climate-risk indicators
• Intervention portfolio integrates mobility, energy, water, waste and green infrastructure
• Option appraisal compares lifecycle costs, carbon, equity, resilience and delivery feasibility
• Governance and financing plan assigns partners, responsibilities, funding and milestones
• Performance dashboard specifies indicators, data owners, reporting cadence and corrective actions