Minor in Cities
Stemming from the imperative to train students to understanding how Cities can be made liveable amidst increasing urbanisation, Minor in Cities will build upon the Liveable Cities course to provide greater insight and analysis into the components of a liveable city.
It will provide a holistic and comprehensive lens in which students may understand how complex cities are, and that systems thinking is needed to resolve urban challenges, leading to integrated systems solutions that will attain liveability goals. The planned Minor in Cities will be largely case based with teaching being conducted by a mix of practitioners and academics.
To obtain a Minor in Cities, students will take Liveable Cities in addition to four out of five of the following courses:
CDE2501 is offered in both Semester 1 & 2 of each academic year.
CDE2501 Liveable Cities is a core course for all students within the College of Design and Engineering (CDE) under the Sustainable Futures Pillar as part of the CDE common curriculum. It is offered as a General Education (GE) elective for all NUS students from AY 2023/2024.
The course introduces students to the Liveability Framework (LF), developed by the Centre of Liveable Cities (CLC) and the systems thinking approach used to examine cities. Students will explore a range of topics that contribute to understanding a city’s complexities as well as what contributes to successful and sustainable development.
CDE2502 is offered in Semester 2 of each academic year.
This course focuses on the High Quality of Life outcome of the Liveability Framework. The course introduces students to social concepts, topics, and processes within the city and their effects on not only physical infrastructure, but also the intangible effects and manifestations on social structures, the community, and individuals.
With the world rapidly urbanising, how will our cities ensure a high quality of life to make cities ‘liveable’? What is liveability and how do we envision it? This module addresses key issues such as housing, accessibility, health and ageing, conservation, and culture to analyse how social structures affect and extend within the built environment. We will explore the ways in which these structures and processes manifest within the urban context to understand how we can further develop sustainable software, hardware, and ‘heartware’ that contribute to an equitable, liveable city with a high quality of life for its citizens.
Using the themes of Sustainable Towns and Home For All, students will delve deeper into the Quality of Life outcome of the Liveability Framework (LF) developed by the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) as it relates to HDB Towns as well as Singapore as a whole. They will get the opportunity to hear from practitioners and academics to holistically understand the social processes that underpin the concept of a high quality of life and investigate the various manners in which these ideas manifest within a city.
CDE2503 is offered in Semester 2 of each academic year.
Cities in Nature focuses on the Sustainable Environment outcomes of the Liveability Framework. Where Liveable Cities serves as the core foundation module for students to appreciate cities as complex systems presenting a wide range of seemingly simple problems/issues but requiring integrated systems thinking to achieve a holistic outcome, Cities in Nature delves deeper into the Sustainable Environment aspect of liveability.
Problems and issues investigated and discussed are geared towards Singapore’s vision of a City in Nature and how increasingly, many cities around the world are facing environmental crises and disasters. Sustainability is the focus here with an emphasis on the environment, something which is often neglected or rendered secondary in the backdrop of economic growth and development.
Students will learn to appreciate how difficult it is to tackle urban issues, balancing the needs of various stakeholders while minimising the adverse impacts that development often has on the environment. It is possible to develop holistic integrated solutions that allow nature to coexist or even thrive with urban development. By introducing case studies through the USS and real-world examples, students will glean insights on how a City in Nature is made possible.
CDE3504 is offered in Semester 1 of each academic year.
Smart Cities aims to design smart, innovative, sustainable solutions to create a competitive economy, which is one of the key quality of life indicators. It introduces how Singapore tackled its urban challenges specifically in the area of economic and urban development, through case studies and the use of a systems approach based on the Singapore Liveability Framework (LF). Case studies from the Urban Systems Studies (USSs) of Singapore written by the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) will form the basis of this module.
The course will delve deeper into the Liveability Outcomes of Competitive Economy in the LF, and how this (particular) outcomes is achieved, as narrated through the USSs. In this module, the following topics will be covered: Ports, Industrial & Urban Development, Connecting to the World, Knowledge Economy, Financing a City and Working with Markets, and International Case Studies.
CDE3505 is offered in Semester 1 of each academic year.
This course serves to provide students with the foundation that allows for the three liveability outcomes – a competitive economy, sustainable environment, and high quality of life – to be achieved. The module introduces students to how Singapore engages with urban challenges, addressing the Integrated Master Planning & Development methodology and Dynamic Urban Governance systems within the Liveability Framework. The issues that cities face - ageing population, climate change, pandemics etc. - are constantly evolving, and the ways in which we address them must also evolve alongside them. How will we modify our planning approach to address these issues?
Through the module, students will first be introduced to the current planning system (at the strategic, local and operational levels) and how issues are typically addressed with a quantitative and policy framework. Students will then explore the linkages of city planning, urban governance and public policy implementation, to create collaborations between stakeholders to address the gaps within our planning system and policy implementation. Students will have the unique opportunity to understand planning and governance through a public agency's point of view, in the form of simulation exercises. Through the exercise, the teams will experience first-hand the process of designing and implementing policy and technical solutions.
This course explores key contemporary complexities and future urban issues faced by evolving cities as we know today. By drawing on the expertise of leading urban professionals, academics and researchers, students will be led to critically analyse and discuss specific topics relating to current urban issues, debates and technologies. Hosted by CDE, this module will change in theme, topics, and course-leaders ever semester to feature visiting professors and their areas of expertise.
Each run of the course focuses on a topical study or thematic analysis of specific urban issues to provide greater insights and highlight current cutting-edge research and technologies in the field. Students will have the opportunity to learn, interact and collaborate with these leading professionals to stay abreast of the latest trends, practices, and challenges to remain informed and adaptable in the ever-changing environment of cities.
This coming semester AY2023/24 Semester 2, Dr. Jonathan Reichental (Founder, Human Future; Adjunct Professor, School of Management, University of San Francisco) and Dr. Darren Henry Nel (Postdoctoral Fellow, LKYSPP and NUS Cities) will be co-leading the module.
In this course, we will explore and focus on the digital transformation of cities. Specifically, we look at global cities that have implemented digital transformation projects, the technologies and architecture choices that have been utilized, and the factors contributing to various outcomes. In addition to the academic components of this exploration, we will unpack and discuss notable case studies. Classes will be delivered via a mix of traditional lectures and case study discussions by experienced practitioners and a number of guest speakers. Students will have ample opportunity to discuss issues in small groups, and a semester project will serve as a capstone of learning and research.
CDE4501B Topics in Challenges of Cities will be open to all NUS students as an elective during Semester 2 AY 2023/24. This is a limited opportunity to take this course without having prerequisites as well as learn from world renowned practitioners.
For more information about the elective, please contact Lana (lana.allen@nus.edu.sg) or Sanjana (smr@nus.edu.sg).
Contact us to find out more!