Is climate change in the curriculum? An analysis of Australian urban planning degrees

Abstract

The profession of urban planning contributes to the design and spatial arrangement of cities, and has been recognized as a key potential facilitator of action on climate change. Yet, there has been limited research to understand if, or how, urban planning students are being educated for climate change competency. This paper investigates the coverage of climate change in the curriculum of professionally accredited urban planning university degrees in Australia. Climate change coverage was assessed across three fields: (1) explicit climate change issues; (2) sustainable urban form issues (e.g. contributing to climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions), and (3) education for sustainability (with links to professional competencies relevant to climate change action). A content analysis was undertaken of: (1) the Planning Institute of Australia’s Policy for the Accreditation of Urban Planning Qualifications, and (2) a sample of nine accredited urban planning degrees. Limited coverage of explicit climate change issues and sustainable urban form issues was found. Coverage of education for sustainability themes (liberal education; civics; interdisciplinarity; cosmopolitanism) was stronger. Results indicate that the professional accreditation policy, and the content of urban planning degrees should be revised to include greater coverage of explicit climate change issues.

Keywords:

• Urban planning
• spatial planning
• climate change
• curriculum
• higher education
• mitigation
• adaptation

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge Lara Brown’s research assistance in the analysis of the curriculum documents. Thanks to Steven Bland from UN-HABITAT Planners for Climate Action for broadening our awareness of research activities undertaken as part of this network. The research was funded by a Research Development Grant from the Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anna Hurlimann

Anna Hurlimann is an Associate Professor in Urban Planning at the University of Melbourne Australia. Her teaching and research is focused on climate change adaptation and mitigation, urban sustainability and sustainable water management.

Patrick Brandful Cobbinah

Patrick Cobbinah is a Lecturer in Urban Planning at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Patrick's background is in human geography with broad experience in urban and regional planning gained through teaching and research conducted at universities in Ghana and Australia.

Judy Bush

Judy Bush is a Lecturer in Urban Planning at the University of Melbourne Australia. Her research focuses on urban environmental policy and planning, and nature-based solutions policy and governance in a changing climate.

Alan March

Alan March is a Professor in Urban Planning at the University of Melbourne Australia. He undertakes research and teaching in the area of urban planning and disaster risk reduction, including bushfire.