by Dr Kelly Siman
By 2050, half of the world’s population will live in cities, placing additional demand on core infrastructure such as food, water, transportation, and healthcare. Throughout the course, we will explore the concept of urban sustainability in general with emphasis on intersectional climate change challenges here in Singapore. But is sustainability enough in our changing world? And what are some ways we can redesign our cities in ways that make efficient use of the resources we have? We’ll look at potential solutions such as the circular economy, industrial symbiosis, and work with Mandai Parks to analyse their own resource flows.
Student Reviews
Anonymous AY22/23 Sem 1
About the Instructor
Bad. Makes promises and mostly does not fulfill them (like promising the class that they will go on a Zoo trip). There is no substance in her teaching. Lack of professionalism.
Content (Structure/Organization)
Initially the course structure and organisation looked promising. However, as the semester went on, most of the plans were thrown to the side as the Prof did not plan for it properly. The grading rubric for the entire module was changed on Week 10 because the highlight of the course (a project related to the class Zoo trip, which requires the forming of groups) was cancelled.
Accessibility
The readings are accessible, however the Prof rarely uses the content within the readings in the class discussions.. Instead, the Prof likes to center most of her discussions on random unrelated fun facts and trivia which most people are not aware of.
Manageability of Workload
There were 2 forum posts, a few small essays and 1 presentation and 1 report throughout the whole semester. The content of the readings are very shallow and can be skipped as there is no penalty. We spent 3 full lessons watching a movie though which is pretty cool.
Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades
Dependent on how much the Professor likes you. All her grading rubrics are rather arbitrary.
Learning Value/Recommendation
If you want to participate in a course that has no value and you wish to do minimal work without having to talk once in class, this is the ideal course.
Additional Comments/Word of Advice
Hopefully the course syllabus has changed. Most of the students who took this module in its first iteration did not enjoy it and complained about it to admin and Profs.