Chevron Left
Back to Urban Nature: Connecting Cities, Sustainability and Innovation

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Urban Nature: Connecting Cities, Sustainability and Innovation by Lund University

4.7
stars
431 ratings

About the Course

How can we work with nature to design and build our cities? This course explores urban nature and nature-based solutions in cities in Europe and around the world. We connect together the key themes of cities, nature, sustainability and innovation. We discuss how to assess what nature-based solutions can achieve in cities. We examine how innovation is taking place in cities in relation to nature. And we analyse the potential of nature-based solutions to help respond to climate change and sustainability challenges. This course was launched in January 2020, and it was updated in September 2021 with new podcasts, films and publications. The course is produced by Lund University in cooperation with partners from Naturvation – a collaborative project on finding synergies between cities, nature, sustainability and innovation. The course features researchers, practitioners and entrepreneurs from a range organisations....

Top reviews

TZ

Sep 24, 2023

I recently had the opportunity to take the course "Urban Nature: Connecting Cities, Sustainability, and Innovation," and I must say that it was a highly enlightening and thought-provoking experience.

AR

Mar 3, 2020

Excellent course I have learned alot about the importance of nature and how nature can be used as a solution for solving urban problems. Great experencie can't wait for the next course.

Filter by:

1 - 25 of 145 Reviews for Urban Nature: Connecting Cities, Sustainability and Innovation

By Chronis R

Jun 12, 2021

I have really enjoyed the course and although some people have mentioned (in their reviews) that it could have been in more depth, I found it informative enough (even for someone like me that has a MSc in environmental studies). And if someone has the time to read all the extra material, in my opinion the course is more than in depth. I have learned a lot of new things, especially in aspects that I wasnt that familiar, like basics of planning and managing a project (environmental or not). In addition, and at the moment I think its one of few courses of its kind (using green infrastructures in an urban environment for sustainability, tackling climate change and several other benefits). I hope to see more courses of this kind, and even whole degrees around urban greening, urban horticulture/agriculture etc.

By Ishara K

Jan 27, 2020

This course is a mandatory subject to the construction industry and i recommended to complete this for the undergraduate students and after higher study students.This will lead to us to planning ,designing and monitoring process sustainable with the nature for a better future.i'm sure i will support for my city to develop such kind of knowledge which i get from this course.Thank you all of lectures ,videos and the notes.

By Sabrina E

Feb 18, 2020

Excellent preparation and presentation of course materials, enthusiastic lecturers, good selection of case study and broad perspective on the subject-keep up the good work!

By Simon C

Sep 12, 2020

I enjoyed the course, even though it's sympathies to neo-liberal pathways of development seemed to undermine its own objectives. These issues cannot be removed from a wider social consciousness regarding society, history and politics. Economics has always been the parasite that destroys environments and the disadvantaged people of the world, through colonialism, capitalism, war, and interventionist 'development' projects. Nonetheless, I got a useful insight into the implementation of NBS and some of the challenges faced when trying to bring them into reality.

By Md. N N

Oct 11, 2020

Such a wonderful course! Nature based solution can increase resilience and address climate change in cities. The course is not about how to design them in particular but has so much ammunition that you can completely internalize NBS. Policy and mainstreaming is the focus. But you would be hooked on reading and understanding policy. 14 institutes of Europe with EU contribute to this. The videos, readings and quizzes are great. It is a must for urban planners, architects, municipal staffs and citizens alike. highly enjoyable learning experience and really broaden the knowledge. and finally one secret of mine...nearly trying almost 4 to 5 years, enrolling almost 50 moocs in coursera, THIS IS MY FIRST SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED MOOC. Thanks to this course for enabling me to break the wall. Hopefully, finishing more moocs on cities soon.

By Rashi G

Apr 8, 2020

I loved this course and enjoyed learning about the new concept of nature based solutions. The videos were engaging. I hope more such courses are designed and it would be amazing to have one which interfaces NBS with a particular sector, such as transportation. How can we practically apply it to our projects? Would be very useful to learn about. I would also recommend a twitter hashtag which would have helped built a longer lasting community of those interested in this area. As of now I would tweet marking Kes McCormick, Harriett Bulkeley, NATURVATION etc. Some other MOOCs I have been part of have had specific hashtags which have really helped build longer term engagement and sustainability around the area.

By Charmae P W

Jun 4, 2021

A very rich learning journey and very straightforward, clear and concise course structure. I've learned so much especially in terms of innovation pathways in NBS. The case examples videos are also very helpful and the podcast series is a great way to break the screen time and just listen to the insights of various practitioners and experts who have implemented NBS in their cities. Overall, a very rewarding learning experience for this course. Kudos Lund University and Naturvation!

By Sergio E M H

Mar 10, 2020

It is a very wide course in knowledge, very practical to acquire knowledge, with readings and very didactic videos and with a wide range of topics very useful for my professional development.

By Albert R

Mar 4, 2020

Excellent course I have learned alot about the importance of nature and how nature can be used as a solution for solving urban problems. Great experencie can't wait for the next course.

By 郭逸飞

Jan 21, 2020

Thanks so much for your good presentation. Hope to see you in future!

By Nicole M

Jan 30, 2020

Lund's sustainability courses never dissapoint!

By Milan W

May 4, 2020

Thank you for creating such an interactive and interesting course. I am walking through my city with a lot more attention to the little urban nature we already have and also see where there would be massive potential to further integrate more NBS. The course also gave me great basic knowledge on NBSs, the different integration concepts and also where problems arise. I hope this topic will grow in importance and that the government will take proactive approaches now. In the city of Hamburg, the Senat is looking for NBS rather than grey infrastructure to protect the city from the rising sea level and the increasing storm surge events.

By Lizzy O

Jun 11, 2020

Very accessible, informational, enlighting and inspirational course! It was with great pleasure that I educated myself each week on the different topics of Nature Based Solutions. I feel I have a deeper understanding of the different underlying actors and necessities as well as the possibilities for implementation, collaboration and business models needed for NBS. To connect with the greater picture of NBS already implemented, being in the process of implementation or being planned by many cities all over the world was really inspirational and uplifting. Thank you!

By Elena W

Oct 19, 2020

Incredibly informative and comprehensive course. Not only an introduction to NBS but provides ideas and vision for moving forward. Wonderful course and highly recommend.

By 艳舞贾

Mar 17, 2020

Great course and amazing speakers! What you are sharing here is super meaningful, and I would like to know more about NBU and make my efforts if it is possible. Thanks!

By arne n

Feb 16, 2020

My one gripe would be that while this indicates a lot of useful information and knowledge of regulatory organs that need convincing to support greening efforts, the general message isn't progressive/radical enough. Without requesting Greenpeace level activism, a little more potentially constructive ideas would be great, considering the vast majority of currently existing urban landscapes largely neglect green and blue solutions, apparently to an increasing degree simultaneously with population increase. instead of added splotches of green here an there, widespread and integrated long term solutions would effectively tip the scale in favor of not waiting for the electric revolution to turn cities into nice spaces again in 30-40 years. In addition, and this is possibly just me being a douche, while the presentation from the city of Berlin is likely made with good intent, the actual reality of being in that city is very different from entering one of the very few and far between green spaces neatly presented in the video. But, positivity is good.

By R S

Jul 2, 2021

Content is too vague and doesn't actually provide working solutions. The course is structured mostly on a case-study based mode of teaching. However, almost all the case studies are limited to the european context.

By Bilal K

Oct 8, 2023

I recently completed the course "Urban Nature: Connecting Cities, Sustainability and Innovation" from LUND university, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about urban nature and its role in creating more livable and sustainable cities. The course material was high quality and informative, and the instructor was engaging and knowledgeable. I learned a lot about the different types of urban nature, the benefits of urban nature, and the challenges of implementing urban nature solutions. The course also included a number of case studies of successful urban nature initiatives around the world, which was very helpful in understanding how urban nature can be used to address real-world challenges. Overall, I had a very positive experience with this course. I learned a lot, and I would definitely recommend it to others.

By Sweta P

Jul 7, 2022

I must compliment the way the course has been designed. It is a perfect combination of reading material, podcasts, videos and stakeholders' interviews. The content is put together very meticulously ensuring all aspects of urban nature are aptly covered. The compendium and other reading materials are comprehensive, easy to understand and designed very well. The assignment made me dive into the nature-based solutions of my own city which I have been witnessing for all these years, but this was the first time that I appreciated them from the lens of nature-based solutions.

I really wish the NatUrVation project also happens in India, and I would look forward to being a part of the team and contribute.

Warm regards to the Course Team

Love and hugs from India 😊

Sweta Purohit (Rajpurohit)

By Alison N

Oct 18, 2020

Stimulating, well organised and a clear structure for a beginner like me. A good balance between theory and case studies. I particularly enjoyed doing the written piece and discovered a community garden in the centre of my town that I did not know existed.

One practical comment, it took me a lot longer to do the weekly readings than the 10 minutes indicated.

I would recommend this course to anyone interested in sustainability and local initiatives. I shall look for further courses to continue with and I would love to go and visit Malmo once we can travel again.

By Sri M G

Jul 23, 2021

It's been a valuable experience to learn about nature-based solutions for a sustaiable urban development. Not just the knowledge from the lecturer, but also the case studies from many cities around the world. Many dimensions are covered, from what, why and how to implement it. We also are introduced to different challenges, key drivers to motivate one to develop a green initiative. Overall, EXCELLENT and thank you Lund University. Looking forward to having an online post master's courses from you.

By Maria A G A

Feb 19, 2021

The course helps to understand how nature-based solutions are essential resources for cities to face the challenges related to the climate crisis, in addition to making them better places to live. It helps to think about the responsibility of ordinary people and the importance of their participation in a changing context. It inspired many reflections and helped me to think about the problems in my city and how nature can be a great ally to solve them. Ready for citizen action.

By Tülin M

Nov 27, 2022

I chose this course to learn more about sustainability while studying Urban and Regional Planning. I am very happy with the results. I was very happy to be asked for our thoughts on the subject in the lecture videos and to be able to participate in the lecture in this way. In addition, while doing the given work, I really had an idea about how I can examine what I have learnt in my own environment. I would like to thank the lecturers in this regard.

By Daniel G

Aug 16, 2021

Great introductory course on how nature based solutions can improve climate resilience and quality of life for urban residents. Especially enjoyed the section that discussed creating multiple value propositions for urban nature projects that span the interest and benefits of a variety of stakeholders. It would be great to see another course that looks at some of the areas covered in more detail or even a nature based solutions specialization.

By Munasinghage P W P

Sep 12, 2021

It is a great pleasure to study this topic at Lund University. Also would like to express that the topic is significant to the present contest because we all have to face the climate change challenge in the future. At least if we can start at the grassroots level to meet the challenges, we think that is the most efficient way. Thank you again for the lovey and exciting dialogues, discussions, and explanations throughout the course.