Sustainable Cities MSc at Kings College London

This interdisciplinary programme explores beyond the ‘technical’ aspects of sustainable urban development and provides a critical understanding of how cities are shaped by both human and physical processes. You will develop an awareness of the historical context and contemporary variety of sustainable city ideas and practices around the world, and the key challenges surrounding their implementation.

Key benefits

• Study the urban future in the heart of London
• Wide choice of optional modules from the Geography Department and beyond, allowing you to follow your own interests in this field
• Experience of conducting in-depth research into sustainable cities
• Guest practitioner and policy speakers
• Environmental internships are available

Description

Our Sustainable Cities MSc course will give you advanced understanding of contemporary debates about sustainable cities, with a specific focus on the human and physical processes shaping urban ecologies and environments.

We aim to:

• Develop your critical understanding of the interrelationships between urbanization and human lifestyles, politics, economy, ecology and environment.
• Develop your critical understanding of human impacts on physical processes in cities, and the implications for habitation and liveability. 
• Develop your ability to evaluate advanced scholarship in the field of urban policy critically, with reference to sustainable cities.
• Promote initiative and develop your independent critical judgment in identifying, analysing and solving problems at an advanced level. 
• Develop your relevant transferable skills which are embedded in our learning and assessment schemes. 
• Develop your practical skills in data handling, interpretation and use, and develop your skills in connecting physical dynamics to social, political and management processes.
• Enable you to focus on the challenges of managing cities in an integrated and sustainable manner, regardless of your first degree discipline.
• Enable you to deploy scientific, social and economic theory within a sustainability framework which takes into account the need to address the needs of society, the economy and the protection of environmental resources.

The course combines pure and applied research methods from human and physical geography, giving you an advanced level understanding of contemporary debates about sustainable cities. We focus on the human and physical processes shaping urban ecologies, environments and social processes.

Career prospects

The skills that you develop on this course will allow you to excel in a wide range of careers in international organisations, agencies, consultancies, national and city governments, charities, research organisations and academia.