Integrated Project I: Sustainable university campus transition and serious gaming

  © Dr. ir. Ceren Sezer  

Summer Semester 2023

There is an increasing number of attempts to develop university-wide strategies and action plans to combat climate change. The IDEA League universities' report on 'Sustainability and Climate Action on Campuses (September 2022) highlights several key themes, including eco camps, construction and renovation, energy systems, mobility, food and beverage, procurement and waste management, and digitalization. 

Despite these extensive efforts on climate action, there are several challenges which limit to realization of the steps in these focus areas: the literature on sustainable development presents that this is because of the complexity of barriers and drivers and the lack of a holistic approach as an alternative to the current compartmentalized methods. Additionally, several initiatives and tools may help to evaluate and measure progress towards sustainable development (Verhoef and Bossert, 2019). 

This module guides students in developing methods and strategies effective participatory strategies for sustainable university campus transformation. It connects knowledge from different fields to tackle the climate emergency and formulate short-, mid-, and long-term strategies and action plans for decarbonising university campuses. It uses scientific and data-driven methods for spatial analysis and design of the built environment, specifically open public spaces, their use and users, eco and energy landscapes, material, and mobility path and patterns. Additionally, the studio seeks to explore serious gaming as an effective tool for capacity building and decision-making.