Innovations in the Management of the Urban Environment

2025/2026

Учебный год

ENG

Обучение ведется на английском языке

Кто читает:

Департамент государственного администрирования

Статус:

Курс обязательный

Когда читается:

2-й курс, 1, 2 модуль

Преподаватель

Санина Анна Георгиевна

Course Syllabus

Abstract

This course explores issues in the development and application of innovative technologies and approaches in the management of the contemporary city. The aim of the course is to provide students with an advanced understanding of what public innovation is, who manage it in the city, for whom and how. The course is inter-disciplinary in nature and is intended to develop knowledge and skills related to successful urban governance in the digital world. It covers many of the cutting edge services, solutions and products that help to reframe the contemporary urban management for the city and citizens’ sake. The course consists of three parts. The first part presents the theoretical framework of innovation in the contemporary urban management. It stresses the importance of transition from public administration to the management of the urban environment, and shows the role of governance innovation in this process. The second part focuses on the analysis of the new services, products or approaches that are used in the cities worldwide to improve outcomes for the urban environment. Special attention is paid to innovative ideas and approaches in the public sector and urban governance. A particular focus is made on the challenges of innovations and on the ways to develop institutional conditions within the public sector that can stimulate the implementation and diffusion of innovations in the city. Students learn to understand the innovative ways to manage key areas of urban environment, such as urban energy planning and governance; urban design and planning; housing innovations; public transport and urban mobility. The third part discusses how to manage people, budgets, processes and other resources to improve outcomes for the city. This part provides students with comprehensive tools, methods, processes and structures of resource flexibility for more innovation in the urban environment. Students examine the role of urban analytics for management of the urban environment; discuss the prospective skills of urban managers in the contemporary world. A particular focus is made on the importance of citizen engagement and building the city community to improve the design, management and public programs for innovations.

Learning Objectives

• To develop a theoretical framework of innovation in the contemporary urban management.
• To learn new services, products or approaches that are used in the cities worldwide to improve outcomes for the urban environment.
• To provide students with comprehensive tools, methods, processes and structures of resource flexibility for more innovation in the urban environment.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Categorizes the innovative services and actions developed by the city government.
• Classifies different models and strategies of the “innovative city” development.
• Develops an innovative city initiative with its corresponding sources of funding.
• Inspects the role and relationships between the different stakeholders in the process of innovation in the urban environment.
• Justifies the prospective skills of urban managers.
• Reviews different field of application of innovative ways to manage the key areas of urban environment
• Understands basic theoretical foundations of innovative process in the urban environment.

Course Contents

• Urban management and urban innovation
• The innovative ways to manage the key areas of the urban environment
• Prospective skills of urban managers

Assessment Elements

• Collective Lecture Notes
  The primary purpose of this assignment is to foster collaborative learning while creating a valuable academic resource that benefits the entire learning community. By rotating the responsibility among all students, the workload is distributed fairly while ensuring that everyone actively engages with the lecture material at a deeper level when it's their turn to serve as note-takers. This approach encourages active listening, critical thinking, and synthesis skills as students must not only absorb the information but also organize and present it in a clear, accessible manner for their peers.
• Mini-Tests
  Mini-tests represent a weekly knowledge assessment system conducted at the each class session (except the first) lasting about 10 minutes. Each test is based on material from the previous lecture, including the instructor's presentation and collective notes prepared by students. Tests contain questions of various types: multiple choice, short answers, fill-in-the-blanks, and true/false questions with explanations, open questions etc.
• Case Studies
  Case studies represent a comprehensive assessment method where students research, analyze, and present real-world examples of urban innovations. Each student is required to identify and analyze case studies demonstrating practical applications of innovation types covered in the course curriculum.
• Article Reviews
  The article review assignment is designed to develop students' critical analysis skills and enhance their ability to synthesize academic literature in the field of urban innovation management. This assignment requires students to engage deeply with current research, extract key insights, and communicate findings effectively to their peers through both written analysis and interactive presentations. Students must complete comprehensive reviews of a minimum of two peer-reviewed academic articles related to urban innovation and management topics covered in the course. Each article must be published within the last five years and sourced from reputable academic journals or conference proceedings. The selection should demonstrate relevance to course themes and contribute to understanding of contemporary urban innovation challenges and solutions.
• Analytical Work

Interim Assessment

• 2025/2026 2nd module
  0.2 * Analytical Work + 0.2 * Article Reviews + 0.2 * Case Studies + 0.1 * Collective Lecture Notes + 0.3 * Mini-Tests

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Döring, M. V. (DE-588)1176428632, (DE-627)1047421038, (DE-576)516615696, aut. (2019). Energy planning towards sustainability anchoring Tunisia’s energy transition to the local level Maurice Döring ; BICC. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.516596543
• Shiftan, Y., & Attard, M. (2015). Sustainable Urban Transport. Bingley, U.K.: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1001653
• The politics of urban informality : innovations in theory and research design from the city’s margins / Issue editors: Adam M. Auerbach, Adrienne LeBas, Alison Post, Rebecca Weitz-Shapiro. (2018). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.515641634
• Urban Technological Innovation: Developing and Testing a Sociotechnical Framework for Studying Smart City Projects. (2018). Urban Affairs Review, 54(2), 363. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsnar&AN=edsnar.oai.dspace.library.uu.nl.1874.381067
• William F. Lever. (2014). Innovation in urban policy: collaboration rather than competition between cities. Chapters, 91. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.h.elg.eechap.15020.7

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• A Method for the Evaluation of Urban Freight Transport Models as a Tool for Improving the Delivery of Sustainable Urban Transport Policy. (2019). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.9FBD323C
• Bevilacqua, C., & Pizzimenti, P. (2016). Urban Innovation-Oriented Policies And Knowledge Dynamics: Insights From Boston And Cambridge, Us. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1473466
• Couros, G. (2015). The Innovator’s Mindset : Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2126999
• Energy Transition and Urban Planning for Local Development. A Critical Review of the Evolution of Integrated Spatial and Energy Planning. (2019). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.B3FFAA60
• Martins, J. S. B. (2018). Towards Smart City Innovation Under The Perspective Of Software-Defined Networking, Artificial Intelligence And Big Data. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1467771
• Mohammed Agbali, Claudia Trillo, Yusuf Arayici, & Terrence Fernando. (2017). Creating Smart And Healthy Cities By Exploring The Potentials Of Emerging Technologies And Social Innovation For Urban Efficiency: Lessons From The Innovative City Of Boston. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1130403
• Willis, N. (2019). Growth Mindset: A Practical Guide. London: Bloomsbury Education. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1998987

Authors

• Sanina Anna Georgievna