Информация о курсе

Digital Teaching
This course will take the form of a[b] regular “pre-corona” course[/b]: both lecture and exercise/workshop sessions will be held at the TU. There will be [b]NO recording of the sessions[/b].
All information and materials for the lecture and exercise will be uploaded in the Moodle course "Infrastructure Planning" (for both "13-B2-J006-se Economic Assessment Methods" and "13-B2-J007-se Systems of Infrastructure"), which will be activated shortly before the lecture begins and to which all participants of the course "13-B2-J007-se Systems of Infrastructure" are automatically added.
Moodle also serves as a communication platform. There, students can use the forum to communicate directly with the lecturers about content-specific or organizational aspects as well as with each other.

Course Contents
The course consists of[b] weekly lectures (Tuesday) [/b]and [b]their associated weekly exercise/workshop sessions (Thursday)[/b]. The lectures are grouped in 3 parts: “1 – Understanding & planning infrastructures”, “2 - Economic assessment of infrastructures” and “3 - Current challenges & adaptation requirements of infrastructures”.

[b]Part 1[/b] aims to teach students [b]how to examine & plan infrastructures[/b]. It begins with insights into the main organizational characteristics of technical and social infrastructure systems (such as water supply, waste water disposal, electricity supply, transport facilities or educational facilities) as well as their importance for the development of cities and regions. In this part, students will also learn about the planning process of infrastructure projects the examination of suitable locations. The financing of infrastructures will also be addressed.
[b]Part 2 [/b]will address [b]how to evaluate infrastructure economically[/b]. First, students will get to know how to conduct feasibility studies for infrastructure projects. Afterwards, students will learn the basics of common economic evaluation methods and how to apply them. Next to financial mathematical principles, students will learn to master the most commonly used economical valuation methods needed for decision-makers of large infrastructure projects (discounted cash flow, net present value, and cost-benefit-analysis). Furthermore, the course will impart basic knowledge about project management and address methods of agile management, which can be useful for construction projects.
The focus of[b] part 3[/b] is on[b] making infrastructure fit for the future[/b]. There, the current challenges of urban and rural development will be addressed (e.g. demographical change, climate change) as well as ecological modernization. Expanding of the basics of economic assessment learned in part 2, students will learn economic valuation methods for environmental assets. The topic of the vulnerability of infrastructures to current risks (e.g. wars, climate change) and the possible approaches to limit the impacts of negative events (adaptation strategies) will conclude this course.

Literature
Literature and presentation slides will be provided via Moodle. By registering for the exercise on TUCaN you are automatically also enrolled in the Moodle course.

Preconditions
Module recommended: Basics of Spatial Planning
Students should be prepared to exercise their ability to transfer theoretical knowledge to practical examples and to think critically.

Expected Number of Participants
80

Further Grading Information
[b]Learning Outcomes of the Module "Infrastructure Planning":[/b]
At the end of the course, students should:
[list]
[*]be able to identify, categorize and explain the characteristics of infrastructures in theory and applied to real infrastructure systems
[*]be able to explain the main steps and contents of an infrastructure planning process
[*]be able to discuss, select and apply the most suitable investment appraisal methods and valuation techniques for a given project
[*]be able to calculate a cost-benefit analysis for a given infrastructure project
[*]be able to explain the main aspects of project management and compare the advantages of different techniques
[*]be able to identify the main risks for local infrastructure systems and develop approaches to minimize these risks and build resilience
[*]be able to discuss locally suitable strategies for the modernization and transformation of infrastructure systems
[*]Moreover, students should be able to reflect on the limitations of the application of theoretical concepts to real systems (critical thinking)
[/list]

Sustainability Reference of the Course Contents
Infrastructure systems are the functional backbone of society by providing essential services (energy, water, transport, telecommunications…). Therefore, they are of major importance for the sustainable evolution of cities and regions. This course addresses how to analyze infrastructure systems, how to assess the economic but also the societal and ecological values of infrastructures and how to prepare infrastructures for current and coming challenges, such as climate change.

Online Offerings
Moodle