Urban Regeneration in the MOOC Curated by Edoardo Croci

IT WILL BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CHALLENGES OF THE COMING YEARS, BOTH IN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. IN THE NEW ONLINE COURSE, AN INDEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES ON ECOFRIENDLY URBAN RENEWAL

An opportunity to take part at an academic level in one of the fundamental challenges for the future of people on the planet: the sustainable development of cities. We are taking about the Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) called "Sustainable urban regeneration" curated by Edoardo Croci, Director of the SUR Lab and Senior Research Fellow at GREEN, the Bocconi Research Center on Geography, Resources, Environment, Energy and Networks, where he coordinates two research observatories, on the Green Economy and the Smart City, respectively. Starting December 15, the course will be available online on the Coursera platform in five different modules plus a final test.

“It will analyze the issue of the urban regeneration of cities from different perspectives", explains Croci, "which are those of local government, urban planners, property developers, investors, and other interested parties.” Today cities are essential hubs for achieving global sustainability goals, by adopting various strategies of urban transformation and renewal. However, as Edoardo Croci reminds us, “the same problem concerns cities that are characterized by very different contexts: urban policy in developing countries is dominated by social issues, while in developed countries the challenges are on other fronts, for instance energy saving and green living. Urban regeneration is a key area to manage change, attract investment, engage stakeholders and generate multiple benefits in both developed and developing countries.”

During the lessons of the course, cases studies from various world cities will be analyzed to identify the policy templates and business models that enable successful urban regeneration. Teachers of the course will be Croci himself and the researchers of the SUR Lab, Benedetta Lucchitta, Tania Molteni and Annamaria Bagaini, who will invite a number of outside guests to participate in class discussions, including academics and policymakers.
The Mooc was implemented with the support of Sur Lab partners Hines, Intesa Sanpaolo, Milanosesto and Prelios.

by Davide Ripamonti
Translated by Alex Foti