Glossary
Teaching
- Blended Learning
- The range of possibilities presented by combining Internet and digital media with established classroom forms that require the physical co‐presence of teacher and students.
- Constructivism
(learning theory)
- This theory assumes that there is no objective way of representing reality. Instead, there are as many constructions of reality as there are people in the world. In a learning context this means: both learners and teachers are constantly constructing realities, meanings and concepts. There can be communication and exchange about these constructions but there is no final model that could be transferred from a sender to a receiver. A starting point is that the individual mind decides whether knowledge is viable or not. The precondition for viability is the possibility to connect new knowledge to existing mental concepts. Observation, differentiation and individual responsibility are thus crucial for the success of constructivist learning. In this context, the main role of the teacher is to offer opportunities for authentic encounter, diversity experience, discourse, communication and mutual awareness in order to facilitate and stimulate constructivist learning processes (Fetzer, 2013). The approach of interaction-based constructivism provides a practical model for specifying learning processes. There are three main phases of knowledge processing: reconstruction, construction and deconstruction.
- Competence
(professional, horizontal)
- A dynamic combination of attributes - with respect to knowledge and its application, to attitudes and responsibilities - that describe the LEARNING OUTCOMES of an educational programme, or how learners are able to perform at the end of an educational process. These consist of subject-area related competences (specific to a field of study) and generic competences (common to any degree course). The European Qualifications Framework describes competence in terms of responsibility and autonomy. It refers to the proven ability to use knowledge, skills and personal, social and/ or methodological abilities, in work or study situations and in professional and personal development.
- ISP
- Short full time course of one to four weeks concentrating on a particular topic. It may take place at another institution or in a summer school.
- ECTS
European Credit Transfer System
- A system for increasing the transparency of educational systems and facilitating the mobility of students across Europe through credit transfer. It is based on the general assumption that the global workload of an academic year of study is equal to 60 credits. The 60 credits are then allocated to course units to describe the proportion of the student workload required to achieve the related LEARNING OUTCOMES. Credit transfer is guaranteed by explicit agreements among the home institution, the host institution and the mobile student.
- SWOT Analysis
- Situation analysis in which internal strengths and weaknesses of an organization, and external opportunities and threats faced by it are closely examined to chart a strategy. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (see also PEST analysis).
Reference:http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/SWOT-analysis.html
- PEST Analysis
- A type of situation analysis in which political-legal (government stability, spending, taxation), economic (inflation, interest rates, unemployment), socio-cultural (demographics, education, income distribution), and technological (knowledge generation, conversion of discoveries into products, rates of obsolescence) factors are examined to chart an organization's long-term plans (see also SWOT analysis).
Reference:http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/PEST-analysis.html
- DPSIR
- A causal framework for describing the interactions between society and the environment: Human impact on the environment and vice versa because of the interdependence of the components. This framework has been adopted by the European Environment Agency. The components of this model are: Driving forces: e.g. industry, tourism, economic growth; Pressures: e.g. pollution, land-use change, population growth; States : e.g. water quality, soil quality, air quality, habitat, vegetation; Impacts : e.g. ill public health, habitat fragmentation, economic crisis, environmental damage, biodiversity loss; and Responses : e.g. taxes, environmental laws
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DPSIR accessed on the 10th of August 2020
Coastal Landscapes
- Coastal Landscapes
- “An area of sea, coastline and land, as perceived by people, whose character results from the actions and interactions of land with sea, by natural and/or human factors.” (seascape)
EU Water Framework Directive (European Commission, 23 October 2000)
”(…) areas of continuous character under natural, cultural/social, and perceptual/aesthetic factors” European Landscape Convention (Council of Europe, 2000).
” coastal zones are the common natural and cultural heritage of the peoples living there and that they should be preserved and judiciously used for the benefit of present and future generations” Protocol on integrated coastal zones. Management in the Mediterranean (Brussels, 2008)
coastal areas (…) as ecosystems’ providers of significant resources for transport, food security, economic prosperity, ecosystem services and resilience”
New Urban Agenda, Habitat III (United Nations, 2017)
- Rural Landscapes
”Rural landscapes are a vital component of the heritage of humanity. They are also one of the most common types of continuing cultural landscapes. There is a great diversity of rural landscapes around the world that represent cultures and cultural traditions… They provide multiple economic and social benefits, multifunctionality, cultural support and ecosystem services for human societies”. ”Rural landscapes are terrestrial and aquatic areas co-produced by human-nature interaction and within which renewable natural resources are produced, such as food and/or raw materials. At the same time rural areas have cultural meanings attributed to them by people and communities”.
”The rural landscape is a renewable resource, changing as a result of different production measures”
(Ministry of agriculture and forestry, Finland)
”a spatial phenomenon that extends across regions, landscapes, natural areas, agricultural land, villages and other larger urban centres, pockets of industrialization and regional centres. It encompasses a diverse and complex economic and social fabric. It is the home of a great wealth of natural and cultural resources and traditions. It is becoming more important as a place for relaxation and leisure activities”.
Rural areas - our link to the land, European Commission, 1994 (Europe 2000+)
”Agriculture and forestry are the main caretakers of rural landscapes. Its continued usage in a well-adjusted way is a prerequisite for maintaining its environmental worth”.
Rural areas - our link to the land, European Commission, 1997
- Productive Landscapes
”Productive landscapes are part of a resilient urban matrix, a fundamental issue due to natural and human caused disasters, economic and ecological crises, etc. Integrating productivity in cities via landscape and planning tools and developing a sustainable infrastructure have a role in creating resilient cities. Urban agriculture is one of the major components of productive landscapes. Pioneering models of productive landscapes and urban agriculture go back to 19th century with the works of Ebenezer Howard, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Right, and Ian McHarg”
”Biodiverse production landscapes and seascapes that lie outside the protected area estate provide people with goods and services like food, pollination services, water, wood, energy and minerals. The use of natural resources in these landscapes and seascapes must be done sustainably in order to maintain biodiversity and the ecosystem goods and services it provides to society”.
https://www.thegef.org/topics/productive-landscapes-and-seascapes
”Continuous productive urban landscape (CPUL) is an urban design concept integrating food growing into the design of cities through joining together existing open space and disused sites into a linear landscape that connects to the countryside. The term was first used by Bohn & Viljoen Architects in 2004 at a time when making the connection between food and the city was unusual”
'Review of Foodprint symposium' in, VOLUME magazine blog, (July 2009)
- Blue and Green Infrastructure
”Green infrastructure is a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas with other environmental features designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services such as water purification, air quality, space for recreation and climate mitigation and adaptation. This network of green (land) and blue (water) spaces can improve environmental conditions and therefore citizens' health and quality of life. It also supports a green economy, creates job opportunities and enhances biodiversity. The Natura 2000 network constitutes the backbone of the EU green infrastructure.
Green infrastructure planning is a successfully tested tool to provide environmental, economic and social benefits through natural solutions. In many cases, it can reduce dependence on 'grey' infrastructure that can be damaging to the environment and biodiversity, and often more expensive to build and maintain. The European Commission has developed a Green Infrastructure Strategy. This strategy aims to ensure that the protection, restoration, creation and enhancement of green infrastructure become an integral part of spatial planning and territorial development whenever it offers a better alternative, or is complementary, to standard grey choices”.
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ecosystems/index_en.htm
”Blue infrastructure refers to water elements, like rivers, canals, ponds, wetlands, floodplains, water treatment facilities, etc. Green infrastructure refers to trees, lawns, hedgerows, parks, fields, forests, etc. These terms come from urban planning and land-use planning.Blue-Green Infrastructure can also specifically refer to an urban planning approach in which design of naturalistic or completely artificial infrastructures in the city is intended to allow the whole water cycle to occur within the city. This can improve the delivery of water-related ecosystem services (reducing pollution in the air, irrigating parks, providing local drinking water), as well as preventing harms like flooding and spread of contaminants (e.g. from cars)”.
Meredith Root-Bernstein, http://bioveins.eu/
- Waterfront
”Waterfronts are defined by their nodal position between local and global scales. Scale is the processes of negotiation and compromise; it is contested and fought over, the temporary, the transient, sometimes fragile, sometimes stable outcome of political tension”
(Randles and Dicken, 2004, 2012, in ”Transforming Urban Waterfronts: Fixity and Flow” editors: Gene Desfor, Jennefer Laidley, Quentin Stevens, Dirk Schubert)
”Historically, waterfront developments have undergone various stages of development initiatives and become the most challenging tasks for planners and urban designers nowadays. It reflected a dynamic natural resources with special characteristics and regarded as the most important factors that influenced the growth and image of the cities and had a significant impact on urbanization and modernization of the most cities in the near future”.
Al-Shams, A. R., et al, ”Waterfront Development within the Urban Design and Public Space Framework in Malaysia”, in Asian Social Science; Vol. 9, No. 10; 2013
- Transect
A transect, in its origins (Von Humboldt 1790), is a geographical cross-section of a region used to reveal a sequence of environments. Originally, it was used to analyze natural ecologies, showing varying characteristics through different zones such as shores, wetlands, plains, and uplands. For human environments, such a cross-section can be used to identify a set of habitats that vary by their level and intensity of urban character, a continuum that ranges from rural to urban. In Transect planning, this range of environments is the basis for organizing the components of urbanization: building, lot, land use, street, and all of the other physical elements of the human habitat.
Andrés Duany et al., SmartCode & Manual, Miami: New Urban Publications, Inc., 2005
The valley section is a term invented by Patrick Geddes and described in his book, “The valley section from hills to sea.” (New York City, 1923) The valley section depicts an ideal regional-urban condition, whereas the Notation of Life embodies concrete architectural proposals on how to realise that ideal condition. Geddes expresses in the valley region that Enlightenment theory of social evolution describes mankind’s development through the four stages of hunting, pastoral, and agriculture toward commercial societies. The valley section is a longitudinal section which begins high up in the mountains and then follows the course of a river down the mountains and through a plain toward its estuary at the coast. (https://bit.ly/2YWqQid, accessed on the 4th of July 2020)
Implementation Process
- Integrated Coastal Management
An integrated, participative territorial approach is required to ensure that the management of Europe’s coastal zones is environmentally and economically sustainable, as well as socially equitable and cohesive. It aims at resolving the conflicting demands of society for products and services, taking into account both current and future interests. Major objectives are to:
- strengthen sectoral management by improving training, legislation and staffing;
- preserve the biological diversity of coastal ecosystems by preventing habitat destruction, pollution and over-exploitation; and
- promote the rational development and sustainable use of coastal resources.
- Integrated Planning
Integrated planning (as opposed to sectoral planning) is a process involving the drawing together of level and sector specific planning efforts which permits strategic decision-making and provides a synoptic view of resources and commitments. Integrated planning acts as a focal point for institutional initiatives and resource allocation. In the context of integrated (or comprehensive) planning, economic, social, ecological and cultural factors are jointly used and combined to guide land- and facility-use decisions towards sustainable territorial development.
- Landscape Planning
Landscape planning is an activity involving both public and private professionals, aiming at the creation, conservation, enhancement and restoration of landscapes at various scales, from greenways and public parks to large areas, such as forests, large wilderness areas and reclamation of degraded landscapes such as mines or landfills. Landscape planning encompasses a variety of skills, such as landscape architecture and design, nature conservation, knowledge of plants, ecosystems, soil science, hydrology, cultural landscapes, etc. The provisions of the European Landscape Convention are important guidelines for the content and procedures of landscape planning.
- Landscape Policies
According to the European Landscape Convention, “landscape policy means an expression by the competent public authorities of general principles, strategies and guidelines that permit the taking of specific measures aimed at the protection, management and planning of landscapes”. Under this general heading, various types of landscape policies can be identified:
- The European Landscape convention indicates that:
- “landscape protection means actions to conserve and maintain the significant or characteristic features of a landscape, justified by its heritage value derived from its natural configuration and/or from human activity; - landscape management means action, from a perspective of sustainable development, to ensure the regular upkeep of a landscape, so as to guide and harmonise changes which are brought about by social, economic and environmental processes; - landscape planning means strong forward-looking action to enhance, restore or create landscapes.”
- the Guiding Principles indicate that
- “Spatial development policy can contribute to protecting, managing and enhancing landscapes by adopting appropriate measures, in particular by organising better interactions between various sectoral policies with regard to their territorial impacts”. Various types of measures are likely to contribute to this aim, such as: the integration of landscape development into spatial planning as well as into sectoral policies, the examination and general assessment of landscapes, the implementation of integrated policies, the consideration of landscape development and protection in international programmes, in cross-border and transnational cooperation, the strengthening of awareness of people, private organisations and territorial authorities of the value of landscapes, the stronger integration of landscape development into training programmes.
- Participatory Planning
Participatory planning is a specific form of planning activities practiced by public authorities mainly at local level which makes it possible for the citizens to play a part in the planning process. The most common form of participatory planning is consultation of the population on projects before their formal approval. More substantial and creative forms of public participation are also in use, such as workshops, public debates, etc. The Internet plays an ever growing part in participatory planning, either for the dissemination of information on planning projects or in the context of interactive communication systems.
- Physical Planning
Physical planning is strongly related to land-use planning, urban design, transport planning, landscape planning, building plans, etc. It addresses activities which immediately affect and programme the physical structure and environment of cities and neighbourhoods (as opposed to economic planning or social planning activities).
- Spatial Planning
Spatial planning refers to the methods used by the public sector to influence the distribution of people and activities in spaces at various scales as well as the location of the various infrastructures, recreation and nature areas. Spatial planning activities are carried out at different administrative or governmental levels (local, regional, national), while activities of cooperation in this field are also implemented in cross-border, transnational and European contexts.
- Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment
The Strategic Impact Assessment does not refer to the likely impacts of individual projects (as in the case of the EIA), but to the likely environmental impacts of certain plans and programmes. The SEA Directive (EU legislation), adopted in 2001, ensures that environmental consequences of certain plans and programmes are identified and assessed during their preparation and before their adoption. The public and environmental authorities can give their opinion and all results are integrated and taken into account in the course of the planning procedure. After the adoption of the plan or programme, the public is informed about the decision and the way in which it was made. In the case of likely transboundary significant effects, the affected Member State and its public are informed and have the possibility to make comments which are also integrated into the national decision-making process. SEA aims at contributing to more transparent planning by involving the public and by integrating environmental considerations and therefore to achieving the goal of sustainable development.
- from the GLOSSARY OF KEY EXPRESSIONS USED IN SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES IN EUROPE, Document presented at the 14th Session of the European Conference of Ministers responsible for Spatial/regional Planning, Lisbon (Portugal), 26-27 October 2006
Vision
- Strategy
- A detailed plan for achieving success in situations such as war, politics, business, industry, or sport, or the skill of planning for such situations.
- A way of doing something or dealing with something.
- A long-range plan for achieving something or reaching a goal, or the skill of making such plans.
- The way in which a business, government, or other organization carefully plans its actions over a period of time to improve its position and achieve what it wants
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/strategy
- A method or plan chosen to bring about a desired future, such as achievement of a goal or solution to a problem.
- The art and science of planning and marshalling resources for their most efficient and effective use. The term is derived from the Greek word for generalship or leading an army. See also tactics.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/strategy.html
- Strategic Planning
Strategic planning is a process undertaken by an organization to develop a plan for achievement of its overall long-term organizational goals. What Is the Strategic Planning Process? - Model, Steps & Examples
https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-the-strategic-planning-process-model-steps-examples.html
- Strategy Implementation
Strategy implementation consists of putting plans in place by formulating a strategy to achieve the organization's goals and objectives. It can also be described as the way a business might develop, use, and integrate the organizational hierarchy, systems, and culture to pursue strategies that will result in competitive advantage and improved performance. In the example, the organization's goal is increased sales and regaining its market position. The strategy will be specific actions that will realize the goals. Strategy Implementation: Plan, Process & Examples
https://study.com/academy/lesson/strategy-implementation-plan-process-examples.html
- Monitoring
Supervising activities in progress to ensure they are on-course and on-schedule in meeting the objectives and performance targets.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/monitoring.html To watch and check a situation carefully for a period of time in order to discover something about it.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/monitoring
- Policy
A set of ideas or a plan of what to do in particular situations that has been agreed to officially by a group of people, a business organization, a government, or a political party.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/policy
Politics: (1) The basic principles by which a government is guided. The declared objectives that a government or party seeks to achieve and preserve in the interest of the national community (see also public policy).
Management: The set of basic principles and associated guidelines, formulated and enforced by the governing body of an organization, to direct and limit its actions in pursuit of long-term goals (see also corporate policy).
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/policy.html
- Dissemination
The act of spreading news, information, ideas, etc. to a lot of people.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/dissemination
Broadcast of an idea or message on a large scale to make it reach a wide audience.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/dissemination.html
- Stakeholder
A person, group or organization that has interest or concern in an organization. Stakeholders can affect or be affected by the organization's actions, objectives and policies. Some examples of key stakeholders are creditors, directors, employees, government (and its agencies), owners (shareholders), suppliers, unions, and the community from which the business draws its resources. Not all stakeholders are equal. A company's customers are entitled to fair trading practices but they are not entitled to the same consideration as the company's employees.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/stakeholder.html
- Urban Design
- Definition