Concretization of Sustainable Urban Design Education in the Project Based Learning Approach—Experiences from a Fulbright Specialist Project

Abstract

While there is a growing general awareness of sustainable development challenges among the students in Poland, the transition from a general notion to specific applications on various scales of designing the built environment is still a challenge. The described experience was aimed at setting up engaging learning experiences to improve education in sustainable urban design. In the presented case, introducing sustainability issues in urban design education was fostered by sharing international best practices and experiences through a Fulbright Specialist project, which allowed a range of means and opportunities to share knowledge and expertise in sustainable urban design. The Fulbright Specialist Program provides short-term consultancies of U.S. established professionals as experts on curriculum, faculty development, institutional planning, etc. In the discussed project, implemented in Poland, an American expert in real estate and sustainable urban development shared her experiences with an integrated sustainable approach to planning, development and design. The project demonstrated successful ways of maximizing the impact and knowledge-sharing in various activities: lectures, workshops, consultancies and TEDx talks. This experience shows how short-term workshops backed by a foreign specialist can trigger inspiration and opportunities for synergy in incorporating environmental, social and economic sustainability in education and campus design.