Water Sensitive Urban Design (EVSC90025)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Burnley)
Overview
| Availability | February |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
There is increasing recognition around the world of the threats facing urban environments and their water resources. In many cities water demand is approaching or exceeding limits of sustainability, leading to increasing interest in alternative water sources, such as stormwater harvesting, wastewater recycling and desalination. At the same time, receiving environments such as urban streams and bays are threatened by pollution and erosion from stormwater runoff, or eutrophication due to discharge of poorly-treated wastewater. There is also increasing recognition of the importance of water in the urban landscape, and of its role in the welfare and health of humans.
The concept of “water sensitive urban design” (WSUD), also known as Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) has developed in response to these changes. It aims to better integrate water into the urban landscape, improving the sustainability and liveability of cities (for example through the sustaining of health urban vegetation), while securing adequate resources for growing cities.
This subject reflects the integration inherent in WSUD. The course will teach you about the individual urban water cycle components (water supply, wastewater, stormwater, groundwater), but will primary focus on their interactions and integration, and particularly their interaction with the built and natural environment.
The subject includes a mix of lectures and project-based learning, including a major project (broken up into stages throughout the semester), a full-day excursion and workshops involving leading WSUD experts from public and private industry. The subject will cover:
- An introduction to WSUD (its principles, objectives, context within other urban planning and sustainability policy & practice) in developed and developing countries
- Water in the urban landscape, the urban water cycle and its component characteristics
- Social, environmental and economic impacts of urban water management
- Structural tools and techniques (conceptual design, operation, maintenance)
- Non-structural tools and techniques
- Choice of scales
- Analysis methods (water balance calculations, water end-use analysis)
- Lifecycle cost analysis and multi-criteria evaluation frameworks
- Design tools and software (e.g. MUSIC, Urban Developer, House Water Expert)
- Institutional and implementation issues
- Integration between water and other urban design elements
Intended learning outcomes
To give students expertise in the concepts and techniques of water sensitive urban design (WSUD) and to allow them to apply these techniques to integrate the management of water into the urban landscape. The subject thus aims to benefit students across a broad range of disciplines, including environmental science, landscape architecture, architecture, urban planning, geography, urban horticulture, forest science and ecology.
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
- Understand and analyse water in the urban landscape and the various components of the urban water cycle, including their interactions.
- Apply understanding of scale to select optimal WSUD systems at different scales.
- Assess and choose a range of structural and non-structural techniques for WSUD, including analysis of performance using industry-standard modelling tools.
- Design a range of WSUD scenarios for a given urban layout.
- Discuss and critique implementation and institutional issues relating to WSUD, including maintenance and policy.
- Work collaboratively in teams with people from other disciplines, in order to ensure multi-disciplinary outcomes.
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Corequisites
Non-allowed subjects
Recommended background knowledge
An understanding of at least one of hydrology, urban horticulture, landscape architecture, planning, architecture, catchment management, urban landscape management or civil engineering. Students should be comfortable with basic computations (in Excel or equivalent).
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Assessment
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Group Report - Design concept draft, 1000 words per student:
| Week 4 of semester 1 | 20% |
Group Report - Final Design Concept, 3000 words per student:
| Week 8 of semester 1 | 60% |
Group Final Concept Presentation: 5-10min per student (equivalent to 1000 words per student):
| Week 8 of semester 1 | 20% |
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Dates & times
- February
Coordinator Matthew Burns Mode of delivery On Campus (Burnley) Contact hours Teaching takes place over 5 days for a total of 48 hours (including a mix of lectures, workshops and an excursion) Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 10 February 2025 to 14 February 2025 Last self-enrol date 11 February 2025 Census date 7 March 2025 Last date to withdraw without fail 2 May 2025 Assessment period ends 6 June 2025 February contact information
Dr Matthew Burns - matthew.burns@unimelb.edu.au
Time commitment details
170 hours
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Last updated: 4 March 2025
Further information
- Texts
- Subject notes
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Master of Environmental Engineering Course Master of Environmental Science Course Graduate Diploma in Urban Horticulture Course Master of Urban Horticulture Specialisation (formal) Civil Specialisation (formal) Environmental - Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Please note Single Subject Studies via Community Access Program is not available to student visa holders or applicants
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
Last updated: 4 March 2025