Abstract:

This paper presents the educational outcomes of three pilot courses on urban health and restorative design implemented at the University of Florence, the University of Cyprus, and Chalmers University of Technology between March 2025 and January 2026, as part of an Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership in Higher Education.
The aim of the U-CARE project (Urban CARE to battle climate change impacts on urban ecosystems and health across different European climate zones) was to establish new learning modules in the participating Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) based on a 3-step methodology:
1. Urban health research;
2. Neighbourhood diagnostics;
3. Decision-making workshops.

All courses shared four key themes that are vital for mitigating climate change and its health impacts in urban environments: urban heat, walkability, stormwater runoff, and biotope loss.

The educational objectives were to integrate research-based learning, the use of smart tools (an analytical web viewer developed for the purposes of the project) and participatory practices to foster the transdisciplinary skills required for the future generation of urban planners, environmental designers and public authorities’ managers to tackle pressing climate threats and public health challenges.

The three courses follow a sequential learning process, starting with more practical modules that introduce research data collection and analysis, and environmental impact assessment, moving on to planning and design of 3 pilot cases using human-centred approaches, and culminating in service and infrastructure management.
The syllabi, learning activities and assessment criteria were collaboratively developed and included lectures, international seminars, fieldwork, participatory workshops, students’ group work and presentations, individual work and short quizzes. Educators from the partner institutions provided teaching components for the different courses, and original learning materials – available as Open Educational Resources (OER) – on a topic currently underrepresented in European HEIs.

The courses were targeted at postgraduate students – either a master’s degree, a 5th-year integrated architecture degree or a PhD. A total of 58 students attended the courses across the three institutions and evaluated them with regard to the skills and knowledge acquired – including participatory and labour-market skills, the clarity of the lectures’ objectives, and the learning resources.

Providing hybrid participation in the courses to students from partner institutions other than the one hosting the specific pilot proved not possible due to institutional regulations and misalignment of academic timeframes across different countries – a common challenge for higher education in the EU. Asynchronous access to teaching resources was to some extent provided through the OER.

Overall, the outcomes of the students’ evaluations were positive, with between 66.6% and 100% of students reporting that they had acquired the skills targeted by the courses.

Keywords:

Urban health, research-based learning, sustainability education, transdisciplinary skills.