Guía docente de Understanding Europe Through the Regions. Rural Spaces and Central Urban Nexus (MQ1/56/1/7)

Understanding regional connections is crucial for new experts in European affairs and current management practices. This course emphasizes the importance of comprehending and designing effective regional approaches. The focus is on the major territorial axes centered around urban areas and the relationship between these urban centers and the surrounding rural spaces. The course delves into both established projects for urban expansion and development corridors, and also critically examines the potential for these projects to contribute to the degradation of rural and natural areas at a regional scale. By fostering this understanding, the course equips participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed decisions regarding regional development.

BASIC AND GENERAL COMPETENCES

Capacity for analysis and synthesis.

Ability to communicate orally and in writing in English language.

Ability to manage information.

Ability to solve problems and make decisions.

Motivation for quality and rigor.

Ability to learn and work independently.

Critical thinking ability.

SPECIFIC COMPETENCES

Organization and planning capacity.

Knowledge of applied computing and mapping.

Ability to manage information statistically.

Knowledge and sensitivity towards human rights and the reduction of all kinds of inequality.

CROSS-CURRICULAR COMPETENCES

Ability to work in an intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary team.

Knowledge and sensitivity towards cultural diversity.

Ability to adapt to changing situations and to work in an international context.

Sensitivity towards the environment.

Creativity, initiative, leadership capacity and ethical commitment.

The main aim is to characterize European regional territorial dynamics from a social and environmental perspective. Attention will be paid to natural resources and environmental issues within European regional land policies, as well as the existing duality between urban spaces and rural areas in a scenario marked by the post-productivism paradigm. We will present how to address current regional paradigms and design sustainable projects for managing the concentration and dispersion of economic activities and populations or considering environmental driving forces such as climate change or land degradation.

THEORY SYLLABUS:

• Unit 1. Concept of the region, rural and urban areas considering diverse scientific disciplines and goals of studies. 
• Unit 2. Data and sources to assess rural and urban areas in Europe.
• Unit 3. Applied rural and urban studies in Europe. The use of statistics and maps. 
• Unit 4. Current challenges, debates, policies, conflicts and news dealing with rural and urban areas.
• Unit 5. Land degradation, climate change and in situ surveys.

• Workshop: Diagnosis and presentation of data sources, maps and how to submit a proposal.
• Literature reviews: reading recent articles, plans and sharing the main ideas.
• Field work. Field trip to observe in situ the scope of work. Objective: (1) Application of the methodology in the collection and verification of territorial data and (2) Simulate the work of manager/manager of the territory of one rural and urban areas. Duration: 1 day (5 teaching hours).

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Antrop, M., 2004. Landscape change and the urbanization process in Europe. Landsc. Urban Plan., Development of European Landscapes 67, 9–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-2046(03)00026-4

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Bosker, M., 2007. Growth, Agglomeration and Convergence: a Space-time Analysis for European Regions. Spat. Econ. Anal. 2, 91–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/17421770701255237

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https://european-union.europa.eu/index_en

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/background

https://commission.europa.eu/about-european-commission/departments-and-executive-agencies/joint-research-centre_en

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/html/index.en.html

https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/atlas/maritime_atlas/#lang=EN;p=w;bkgd=1;theme=2:0.75;c=1224514.3987259883,6446275.8410170125;z=4

https://sdgs.un.org/goals

https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/human-development-index#/indicies/HDI

Evaluation:

70% Final Work (50% Presentation + 50% Document):

• A draft proposal surveying a detected issue in European rural and/or urban regions.
• The work must be submitted in PRADO in PDF format.
• The students must present their proposal in a maximum of 20-minute in-class presentation (it will not be considered video presentations or online ones).
• The instructor will evaluate the presentation (50%) following a rubric published in PRADO. This rubric will assess aspects like clarity, organization, and delivery.
• The final document with the complete proposal will be evaluated for its novelty, structure, and relevance (50%).
• The work can be done individually or in pairs. In the case of pairs, both people will receive the same grade, unless one of them does not show up for the oral presentation or they reach a mutual agreement and submit it in writing to a professor via email.

30% Active Participation and Mandatory Attendance (>80%)

• This includes submitting homework assignments and attending class.

Considerations for Ordinary Evaluation:

1. Practical Work, homework and Attendance:

• To be eligible for the presentation (ordinary evaluation), students must have an average grade of at least 5 for all practical assignments submitted throughout the course and maintain at least 80% attendance.
• Late or improperly submitted assignments through PRADO will be graded as 0 (not "Not Submitted"), penalizing the average grade.
• Not all practical assignments have the same weight in the final average grade (e.g., field trip dossier).

2. Attendance:

• Students must register in PRADO and attend at least 80% of the face-to-face classroom sessions (the field trip counts as 2.5).
• If this attendance percentage is not met, the student will not be able to participate in the presentation.
• Absences can only be justified with an official document confirming a medical appointment or other duly justified problem presented to the teacher in the classroom.

3. Plagiarism:

• Plagiarism understood as presenting someone else's work as your own or copying text without citing the source, will result in a grade of zero for the course (following relevant university regulations).

Additional Notes:

• Refer to the course syllabus or contact the instructor for further details on evaluation criteria and procedures.
• Maintain academic integrity by avoiding plagiarism in all submitted work.
• Regular attendance and active participation are crucial for success in the course.

Article 19 of the UGR Assessment Policy and Regulations establishes that students who have not passed a course in the ordinary assessment session (convocatoria ordinaria) will have access to an extraordinary assessment session (convocatoria extraordinaria). All students may take part in this extraordinary assessment session, regardless of whether or not they have followed continuous assessment activities. In this way, students who have not carried out continuous assessment activities will have the opportunity to obtain 100% of their mark by means of an exam and/or assignment.
 

• Practical exercise (analysis of one data source and map) -20%- and writing a draft of proposal to survey a European rural and/or urban regions -80%-.

Article 8 of the UGR Assessment Policy and Regulations establishes that students who are unable to follow continuous assessment methods due to justifiable reasons shall have recourse to a single final assessment (evaluación única final), which is an assessment method that only takes a final exam into account.

In order to opt for a single final assessment (evaluación única final), students must send a request, using the corresponding online procedure, to the coordinator of the master’s programme, in the first two weeks of the course or in the two weeks following their enrolment (if the enrolment has taken place after the classes have already begun). The coordinator will communicate this information to the relevant teaching staff members, citing and verifying the reasons why the student is unable to follow the continuous assessment system.

In this case, the assessment will comprise:

• Practical exercise (analysis of one data source and map) -20%- and writing a draft of proposal to survey a European rural and/or urban regions -80%-.

1. All the material associated with this subject (whose availability will be offered from the PRADO platform of the University of Granada), will be for the exclusive use of the students of this Master course of the aforementioned University. Therefore, its reproduction or dissemination, in whole or in part, regardless of the means or device used (including platforms and web pages such as Wuolah, Docsity and so on) is prohibited. Any improper action will lead to a violation of current regulations, and the relevant legal responsibilities may arise. In this sense, it will be understood as plagiarism and/or crime the dissemination of class materials (in whole or in part) in whose elaboration the teaching staff of the subject have participated. This includes 7/28/19 9:09:00 PMmaps, texts (including PowerPoint slide texts), graphics, diagrams, figures, etc. Misappropriation of copyright is a crime and, therefore, will entail the corresponding penalties and measures.

2. Improper Use of AI: Students are warned that any attempt to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to pass the course in an improper manner, such as plagiarism or impersonation in assessments, will have consequences for their grade. Disciplinary measures may include failing the course. The university is committed to promoting academic honesty and responsible learning. All students are expected to behave ethically and responsibly at all times. For more information, please consult the university's policies on the use of AI in the classroom and assessments.

3. Use of Social Media, Recordings, and Image Taking: Voice and video recording, or taking images in class, is strictly prohibited, both for personal use and for sharing on social media without the teacher's permission. At the beginning of the course, the teacher will distribute a sign-up sheet for students to confirm whether or not they wish to appear in photographs for the dissemination of the degree, the subject, and individual teacher use on social media and materials, emphasizing that they will not be used for profit or other non-university activities (DATA PROTECTION LAW AND EUROPEAN UNION).

4. Standards of Conduct: The Standards of Conduct are mandatory for all students, both inside and outside the classroom. The teacher is responsible for maintaining, both inside and outside the classroom, the working environment necessary for students to carry out their daily tasks. Students are obliged to consider respect as a fundamental value, maintaining a civilized behavior during the development of classes, both in the classroom and outside of it, in order not to alter the normal development of the same. Eating, chewing gum, or using mobile phones in class, as well as the consumption of alcohol and other toxic substances is not allowed. It is also essential to have an attitude of listening and attention during the oral presentations of others, as it is an indispensable requirement to make each class a formative encounter of orderly dialogue.Acts or actions that harm or alter the normal development of classes will result in a negative score corresponding to the participation section of the final grade, and in the event of such an action, a disciplinary action will be taken.

5. Information about the evaluation system:

•  Following the recommendations of the CRUE and the Secretariat of Inclusion and Diversity of the UGR, the systems of acquisition and evaluation of competences compiled in this teaching guide will be used in accordance with the principle of design for all people, facilitating the learning and demonstration of knowledge according to the needs and functional diversity of the students. The evaluation systems will be adapted to the special needs of students with disabilities, guaranteeing in any case their rights and favoring their inclusion in university studies, as established in article 11. Of the regulations for evaluation and qualification of students from the University of Granada. The evaluation tests will be adapted to your needs, according to the recommendations of the Inclusion Unit of the University of Granada. 
• When an email is sent to the teaching staff, it must be done from the institutional email (e.g. xxx@correo.ugr.es) including name and surname, as well as the name of the subject.

Información de interés para estudiantado con discapacidad y/o Necesidades Específicas de Apoyo Educativo (NEAE): Gestión de servicios y apoyos (https://ve.ugr.es/servicios/atencion-social/estudiantes-con-discapacidad).