General information

Course type AMUPIE
Module title Social Studies of Sustainable Transportation
Language English
Module lecturer prof. UAM dr hab. Aleksandra Lis-Plesińska
Lecturer's email alis@amu.edu.pl
Lecturer position Assiciate Professor
Faculty Faculty of Anthropology and Cultural Studies
Semester 2026/2027 (winter)
Duration 30
ECTS 6
USOS code tbc

Timetable

Module aim (aims)

The aim of this course is to critically examine the concepts, premises, visions, implementations of sustainable transportation. It is based on the most current literature on this topic and insights/data/methods from three different research grants (ITEM, IMUMCN, SPECIFIC) on sustainable transportation in which I took part as the PI at AMU. This way the course aims to connect global debates and studies from the available literature with various local challenges.

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

Good command of English both in speaking and writing

Syllabus

1. Introduction to the course

2. Sustainable transportation, new/green mobility: some conceptual reflextions

3. A 15-minute City: the vision, implementation and its critics

4. Mobility as a Service (MaaS): a buzzword or the future of urban mobility?

5. Electric mobility and its justice issues (ITEM)

6. Transition experiments: theory and practice

7. Transition experiement: testing electric cargo bikes in Poznan (SPECIFIC)

8. Urban experiment: driving sustainably in Poznan (IMUMCN)

9. Serious game: simulating MaaS negotiations in Poznan (IMUMCN)

10. The possibilities for non-urban experimentation: discussion/workshop

11. E-scooters and other micromobility options: creating new practices and urban conflicts

12. Politics of sustainable transportation: the love for a private car and all other options

13. Clean Transport Zones or Low Congestion Zone: names and policy instruments

14. Public Transport and its future(s)

15. Discussion  

Reading list

  1. Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley

Carolyn Chen, PUP, ISBN 9780691220888

 

  1. Pollution, Politics, and Power. The Struggle for Sustainable Electricity, Thomas O. McGarity, HUP, ISBN 9780674545434

 

  1. Yes to the City: Millennials and the Fight for Affordable Housing Max Holleran, PUP, ISBN 9780691259116

 

  1. Finding Time. The Economics of Work-Life Conflict, Heather Boushey, HUP, ISBN 9780674241497

 

  1. The Time Divide. Work, Family, and Gender Inequality, Jerry A. Jacobs, Kathleen Gerson HUP, ISBN 9780674241497

 

  1. A History and a Reckoning, Daniel Susskind,. HUP, ISBN 9780674294493

 

  1. Growth for Good. Reshaping Capitalism to Save Humanity from Climate Catastrophe, Alessio Terzi, HUP, ISBN 9780674258426

 

  1. Adapting to Climate Change Markets and the Management of an Uncertain Future, M.E.Kahn, Yale Uni. Press, ISBN 978-0300246711
  2. Pocket Neighborhoods (Ross Chapin)

 

  1. Reclaiming Your Community: You Don’t Have to Move out of Your Neighborhood to Live in a Better One (Majora Carter)

 

  1. Restorative Cities (Jenny Roe, and Layla McCay)

 

  1. Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about the Future of Transportation (Paris Marx)

 

  1. Soft City (David Sim)

 

  1. Strong Towns (Charles L. Marohn, Jr.)

 

  1. Street Smart (Samuel I Schwartz)

 

  1. Strap Hanger (Taras Grescoe)

 

  1. Street Design (Victor Dover, ‎John Massengale)

 

  1. Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design With Nature (Douglas Farr)

 

  1. Tactical Urbanism: Short-term Action for Long-term (Mike Lydon, Anthony Garcia, and Andres Duany)

 

  1. The 15-minute City: A Solution for Saving Our Time and Our Planet (Carlos Moreno, and Jan Gehl)

 

  1. The Affordable City: Strategies for Putting Housing Within Reach (and Keeping it There) (Shane Phillips)

 

  1. The City of To-Morrow and Its Planning (Le Corbusier)

 

  1. The Gendered City: How Cities Keep Failing Women (Nourhan Bassam)

 

  1. The New Mobility Handbook: Rethinking How We Get Around Cities (Michele Kyrouz)

 

  1. Urban Playground: How Child-Friendly Planning and Design Can Save Cities (Tim Gill)

 

  1. Urban Playground: What Kids Say About Living in San Francisco (Katie Burke)

 

  1. From Mobility to Accessibility: Transforming Urban Transportation and Land-Use Planning (Jonathan Levin, Joe Grengs, and Louis A. Merlin)

 

  1. Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities (Veronica Davis, and Tamika L Butler)

 

  1. Invisible Women (Caroline Criado Perez)

 

  1. It's All About the Bike (Robert Penn)