ABPL90064 Climate Change & Sustainability Planning
The Complete Study & Assessment Guide · S2 2026ABPL90064 Overview
- Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning
- Semester 2, 2026
- a postgraduate 12.5-point subject
- 12.5 credit points
- an environment and urban-planning subject
ABPL90064 connects climate causes and impacts to urban sustainability, mitigation, adaptation, resilience, vulnerability, policy, equity and justice. It is taught within Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning. It is a postgraduate 12.5-point subject. It carries 12.5 credit points.
- Risk is uneven Hazard becomes urban harm through exposure, vulnerability, infrastructure and institutional capacity.
- Mitigation and adaptation interact An intervention can reduce emissions yet worsen heat, housing or access if co-effects are ignored.
- Justice is operational Who decides, who pays and who receives protection belong in design criteria and monitoring.
- Project culmination The subject culminates in a 40% group planning project after two individual policy-writing tasks.
How ABPL90064 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Policy brief | 20% | 1,000 words, Week 4 |
| Policy evaluation essay | 40% | 2,000 words, Week 8 |
| Group project | 40% | Week 14: 30% written report, 5% presentation and 5% peer/self review |
Current assessment is a 20% policy brief, a 40% policy evaluation and a 40% group project; the ordinary subject pass standard and current LMS instructions control.
Current ABPL90064 dates
| Date | Item | Control |
|---|---|---|
| 27 July 2026 | Teaching period begins | Official Semester 2 start. |
| 31 August 2026 | Census date | Official Handbook date. |
| 25 October 2026 | Teaching period ends | The group project is scheduled for Week 14; live LMS controls submission operation. |
Current-offering dates captured in the course materials. Confirm changes and exact submission settings in the live LMS.
What ABPL90064 covers
Build the course in three arcs: Climate Systems, Urbanisation and Planning Responsibility establishes the frame, Adaptation, Resilience and Maladaptation deepens it, and Integrated Urban Climate Proposal and Field Evidence tests the complete method.
Climate Systems, Urbanisation and Planning Responsibility
greenhouse effect · urban system · planning responsibility · connect a climate process to urban activities and a planning mandate02Climate Risk, Vulnerability and Unequal Exposure
hazard · exposure · vulnerability · separate hazard, exposure and vulnerability in an urban case03Urban Sustainability Goals and Competing Definitions
urban sustainability · trade-off · strong sustainability · compare a proposal across ecological, social and economic objectives04Mitigation Through Urban Form, Transport and Buildings
mitigation · urban form · lock-in · connect planning decisions to emissions sources and avoid high-carbon lock-in05Adaptation, Resilience and Maladaptation
adaptation · resilience · maladaptation · design an intervention that reduces vulnerability without transferring risk06Planning Policy, Governance and Implementation
planning instrument · multi-level governance · implementation gap · select an instrument and delivery chain for a climate objective07Climate Justice, Participation and Indigenous Knowledge
distributional justice · procedural justice · knowledge plurality · integrate distribution, recognition and authority into planning08Policy Evaluation, Evidence and Adaptive Monitoring
theory of change · indicator · adaptive management · evaluate whether a policy caused useful and equitable change09Integrated Urban Climate Proposal and Field Evidence
site diagnosis · proposal logic · peer accountability · synthesise site evidence into an equitable mitigation-adaptation proposalIt is positioned as an environment and urban-planning subject.
Students move from individual policy writing into a field-informed group proposal that must negotiate practical and distributive consequences.
Assessment in abpl90064 is distributed as follows: a 20% policy brief, 40% policy evaluation essay and 40% group planning project
The operational assessment conditions matter here.
The subject culminates in the Week 14 group project: a written report, presentation and peer/self review.
What makes abpl90064 demanding is concrete: turning climate science and justice analysis into a planning intervention whose authority, spatial scale, delivery path and monitoring are credible
The ordinary subject pass standard applies alongside the three published coursework components; current LMS instructions control operation.
For enrolment planning, Consult the current official enrolment and eligibility controls for this offering.
Build the course in three arcs: Climate Systems, Urbanisation and Planning Responsibility establishes the frame, Adaptation, Resilience and Maladaptation deepens it, and Integrated Urban Climate Proposal and Field Evidence tests the complete method.
Audit an urban-heat proposal
- 1Define heat hazard, exposed groups and the precinct boundary.
- 1Explain the cooling mechanism and time horizon.
- 1Identify authority, maintenance and water dependencies.
- 1Compare distributional benefits and loading-access costs.
- 1Propose monitoring and a redesign trigger.
Key terms
- greenhouse effect
- Warming produced when atmospheric gases absorb and re-emit outgoing infrared radiation. This chapter uses the concept when students connect a climate process to urban activities and a planning mandate.
- urban system
- Interacting built, ecological, social and governance elements through which a city functions. It helps explain the reasoning required to connect a climate process to urban activities and a planning mandate.
- planning responsibility
- Authority and duty to shape land use, infrastructure and development outcomes over time. Its limit matters because global causation does not make every local intervention equally effective or authorised.
- hazard
- Potentially damaging climate-related event or trend. This chapter uses the concept when students separate hazard, exposure and vulnerability in an urban case.
- exposure
- Presence of people, assets or ecosystems in places that could be affected. It helps explain the reasoning required to separate hazard, exposure and vulnerability in an urban case.
- vulnerability
- Propensity to be harmed because of sensitivity and limited capacity to anticipate, cope or recover. Its limit matters because mapping heat or flood alone can conceal housing, health and mobility differences.
- urban sustainability
- Long-term ability of urban systems to support ecological integrity, wellbeing and just resource use. This chapter uses the concept when students compare a proposal across ecological, social and economic objectives.
- trade-off
- Loss in one objective or group associated with gaining another under constraints. It helps explain the reasoning required to compare a proposal across ecological, social and economic objectives.
- strong sustainability
- Position that critical natural systems cannot always be replaced by manufactured or financial capital. Its limit matters because a broad sustainability label can hide incompatible indicators and time horizons.
- mitigation
- Human intervention that reduces greenhouse-gas sources or enhances sinks. This chapter uses the concept when students connect planning decisions to emissions sources and avoid high-carbon lock-in.
- urban form
- Spatial arrangement of land uses, density, networks and public space. It helps explain the reasoning required to connect planning decisions to emissions sources and avoid high-carbon lock-in.
- lock-in
- Persistence of emissions or vulnerability caused by long-lived infrastructure and institutions. Its limit matters because density alone does not reduce emissions without access, building quality and behaviour.
ABPL90064 FAQ
Where is the hardest reasoning in Climate Change & Sustainability Planning?
Turning climate science and justice analysis into a planning intervention whose authority, spatial scale, delivery path and monitoring are credible. ABPL90064 connects climate causes and impacts to urban sustainability, mitigation, adaptation, resilience, vulnerability, policy, equity and justice.
How does assessment work in Climate Change & Sustainability Planning?
A 20% policy brief, 40% policy evaluation essay and 40% group planning project. The subject culminates in the Week 14 group project: a written report, presentation and peer/self review.
What form does the final assessed task take in Climate Change & Sustainability Planning?
The subject culminates in the Week 14 group project: a written report, presentation and peer/self review. A 20% policy brief, 40% policy evaluation essay and 40% group planning project.
Which pass conditions apply in Climate Change & Sustainability Planning?
The ordinary subject pass standard applies alongside the three published coursework components; current LMS instructions control operation. A 20% policy brief, 40% policy evaluation essay and 40% group planning project.
Which teaching period does this Climate Change & Sustainability Planning resource cover?
It is aligned to Semester 2, 2026; confirm your enrolled class and timetable in the current institutional system. Teaching period begins: 27 July 2026; Census date: 31 August 2026; Teaching period ends: 25 October 2026.
What should a student check before enrolling in Climate Change & Sustainability Planning?
Consult the current official enrolment and eligibility controls for this offering. This resource covers Semester 2, 2026. ABPL90064 connects climate causes and impacts to urban sustainability, mitigation, adaptation, resilience, vulnerability, policy, equity and justice.
How to prepare for the assessments
Retrieve the course map, practise the recurring method—diagnose the urban climate process and affected populations, connect evidence to a planning instrument, compare mitigation and adaptation consequences, then defend implementation through feasibility, justice and monitoring—on changed scenarios, and verify every operational assessment detail in the live institutional system.
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