Toward the Integration of SDGs in Higher Planning Education: Insights from Integrated Urbanism Study Program in Belgrade

With the adoption of the UN Agenda 2030, UNESCO has put forward new recommendations to integrate Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the teaching process. In particular, SDG 11—“Sustainable cities and communities”—is aimed at education in the field of urban planning. In parallel with this, the Guidelines of the European Council of Spatial Planners ECTP-CEU have set out the skills needed for the planning profession. The goal of this paper was to verify the compatibility of the curricula of the master’s study program in Integrated Urbanism at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, with the recommendations of the UN, UNESCO, and ECTP-CEU. A qualitative analysis of the structure and content of the course curricula was applied on three levels; curricula were compared to: (a) the expected skills in the planning profession, (b) the SDG 11 targets defined in UN Agenda 2030, and (c) the learning objectives, as formulated by UNESCO. The research results highlight several key aspects to improve the curricula, and include the concept of sustainability: (a) the structure of the course curricula, (b) interdisciplinarity, (c) partnerships with institutions and communities, (d) links with scientific research work, (e) practice orientation, (f) improving teachers’ competence levels, and (g) improving the accreditation process. These results can be used as guidelines to improve the curricula of the Integrated Urbanism study program in the next accreditation cycle, and also as a methodological approach to verify the compatibility and dimensions of higher planning education (HPE) in relation to the expected skills and global requirements of education for sustainable development (ESD). View Full-Text