EPFLx: Urban Infrastructure Management

This course will teach you about the management and governance of infrastructures.

As cities are currently hosts to half of the world’s population, the role played by urban infrastructures in the delivery of services (such as energy, transport and water) becomes crucial. The management and governance of such complex socio-technical systems becomes vital to ensuring their performance.

In this course we look at the economic, social, political, and technological dimensions of urban infrastructure management. Note that this it is not an intensely technical course, but rather a course in the area of (public) management.

In addition to covering the basic principles and main schools of thought in managing and governing urban infrastructures, we also focus on two, particularly vital urban infrastructures, namely energy and transport.

The course is structured into 4 blocks. The first block provides a solid foundation for understanding urban infrastructures: why are they important? How do they function? Why are they different from other large socio-technical systems?

The second block explores the main challenges as well as the main schools of thought in managing and governing urban infrastructures.

The third and fourth blocks are dedicated to developing a deeper understanding of urban energy and urban transport management and governance respectively.

Block 3 will offer an introduction to urban energy systems, focusing, in particular, on the unique characteristics of these systems. Block 4 will do the same for urban transportation systems and highlight, in particular, the emerging integrated approach to urban mobility.