Successful second edition summer course Pathways towards Sustainable Futures

Each year, the Faculty of Spatial Sciences of the University of Groningen, in cooperation with leading Brazilian universities, delivers the two-country summer/winter course "Pathways towards Sustainable Futures: Dutch Urban, Environmental and Transportation Planning in an Era of Turbulence". The first part is a one week summer course in Brazil, the second part is a two week winter course in Groningen, the Netherlands.

From January 23 to 27, 2017, the PASF summer course was successfully delivered to not less than 85 Latin American students at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) in the City of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The five day intensive program included lectures, seminars and assignments, coordinated and delivered by dr. Terry van Dijk and PhD candidate Rozanne Spijkerboer from the Faculty of Spatial Sciences. The participants demonstrated their eagerness to learn about and reflect upon the unique and specific planning tools and policies that have been implemented in the field of sustainable urban and regional development in the Netherlands.

The second part of the summer/winter course will take place in Groningen, The Netherlands, from February 2 to 15, 2017. A selected group of participants will have the option to experience the Dutch planned landscapes of neighborhoods, cities and regions by means of an intensive programme with a lectures and workshops, but also many excursions and site visits.

The summer/winter course PASF was established in 2016 by the Faculty of Spatial Sciences as a follow-up to the large number of Brazilian students that expressed interest to learn about urban, environmental and transportation planning in the Netherlands during the existing of the Brazilian so-called "Science Without Borders" programme in the early 2010s. More information on www.rug.nl/frw/pasf or from Paul van Steen, p.j.m.van.steen rug.nl