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Learning Framework
Concept
Place, space, environment, interconnection, sustainability and change.
Content
Describe the changes caused by interconnections between people, places and natural environments, and the alternative strategies used to manage the changes.
Skills
- Questioning and researching
- Analysing
- Evaluating
- Communicating and reflecting
Resource Key
When accessing content use the numbers below to guide you:
LEVEL 1:
brief, basic information laid out in an easy-to-read format. May use informal language. (Includes most news articles)
LEVEL 2:
provides additional background information and further reading. Introduces some subject-specific language.
LEVEL 3:
lengthy, detailed information. Frequently uses technical/subject-specific language. (Includes most analytical articles)
Databases
- Oliver
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- Britannica This link opens in a new window
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Background information
Water is essential for human survival and well-being and important to many sectors of the economy. However, resources are irregularly distributed in space and time, and they are under pressure due to human activity.
Sustainable Cities Institute
The Sustainable Cities Institute has a range of resources for cities to start developing and implementing solutions to create sustainable communities.
Links
What is a water footprint?
The water footprint measures the amount of water used to produce each of the goods and services we use. It can be measured for a single process, such as growing rice, for a product, such as a pair of jeans, for the fuel we put in our car, or for an entire multi-national company. The water footprint can also tell us how much water is being consumed by a particular country – or globally – in a specific river basin or from an aquifer.
Saving the Earth with sustainable cities: infographic analysis
For the first time ever, more people live in the world’s cities than in rural regions, and most population growth is occurring in urban areas. This trend points to the need for urban sustainability which uses green building practices and creative city planning to help reduce environmental damage.
The 10 cities that are leading the way in urban sustainability
Cities are the laboratories where the most innovative ideas for surviving in the future can be tested. These 10—from New York to Tokyo to Bogota—were just awarded City Climate Leadership Awards for their work.
Sustainable cities and communities
Most Australians live in cities. Our cities are centres of innovation, economic growth and cultural and social life. Jobs, educational opportunities and proximity to social services make them magnets for a growing population.
Australian cities also have an international reputation for ‘liveability’, which encompasses quality of life and includes housing conditions, access to transport and nature.
Water scarcity
Water covers 70% of our planet, and it is easy to think that it will always be plentiful. However, freshwater—the stuff we drink, bathe in, irrigate our farm fields with—is incredibly rare. Only 3% of the world’s water is fresh water, and two-thirds of that is tucked away in frozen glaciers or otherwise unavailable for our use.
Key terms
- EnvironmentThe physical surroundings in which organisms live.
- Renewable resourceFlows or living things which are either never-ending or grow quickly enough that their use does not lead to exhaustion.
- SustainabilityAvoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance: