Geography of Transports and Communications

Code: GEO13350L

3 ECTS

Duration: 15 weeks/78 hours

Scientific Area: Geography

Teaching languages: Portuguese

Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese, English

Regime de Frequência: Presencial

Sustainable Development Goals

4. Educação de qualidade - Assegurar a educação inclusiva, e equitativa e de qualidade, e promover oportunidades de aprendizagem ao longo da vida para todos.

7. Energias renováveis e acessíveis - Garantir acesso à energia barata, confiável, sustentável e renovável para todos.

9. Indústria, inovação e infraestruturas - Construir infraestrutura resiliente, promover a industrialização inclusiva e sustentável, e fomentar a inovação.

11. Cidades e comunidades sustentáveis - Tornar as cidades e os assentamentos humanos inclusivos, seguros, resilientes e sustentáveis.

13. Ação climática - Tomar medidas urgentes para combater a mudança climática e seus impactos (*).

Learning Goals

This curricular unit seeks to initiate students in the geography of transports and communications, emphasizing the importance they have for the organization and development of territory, as well as for transformations in terms of mobility.
Knowledge:
1. Discuss the importance of transports and communications in contemporary societies and in the future;
2. To know the theories, concepts and instruments of analysis that allow to understand the organization of the territory, the development of networks, infrastructures and mobilities;
3. Assess the social, economic and environmental impacts of changes in transport and communications systems.
Skills and competences:
4. Deftly manage the terminology and concepts associated with the geography of transports and communications;
5. Analyze transport networks and/or communications, using graph theory;
6. Develop individual, teamwork and communication skills for learning outcomes.

1. Transport, communications and geography
1.1. Transports, economy, society and the environment
1.2. Theories of territorial organization: networks and infrastructures
2. Geography of transports
2.1. Transports and territories: characteristics, modes and contexts
2.2. Evolution and distribution of transports in Portugal and worldwide
2.3. Urban transports, mobility and accessibility
3. Geography of communications
3.1. Evolution of communications: dynamics and infrastructure
3.2. ICT, Internet and digital economy
4. Challenges for the future of transport and communications
4.1.Politics, governance and network management
4.2 Spatial planning and territorial impacts

Teaching Methods

This curricular unit will be secured by a lecturer with training in environmental human geography and territorial management, and by a diverse group of guest speakers, specialists of recognized merit in the area of ??transport and communications, who will guarantee thematic sessions. In this way, students can be offered a plurality of perspectives that enrich their educational process. In addition to learning theoretical-practical contents individually, students will have to prepare a portfolio made up of individual reflections, including the creation and public discussion of a poster and the mémoire of a field study, in addition to practical group work aimed at diagnosing and planning for the sustainable development of a low-density territory connected to a railway line. The importance of seminars having a curricular unit arises from this need to demonstrate to students that this is one of the scientific areas of geography that has a more evident applied and practical component. The seminars are expected to bring a diverse range of speakers, with different professional experiences and institutional backgrounds, thus stimulating the intellectual curiosity of students.

Assessment

Continuous assessment regime: 30% Frequency + 70% Assignments (maximum of 4)
Minimum grade: 10 points in attendance and work
Frequency Components: Theory and concepts in transport and communications geography
Work Components: Group Project - Memory (50%) + Poster creation for group presentation + presentation (individual grade) (15% + 10%) (10%) + Individual memory of the study visit (15%) + Participation and attendance (10%)
Approval through continuous assessment requires mandatory attendance in 75% of classes, which includes 100% attendance in project classes, except for admissible justification.

Final evaluation regime:
- Normal exam - all subjects are assessed in an exam. Theory (30%) + Practice (70%)
- Appeal Exam ? all subjects are assessed in an exam. Theory (30%) + Practice (70%)

Any plagiarism that is detected in the work delivered, from work by other authors or from CHATGTP or other text production support using artificial intelligence, results in the classification of zero values ??in the work in question and the impossibility of presenting further assessment elements in the Curricular Unit.