Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Engages students in understanding how to plan and cultivate sustainability at the community and city level, taking into consideration the environmental, economic, and social aspects of development. Explores and analyzes policy instruments, planning tools, and strategies from around the world for engaging people and institutions in building sustainable communities. Students with credit for REM 381 may not take this course for further credit. Breadth-Social Sciences.

COURSE DETAILS:

Engages students in how to plan and cultivate sustainability at the community and city level, clarifying the meaning of sustainable communities, generally and as revealed through case studies of specific flagship communities. The course also delves into different ways of retaining and enhancing natural systems, again including case study analysis. It then focuses on social sustainability, supporting students to unpack what it means to foster community well-being and sustainable choices among community members. Finally, the course also explores and analyzes policy instruments, planning tools, and broader systems change strategies for engaging people and institutions in building sustainable communities.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

At the end of the course, students will be in a position to:

• Identify, synthesize, and apply key theories and practices that inform the field of sustainable community development;
• Examine, question, and evaluate real-world cases and challenges faced by communities, in a strategic, long-term, and systemic way;
• Design, plan, and apply effective policies and methods to move citizens and governments towards local sustainability; and
• Express the above through a variety of soft and hard skills related to research, problem-solving, presenting, analysis-synthesis, holistic and design thinking, collaborating, mind-mapping, and more.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: