Transforming Cities: Cities and Sustainability
94-851
Units: 3
Description
Due to economic development and globalization, cities continue to grow with predictions that 70% of the world's population will live in urban areas by the year 2050. This course, then, will view cities as hubs where patterns, connections, discussions, and the processes shape such issues as social justice, economic development, technology, migration, the environment among others. By examining cities as a lens, this sequence of weekend courses encourages students to examine cities as a system for discussing social processes being built and rebuilt. With an interdisciplinary focus, the course invites experts from the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, and relevant fields more broadly.
This iteration of the course will explore such topics as: the role cities can have on climate change, low-emission growth and clean energy; the importance of access to resources; the need for sustainable transportation; the practices of sustainable consumption; among others.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Identify and define the characteristics of cities and sustainable practices; (Worksheets)
- Identify and compare dimensions of the benefits and risks associated with cities and sustainable practices; (Worksheets)
- Compare disciplinary approaches and perspectives on sustainability and cities; (Comparison Worksheet)
- Evaluate how sustainability practices impacts various socio-political issues occurring within cities; (Worksheets and Global City Analysis assignments)
- Use key concepts articulated in the course to identify a global city to analyze its relationship to social issues related to sustainability practices (Worksheets and Global City Analysis assignments).