Smart and Sustainable Cities (SSC)

An introduction to urban policy and urban planning. Includes analysis of the basic concepts and principles of urban policy, a review of urban policy in the United States, discussion of the development of urban planning and its role in shaping the urban environment, and an analysis of the relationship between public policy and planning and the organization and structure of the urban environment. (Pre. UAP 1024).

Consideration of one particular issue of immediate importance to the contemporary urban environment. Topics emphasize major social or economic policy issues, and may change each year. (pre. Junior Standing).

This course examines the legal principles and policy debates involved in the regulation and protection of critical environmental resources. Specific topics vary but will likely include wetlands law and policy, endangered species habitat, open space, forestland and farmland protection, coastal zone management, and floodplain regulation and policy.

Environmental factors involved in land use planning and development, including topography, soils, geologic hazards, flooding and stormwater management, ecological features, and visual quality. Techniques used in conducting environmental land inventories and land suitability analyses. Policies and programs to protect environmental quality in land use planning and development. (Pre. Junior Standing).

Practical design fundamentals for small scale renewable energy systems: solar building heating and cooling; solar domestic hot water; wind, photovoltaic, and hydroelectric systems; alcohol, methane and other biomass conversion systems. Developing plans, programs, and policies to stimulate development of renewable systems. (Pre. MATH 1025 or MATH 1016).

Course examines the interdependences among the elements of the built environment of the city and those between the elements of the built environment and the policy/planning structure of the city. Considered are those elements associated with the primary urban activities (residential, commercial, industrial) as well as the urban form-giving infrastructure facilities that support those land uses (water supply, sewerage, solid waste disposal, transportation, education, recreation, health, and safety). (Pre. UAP 4754).

This seminar is the integrative forum for the principal elements of the Washington Semester experience. The course explores both the role of political institutions in policy formation and implementation and the primary managerial and leadership challenges that arise for implementing organization managers in American democratic public policy-making. Pre: Junior standing or instructor consent and acceptance into the Washington Semester program. (Cross-listed with PSCI 4624, pre. Junior Standing).

This course is part of the Washington Semester. Explores the relationship between the imperatives of democratic mobilization, policy choices, and organizational choices through intensive study of the operating context of a selected public or nonprofit organization. Examines implications of policy-maker choices for implementing institution dynamics and challenges. Pre: Junior standing and acceptance into the Washington Semester program required. (Cross-listed with PSCI 4644, pre. UAP 3714).

Institutions, functions, and policies of state, county, and municipal governments in the U.S.; issues confronting these governments in the federal system. (Pre. PSCI 1014).

Basic concepts of urban politics; governmental structures, policy processes, and political conflicts in U.S. cities, policy options for coping with urban problems. (Pre. PSCI 1014).

Connections among active transportation, physical activity, health, the environment, and the economy on local to global scales. Methods to assess walkability in a community and the influence of the built environment on rates of active transportation. Approaches to evaluate demographic and psychosocial predictors and physical and policy barriers to use of active transportation. Successful strategies to increase active transportation through community design guidelines, behavior change tools, transportation planning, and policy.

Principles and diverse applications of Geographic Information Systems, geographic coordinate systems, Cartesian map projections, spatial data sources, GIS databases, map representations, and illustrated spatial applications of GIS. Requires regular use of computer systems for geographic data analysis.

(Cross-listed with GEOS 4084, pre: GEOG 2084 and Senior Standing) – Use of automated systems for geographic data collection, digitization, storage, display, modeling and analysis. Basic data flow in GIS modeling applications. Development of proficiency in the use of current GIS software. Senior Standing.

Developing computational problem solving skills and software solutions to a variety of multimedia, scientific, and engineering problems using the Python programming language. Statement sequencing, conditional program flow, iteration, functional decomposition, and recursion. Simple numeric data types, strings, lists, list comprehensions, sets, and dictionaries. Input/output of file-based data, content obtained from the web, and manipulation of digital images. Basic object-oriented concepts, classes, objects, and methods.

(Pre. LAR 1004) – Introduction to the concepts and methods of ecological resource survey and analysis at regional and site scales. Approaches to environmental problem solving with an emphasis on data collection, evaluation, and synthesis using applicable technologies such as geographic information systems. Interpretation of landscape resource data for the purpose of physical planning and design.

Introduction to experiential and cultural content of designed landscapes. Physiological, functional, and psychological factors that affect experience of the landscape. Study of cultural values, attitudes, and philosophies that have shaped historic and contemporary landscapes.

(Pre: LAR 2254) – An advanced course focusing on landscape/behavior interactions and implications for the design of outdoor environments. Study of factors that affect social interaction in community and public spaces; perceptions and needs particular to various sub-populations; ecological, social, and cultural approaches to theories of place and place attachment.

Examine and interpret physical changes in the rural and urban landscapes of the United States as they reflect cultural values; technologic innovations; immigration patterns; the roles of diverse professions over time; changing views of use, conversation, and preservation of national resources; and expectations for places of live, work, and play using an iterative writing process and reflective course discussions.

Modern concepts of sustainability changing plant use in urban settings. Fundamentals of urban plant systems in the context of urban ecosystem management. Philosophy and critical analysis of sustainability related to green infrastructure, including urban forests, green roofs, urban soils, urban wildlife, urban agriculture, and innovations merging plant and ecosystem functions with building and site engineering. Multi-disciplinary emphasis at site, regional, and global, scales.Modern concepts of sustainability changing plant use in urban settings. Fundamentals of urban plant systems in the context of urban ecosystem management. Philosophy and critical analysis of sustainability related to green infrastructure, including urban forests, green roofs, urban soils, urban wildlife, urban agriculture, and innovations merging plant and ecosystem functions with building and site engineering. Multi-disciplinary emphasis at site, regional, and global scales.

(Pre. Junior Standing) – The economic, political, and social forces driving urbanization in the United States. The American city in historical context with particular emphasis on the rise of manufacturing, deindustrialization, and suburbanization. Case studies from the manufacturing and sunbelt regions to illuminate key constructs from urban and human geography. “Border” examples of comparative urbanization from the U.S. -Mexican border, the Caribbean, and Canada.

Growth and development, form and functioning of American cities from the settlement of the country to the present. 1870 to present.

(Cross-listed with REAL 2004) – Introduction to real estate, including markets, land use planning and zoning, development, finance, construction, sales, marketing, management, and property valuation. Examines the key actors and processes in each of these areas. Explores major public policies impacting real estate.

(Pre. ECON 2005 & ECON 2006) – This course explores how different assumptions regarding the basis of claims for access to economic resources lead to different outcomes. Students will explore a variety of theories and examine their own beliefs about economic justice.

(Pre. ECON 2005 or 2116 or 2126 or 2025H) – Economic dimensions and aspects of programs designed to impose quality controls upon the environment. Special emphasis on problems of controlling air and water pollution.

(Pre. AAEC 1005 or ECON 2005) – Economics of environment and sustainable development. Topics include economic efficiency, property rights, externalities, benefit-cost analysis, economic evaluation procedures, public and private conflicts in land use, water quality, and international growth/development/environmental issues.

(Cross-listed with SOC 4764 & GEOG 4764, pre. Junior Standing) – Examination of major development theories and contemporary issues and characteristics of low-income societies (industrialization, urbanization, migration, rural poverty, hunger, foreign trade, and debt) that establish contexts for development planning and policy-making.