Taught By:
Clare Beer
Assistant Professor
Urban & Environmental Studies
Loyola Marymount University
Read profile here.
Motivation to Teach Social Action:
This is exactly the kind of pedagogy that my students are demanding in the classroom. I feel that this program would give me the skills I need to redirect the orientation of my current syllabus from critical analysis toward collective action/social change.
Course Description:
In 2007, for the first time in human history, a majority of the world’s population lived in cities. By 2050, according to U.N. estimates, approximately 68% of the world’s population – more than 6.6 billion people – will live in cites. Most of this rapid urbanization is occurring in the global South and within the context of accelerating climate change. Cities are thus, simultaneously, sites of tremendous struggle and transformative opportunity for sustainability.
This course investigates the simultaneous nature of cities and their role in sustainable development. Drawing on theoretical perspectives in urban planning and environmental studies, we will ask: how can we create livable, equitable, and resilient cities without compromising the natural ecosystems they depend on? What can planners and policymakers do to achieve sustainable urban development, and how should we manage conflicts between different sustainability goals (e.g. environmental protection, economic development, social justice)? Through what tools, concepts, and models can we evaluate the sustainable urban development initiatives that city governments, private companies, and local residents are now adopting?
We will work to answer these questions by studying urban sustainability issues in cities around the world, from Los Angeles to Lagos. In Module 1, we will discuss core concepts for understanding sustainable development and why cities are important for achieving its objectives. In Module 2, we will deploy these core concepts to consider sustainable urban development in practice – how are cities implementing sustainability initiatives, grappling with competing goals, assessing the efficacy of their efforts, and integrating local residents’ visions for more socially and ecologically just futures? In Module 3, we will explore trending topics in sustainable urban development: digital platforms, transportation, and water.
