188.682.81
A Built Environment for A Healthy and Sustainable Future
Location
Internet
Term
4th Term
Department
Environmental Health and Engineering
Credit(s)
3
Academic Year
2024 - 2025
Instruction Method
Asynchronous Online
Auditors Allowed
Yes, with instructor consent
Available to Undergraduate
Yes
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Resources
Prerequisite
180.611 The Global Environment, Climate Change and Public Health, 180.607 Climate Change and Public Health, or consent of instructor
This course is intended for anyone interested in learning about how the built environment affects our health and well-being. We will address some rural and agricultural land use issues, but the majority of the course will focus on the urban built environment and transportation infrastructure. We will explore ways to change the urban built environment to contribute fewer greenhouse gases and also to adapt to a changing climate. With more than half of the global population now living in cities, this is a timely topic.
Addresses the role that the built environment plays in public health. Examines how building design, community planning and design, land use, and transportation networks contribute to energy use, water supply degradation, climate change, ecosystem degradation, and public health. Explores the contributions of suburban sprawl to adverse environmental and public health outcomes. Examines how the built environment could and must change if we are to stabilize the climate and move into a sustainable future.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
- Analyze how land use and transportation networks contribute to adverse public health outcomes
- Explain the role of health impact assessment in addressing these issues
- Use Systems Thinking to explain the relationships between the built environment, climate change, equity, and public health
- Distinguish the focus, tools, and solutions offered by the green architecture, the New Urbanism, and smart growth approaches to the environmental and public health impacts of the built environment
- Develop a framework for considering different strategies of creating or transforming the built environment for a sustainable future
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
- 30% Participation
- 30% Midterm Assignment
- 40% Final Assignment