About this course: The Age of Sustainable Development" gives students an understanding of the key challenges and pathways to sustainable development - that is, economic development that is also socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable.
Created by:Â Â Columbia University
Taught by:Â Â Jeffrey Sachs
Director, Earth Institute; Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development; Professor of Health Policy and Management
| Commitment | 2 hours of lectures per module |
| Language | English, Subtitles: Chinese (Simplified) |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Course Materials
Information about the general course structure and reading list can be found here.
3 readings
- Leitura: Suggested Readings for The Age of Sustainable Development
- Leitura: Syllabus
- Leitura: Course Overview
What is Sustainable Development?
Professor Sachs provides an overview of the challenges the world faces, and introduces the topic of sustainable development.
5 videos
- Video: Economic Growth and Progress
- Video: Continuing Poverty
- Video: Environmental Threats
- Video: Paths
Graded: QUIZ: What is Sustainable Development?
WEEK 2
Inequality Around the World
Professor Sachs delves into the reasons for and the measurements of inequality between and within countries.
5 videos
- Video: Urban/Rural Inequality
- Video: Income Inequality Within Countries
- Video: Measuring Wellbeing
- Video: Convergence or Divergence?
Graded: QUIZ: Inequality Around the World
WEEK 3
A Short History of Economic Development
Professor Sachs provides a history of economic development, starting with the Industrial Revolution and ending with the current state of modern economic growth.
5 videos
- Video: The Industrial Revolution Starts in England
- Video: The Great Waves of Technological Change
- Video: The Diffusion of Economic Growth
- Video: Economic Development Since World War II
Graded: QUIZ: A Short History of Economic Development
WEEK 4
The History of Inequality
Professor Sachs analyzes the intersecting roles of various factors that contribute to some countries advancing while others do not.
5 videos
- Video: The Role of Physical Geography: Transport, Energy, Disease, and Crops
- Video: The Role of Culture: Demography, Education, Gender
- Video: The Role of Politics
- Video: Which Countries are Still Stuck in Poverty?
Graded: QUIZ: The History of Inequality
WEEK 5
The MDGs and the End of Extreme Poverty
Professor Sachs outlines the pathways for achieving the end of extreme poverty.
5 videos
- Video: A Strategy to End Extreme Poverty in Africa
- Video: South Asia: The Continuing Challenge of the Food Supply
- Video: A Closer Look at Official Development Assistance
- Video: Designing Practical Interventions: The Case of Millennium Villages
Graded: QUIZ: The MDGs and the End of Extreme Poverty
WEEK 6
Growth within Planetary Boundaries
Professor Sachs details the various planetary boundaries and their implications for growth dynamics.
5 videos
- Video: Growth Dynamics
- Video: Growth and Planetary Boundaries: The Case of Energy (22:04)
- Video: Growth and Planetary Boundaries: The Case of Food (20:06)
- Video: Growth and Planetary Boundaries: The Case of Population (21:31)
Graded: QUIZ: Growth within Planetary Boundaries
WEEK 7
Human Rights and Gender Equality
Professor Sachs delves into the ethics of wealth, poverty and inequality as well as the forces that widen inequalities.
5 videos
- Video: Major UN Covenants and Declarations
- Video: Divided societies
- Video: Forces of Widening Inequalities
- Video: Gender Inequality and Solutions
Graded: QUIZ: Human Rights and Gender Equality
WEEK 8
Education
Professor Sachs provides an overview of the state of modern education, and what needs to be achieved for sustainable development.
5 videos
- Video: Early Childhood Development
- Video: The Rising Returns to Education and the Supply Response
- Video: Social Mobility
- Video: The Role of Higher Education in Sustainable Development
Graded: QUIZ: Education
WEEK 9
Universal Health Coverage
Professor Sachs provides an overview of the challenges and pathways to achieving universal health coverage.
5 videos
- Video: Poverty and Disease
- Video: Designing and Financing a Primary Health System in Low-Income Settings
- Video: Ten Recommended Steps to Health for All in the Poorest Countries
- Video: The Challenges of Health Coverage in High-Income Countries
Graded: QUIZ: Universal Health Coverage
WEEK 10
Sustainable Food Supply and the End of Hunger
Professor Sachs provides an overview of food security, farm systems, and ecology and reviews what can be done to achieve a sustainable global food supply.
5 videos
- Video: Farm Systems, Ecology, and Food Security
- Video: How Environmental Change Threatens the Food System
- Video: How the Food System Threatens the Environment
- Video: Towards a sustainable global food supply
Graded: QUIZ: Sustainable Food Supply and the End of Hunger
WEEK 11
Sustainable Cities
Professor Sachs looks into what makes a city sustainable, the patterns of urbanization, and pathways for urban resilience around the world.
5 videos
- Video: What makes a city sustainable?

- Video: Smart Infrastructure
- Video: Urban Resilience
- Video: Planning for Sustainable Development
Graded: QUIZ: Sustainable Cities
WEEK 12
Curbing Climate Change
Professor Sachs provides an introduction to the science behind climate change, and describes the negotiations and policies that are necessary to mitigate and prevent the consequences.
5 videos
- Video: Consequences
- Video: Mitigation
- Video: Mitigation Policies
- Video: Policies and Global Cooperation for Climate Change
Graded: QUIZ: The Basic Science of Climate Change and Consequences
WEEK 13
Saving Biodiversity
Professor Sachs reviews the various threats to the world's ecosystem and biodiversity.
5 videos
- Video: Biodiversity Under Threat
- Video: Oceans and Fisheries
- Video: Deforestation
- Video: International Dynamics
Graded: QUIZ: Saving Biodiversity
WEEK 14
The SDGs
Professor Sachs recounts the history of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and describes what is necessary to achieve them.
5 videos
- Video: Goal Based Development
- Video: Financing for Sustainable Development
- Video: Principles of Good Governance
- Video: Feasibility of Sustainable Development
Graded: QUIZ: The SDGs
Graded: Final Exam
FAQs
How It Works
Trabalho
Cada curso é como um livro didático interativo, com vÃdeos pré-gravados, testes e projetos.
Ajuda dos seus colegas
Conecte-se com milhares de outros aprendizes, debata ideias, discuta sobre os materiais do curso e obtenha ajuda para dominar conceitos.
Creators
Columbia University
For more than 250 years, Columbia has been a leader in higher education in the nation and around the world. At the core of our wide range of academic inquiry is the commitment to attract and engage the best minds in pursuit of greater human understanding, pioneering new discoveries and service to society.
Ratings and Reviews
Great lecturer, great course connecting all the dots and facilitating a deeper understanding of sustainable development and the most pressing issues that humanity and our planet need to address. This course should be a must for all development workers
It's an excellent course. It has a lot of good material and the explaination by Profesor Sachs in each and all subjects is striking.
Very interesting course. However, it should be updated in order to reflect the current developments in terms of Sustainable Development especially regarding the SDG by the UN. Also, during the tests some of the links were not working as the information required has been archived.
Coursera provides universal access to the world’s best education,
partnering with top universities and organizations to offer courses online.
© 2018 Coursera Inc. All rights reserved.
P
Fabulous course, many thanks to professor Sachs. It really speaks what the world is currently experiencing, from climate change to poverty. We may be in different countries across the world, but we do have one thing in common - Climate change can affect us all. The world we live in needs all of us to participate in sustaining its resources.