University of Colorado Boulder
Building Sustainable Cities Specialization
University of Colorado Boulder

Building Sustainable Cities Specialization

Urban Sustainability and Climate Resilience. Gain practical skills to address urban sustainability and resilience challenges through innovative strategies and real-world applications.

William Shutkin
Shane Casey

Instructors: William Shutkin

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3 months
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Get in-depth knowledge of a subject
Beginner level

Recommended experience

3 months
at 5 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

  • Understand why urban resilience is important in the context of global climate change and social equity, and challenges facing today’s cities.

  • Understand the role and authority of local government and citizens in making sustainability decisions and ways to engage the public more effectively.

  • Evaluate key technology, design, and policy innovations leading resilience and sustainability programs around the world.

  • Examine how urban sustainability and resilience is put into practice in leading cities around the world.

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Taught in English
Recently updated!

September 2024

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Specialization - 3 course series

What you'll learn

  • Understand why urban resilience is important in the context of global climate change and social equity, and challenges facing today’s cities.

  • Analyze the history of land use and urban development in the US, especially the rise of the automobile, sprawl, and dependence on fossil fuels.

  • Understand the origins of New Urbanism, Smart Growth, and other planning frameworks, and the role of environmental law in new development patterns.

  • Evaluate sustainability practices and policies through an equity lens, and introduce the environmental justice movement.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Environmental Justice
Category: Environmental justice
Category: Urban Sustainability
Category: Urban Resilience
Category: Climate Resilience
Category: Sustainable Development

What you'll learn

  • Understand the role and authority of local government and citizens in making sustainability decisions and ways to engage the public more effectively.

  • Evaluate the strategies and opportunities for carbon-neutral cities, and weigh these costs and benefits against carbon-intensive cities.

  • Evaluate key technologies and design innovations driving resilience and sustainability programs and policies.

  • Analyze the effect of local policies on density, transit, public health, and climate.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Climate Policy
Category: Urban Sustainability
Category: Urban Resilience
Category: Climate Resilience
Category: Sustainable Development

What you'll learn

  • Understand urban firestorm events, and develop a recovery strategy that demonstrates best practices in “Firewise” communities.

  • Evaluate how the green jobs transition is growing the local economy in DC, and how access to green space and transit plays a role in gentrification.

  • Appraise the social, economic, and environmental value of robust bicycle transit options in Copenhagen.

  • Examine how circular economy principles affect overall social wellbeing and success through Singapore’s Green Plan and Zero Waste Masterplan.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Circular Economy
Category: Transit-Oriented Development
Category: Urban Sustainability
Category: Urban Resilience
Category: Climate Resilience
Category: Sustainable Development

Instructors

William Shutkin
University of Colorado Boulder
3 Courses75 learners

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