Resilient Urban Systems

Description

The urban population is growing globally, creating or exacerbating major global environmental issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss. To understand the role that cities can play in mitigating these issues, this course aims to equip students with the basic knowledge and tools to analyze urban landscapes using the frameworks of resilience and ecosystem services. We will cover the major challenges that cities face in the 21st century and the role that natural infrastructure - forests, parks, trees, green roofs - can play in addressing these challenges. Through a group project, students will apply this knowledge in practice by articulating the potential for natural infrastructure and presenting an urban ecosystem services assessment for a case study of their choice.