City to City, as a class, will jump into the complexity of planning in New Orleans, a post-disaster city. City-to-City will ask how a post-disaster city grapple with its ideas of identity, what it is, who it represents, and how it projects its sense of self to residences, businesses, tourists, and to the outside world. In considering its people, how do city planners think about who lives where and why? At the same time, how can city planners celebrate a city's history and its culture and how can these elements be woven into reconstruction? Students will travel from Cambridge to New Orleans over Spring Break to meet and consult with their alumni clients, and continue to work on projects.

The class of CIVE230: Engineering and Sustainable Development have been at it again, learning remotely in Spring 2021. This is the second COVID-19 edition of the course!The course introduces sustainability on two levels: qualitative concepts and background information is covered; and quantitative models which emphasize core engineering methods are applied to sustainability problems. Quantitative methods are derived and applied to air quality, water quality, energy and solid waste. Attention is given to sustainable urban systems, as they apply to both developed and developing countries. Sustainability concepts covering the triple bottom line are also presented, and their applicability to sustainable cities are demonstrated. Students in the course were tasked with making a contribution to an e-book. They were creative and innovative in applying course concepts to cities of their choice and exploring sustainability challenges and innovations. Their sustainability project encouraged them to explore sustainable infrastructure, solutions and technologies in Canada and globally to generate an enriched learning experience and to tie ideas to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Canadian Engineering Grand Challenges (CEGC).

This module considers whether there are correlations between urban topography and the social organization of ancient cities, specifically examining how the topography of the urban environment reflects the different ways that socio-political organizations are structured within the urban context.

This course covers approaches to research and evaluation in the planning field, for those preparing to write 1st-year doctoral and other research papers. Topics include narrowing down research interests, using quantitative and qualitative techniques complementarily, and interviewing and other fieldwork challenges. The course uses a seminar-type format in which readings, class discussions, and assignments are built around (1) generic themes that run across the research interests and paper topics of students in the class, and (2) lessons about methodology to be learned from the case comparison studies assigned.

Familiarize yourself with decarbonization measures in the building and transport sectors. Learn about trends in energy usage, carbon intensity, and potential of available alternatives to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

This course is designed for the next generation of policy makers, sustainability consultants or professionals and students from other fields who want to introduce themselves to climate change mitigation strategies in the building and transport sectors and apply them to their projects.

This course covers a wide variety of topics in the building and transportation domains, with the focus on the importance of designing climate friendly systems. Specifically:

Buildings – you will learn about trends in energy use and CO2 emissions that result from heating and cooling buildings, cooking and the use of electricity for appliances and lighting. You will be able to compare various alternatives to limit GHG emissions from buildings and quantify their impact.
Transportation – you will gain knowledge of decarbonization efforts carried out in various sub-sectors of transportation (including freight, aviation and passenger transport). You will learn about trends, fuel alternatives such as electrification and hydrogen applications, examine energy intensity and calculate GHG produced by transport. Additionally, you will have the chance to evaluate different transportation modes and their impact on climate.
In addition to the lectures, the course also includes interviews with experts and various exercises that will demonstrate how to practice what you have learnt and explore GHG emissions through real life examples. Enriched by relevant readings and discussion forums, this course will let you dive deeper into specific areas of interest you might have and further facilitate your learning experience.

Course material and exercises will be complemented by relevant content about policy, through which you will also discover current measures taken by governments world-wide.

What You'll Learn:
Understand the big picture of how buildings contribute to global GHG emissions and differences between climate zones.
Analyze the contribution of heating, cooling, cooking, and use of electrical appliances to greenhouse gas emissions and examine options to mitigate CO2 emissions from these activities.
Perform basic calculations on GHG emissions relating to different activities in buildings.
Consider how policies affect GHG emission in buildings.
Discuss the transport sector and its contribution to GHG emissions.
Calculate GHG emissions relating to different modes of transport and fuels.
Discover the efficiency and potential of alternate fuels and a variety of measures needed to decarbonize transport.

The Challenge Question of the Legacy Cycle draws the student into considering the engineering ingenuity of nature. It will force him to analyze, appreciate and understand the wisdom of these designs as the student team focuses on meeting each of the challenge's requirements. The student is asked, with his team members, to envision a sustainable design for a future guest village within the Saguaro National Park, outside of Tucson, Arizona. What issues need to be addressed to support the comforts of park visitors without compromising the natural resources or endangering the endemic species of the area? A deeper scope of application will reveal extensions of this design in the incorporation of urban planning and systems design. It also strengthens the concept of manufacturing and building without producing waste or pollution.

This seminar focuses on downtowns in U.S. cities from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth century. Emphasis will be placed on downtown as an idea, place, and cluster of interests; on the changing character of downtown; and on recent efforts to rebuild it. Subjects to be considered will include subways, skyscrapers, highways, urban renewal, and retail centers. The focus will be on readings, discussions, and individual research projects.

13. Brave New World - Emerging Threats: Cybersecurity

The trifecta of globalization, urbanization and digitization have created new opportunities and challenges across our nation, cities, boroughs and urban centers. Cities in particular are in a unique position at the center of commerce and technology becoming hubs for innovation and practical application of emerging technology. In this rapidly changing 24/7 digitized world, governments are leveraging innovation and technology to become more effective, efficient, transparent and to be able to better plan for and anticipate the needs of its citizens, businesses and community organizations. This class will provide the framework for how cities and communities can become smarter and more accessible with technology and more connected.

Students begin by reading Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" as an example of how overdevelopment can cause long-lasting environmental destruction. Students discuss how to balance the needs of the environment with the needs of human industry. Student teams are asked to serve as natural resource engineers, city planning engineers and civil engineers with the task to replant the nearly destroyed forest and develop a sustainable community design that can co-exist with the re-established natural area.

This course explores equity as a key value, measure, and framework for operationalizing local economic development plans and policies. It examines the implementation of local policy initiatives for equity in U.S. cities and investigates a wide range of contemporary theory and practice in the field of urban economic development, from contracting and municipal procurement to arts and culture-driven approaches.

15. Brave New World: Ethical Considerations and Risks

The trifecta of globalization, urbanization and digitization have created new opportunities and challenges across our nation, cities, boroughs and urban centers. Cities in particular are in a unique position at the center of commerce and technology becoming hubs for innovation and practical application of emerging technology. In this rapidly changing 24/7 digitized world, governments are leveraging innovation and technology to become more effective, efficient, transparent and to be able to better plan for and anticipate the needs of its citizens, businesses and community organizations. This class will provide the framework for how cities and communities can become smarter and more accessible with technology and more connected.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students use what they have learned about renewable energy to create their own plan to implement green energy in their community.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson stretches students' capability to compute and determine the type of renewable energy plan that is suitable for their community. The lesson would provide them with insights on how renewable energy access is important. They will be able to analyze the land size and energy output required to design specific renewable energy projects that would efficiently power the energy needs in their community. The lesson has passed our science credibility, and there is a high confidence in using it for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-The lesson connects to students’ own communities.
-Students are able to think critically about the viability of renewable energy.
-Students engage with their community to find possible solutions and places for renewable energy.
-Students are introduced to ideas of urban planning and community building.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This is lesson 5 of 5 in our 6th-8th grade Renewable Energy Algebra unit.
-Students will need access to a device to view Google Maps.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Students can work in groups instead of individually.
-Teachers can walk the class through creating the map of the community using Google Maps if technology access is an issue or to provide additional support to students if necessary.
-Students can present their projects in small groups instead of doing the gallery walk.
-The final activity where students create something to educate their community can be completed as homework.
-Interdisciplinary connections can be made with Earth science, physical science, and engineering design.

7. Brave New World - Future of Work and Automation

The trifecta of globalization, urbanization and digitization have created new opportunities and challenges across our nation, cities, boroughs and urban centers. Cities are in a unique position at the center of commerce and technology becoming hubs for innovation and practical application of emerging technology. In this rapidly changing 24/7 digitized world, city governments worldwide are leveraging innovation and technology to become more effective, efficient, transparent and to be able to better plan for and anticipate the needs of its citizens, businesses and community organizations. This class will provide the framework for how cities and communities can become smarter and more accessible with technology and more connected.

This course introduces persistent themes and challenges facing planners. It emphasizes the historical roots of contemporary urban planning problems and comparative study of practice in the U.S. and other countries. It is a nine week module intended for first semester Master in City Planning students.

This class introduces first semester MCP students to the persistent themes and challenges facing planners. The goals of this class are:

to excite students about their chosen profession;
to offer a theoretical framework for thinking about the kinds of interventions that planners are expected to take;
to introduce students to some of the most interesting and challenging theoretical debates in the planning field; and
to press students to think about the best way of using their time to ensure their own personal professional development.

The purpose of the course is to cultivate the sensibilities necessary for effective planning practice. This objective rests on one key assumption: that a set of key sensibilities creates the right mindset for practice.

What factors lead to a natural disaster? What causes a famine? Why do cities flood? According to a recent article in The Atlantic, Houston's flooding during the 2017 Hurricane Harvey was primarily caused by impervious pavement which prevents the absorption of water into the land. This example illustrates how nature and society are interlinked, which is the main focus of Geography 30, Penn State's introductory course to nature-society geography. In addition to examining the linkages between human development and natural hazards, this course will also explore human society's connection to food systems, climate change, urbanization and biodiversity. The course will also cover topics of ethics and decision making in order to help students evaluate the tradeoffs of these interconnections.
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This class is designed to expose you to the cycles of disasters, the roots of emergency planning in the U.S., how to understand and map vulnerabilities, and expose you to the disaster planning in different contexts, including in developing countries.

Building adequate housing is a pressing issue worldwide. With close to a billion people currently living in slums, accommodating a growing population, and improving dwelling conditions is a critical issue for society.

This challenge cannot be solved with a one-size-fits-all approach. Every city, region and country demand their own housing models and prototypes. That’s why housing design needs to negotiate many aspects simultaneously to achieve sustainable urban environments and inclusive dwelling communities.

This course uncovers how social, economic and environmental factors are interrelated in the design of housing settlements. For this, the course dives into three key aspects that anyone involved in housing design should take into consideration: time, environment, and community. Each of these aspects will be examined through a specific design approach, respectively:

Incrementality: how dwelling environments should be able to accommodate growth and change through time.
Typology Mix: how design can be responsive to different patterns of inhabitation, aspirations and cultural backgrounds, creating inclusive dwelling environments.
Clustering: what methods and strategies can shape the association of dwelling units in order to create meaningful communities.

Over the past few years, “smart cities” have led in leveraging technology to modernize their services and infrastructure— and have emerged on the global stage on key issues of international concern. In 2017, Hidalgo and Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, Mayor of Buenos Aires, spearheaded the Urban 20 (U20), a platform for major cities in G20 countries to bring their “urban perspective” to the G20 member states in tackling common problems, showcasing their innovative approaches leveraging emerging technologies at the local level to tackle global issues. In April 2018, mayors from 20 cities signed the U20’s first Joint Declaration; six months later, representatives from more than 30 cities convened for the U20’s inaugural summit in Buenos Aires. This summer, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti had a private audience the Pope Francis at the Vatican, where the two discussed climate change, poverty, youth, and immigration. There are over 200 local-global organizations impacting international relations and policy, largely because of the pace at which they are embracing technology and innovation.