Students experience civil and environmental engineering by planning a housing development in an existing biome, while also protecting the native species that live there. They conduct research, draw plans, make brochures and give presentations, with each team having a member serving as a project manager, civil engineer, environmental engineer and graphic designer. The best designs creatively balance the needs and resources necessary to support both the native species and human infrastructure.

This group of materials is designed to provide a framework to teach students in an introductory engineering course basic nanotechnology concepts. The materials use the NAE grand challenge “Restore and Improve Urban Infrastructure” to underpin the need and potential for nanotechnology to address society’s needs.

The course aims is to understand the relation between urban design and planning and the aspects of: - sun, energy and plants - wind, sound and noise - water, traffic and other networks - earth, soil and site preparation - life, ecology and nature preservation - living, human density, economy and environment These themes in sustainable urban engineering are related to legends for design, described in a wide variety of lecture papers (720 pages, 1000 figures, 200 references, 5000 key words, 400 questions), accompanied by interactive Excel computer programmes to get quantitative insight. The assignment is an evaluation of an own earlier and future design work integrating sun, plantation, wind, noise, water, traffic, earth, land preparation, cables and pipes, life, natural differentiation, living, density, environment and proposing new legends for design. Study Goals The student: - is able to link urban interventions to urban development technology and within that interrelate urban designers to relevant technical specialists - is able to integrating sun, plantation, wind, noise, water, traffic, earth, land preparation, cables and pipes, life, natural differentiation, living, density, environment - is able to develop new legends for design from the perspective of sustainable urban engineering

This intensive and brief 4-day seminar, taught during MIT's Independent Activities Period in January, uses a case set in Hartford, Vermont to introduce economic development planning skills to students in the Master in City Planning (MCP) Degree Program. It introduces analytical tools that are used to assess local economic development conditions, issues, and opportunities as part of formulating economic development plans. The course is designed to provide MCP students with skills needed for applied economic development planning work in other courses, particularly Economic Development Planning (11.438) and Revitalizing Urban Main Streets (11.439).

This activity describes one-day field trips for introductory Physical Geology or Environmental Geology courses that are designed around a central environmental theme (e.g., air quality, water quality, economic development, environmental justice, etc.) and visit urban locations (e.g., hazardous waste sites, solid and liquid waste disposal sites, brownfield redevelopment sites, industrial complexes, or sites with ongoing environmental restoration efforts). Students are provided with a guidebook containing one-page description of each stop on the trip, along with a list of questions to stimulate discussion among students and faculty. The guidebook gives students food for thought during the bus ride to each site, preparing them to formulate their own questions for our guides at each stop. The guidebook also serves as a tangible reminder of the trip for each student to take away and potentially discuss with other students or family members. Finally, the one-page summaries from the guidebook can also be used by course instructors as handouts or PowerPoint slides to tie field trip experiences into classroom instruction and discussion. Uses online and/or real-time data Addresses student fear of quantitative aspect and/or inadequate quantitative skills Uses geophysics to solve problems in other fields

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Students are introduced to evapotranspiration (ET) and how ET varies with meteorological factors and plant factors. A pre-class video and worksheet introduce students to estimating landscape water needs from ET and precipitation data. In class, students design low water-use landscaping and calculate the water savings of water-efficient landscaping compared with turf grass.

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This landscape and environmental planning workshop investigates and propose a framework for the enhancement, development and preservation of the natural and cultural landscape of the Cardener River Corridor in Catalunya, Spain. The workshop is carried out in conjunction with the Polytechnic University of Catalunya, and the Barcelona Provincial Council (Diputació de Barcelona).

This is an engaging and interactive lesson plan designed to deepen students' understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a special focus on SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. This lesson combines a podcast, interactive gameplay, and reflective exercises to offer students a comprehensive view of global sustainability efforts and their part in these initiatives.

This course serves as an introduction to urban form and design, focusing on the physical, historical, and social form of cities. Selected cities are analyzed, drawn, and compared, to develop a working understanding of urban and architectural form. The development of map making and urban representation is discussed, and use of the computer is required. A special focus is placed on the historical development of the selected cities, especially mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth century periods of expansion. Readings focus on urban design theory in the twentieth century and will be discussed during a weekly seminar on them. This is a methods class for S.M.Arch.S. students in Architecture and Urbanism.

This lesson focuses on the importance of ocean exploration as a way to learn how to capture, control, and distribute renewable ocean energy resources. Students begin by identifying ways the ocean can generate energy and then research one ocean energy source using the Internet. Finally, students build a Micro-Hydro Electric Generator.

Background:
In my experience, I have discovered many common roadblocks to non-traditional and under-represented student participation in hydrogeology:
Time constraints -- many students have complicated schedules and demands on their time that a traditional undergraduate does not have. For example, many of these students are working full time, and required experiences outside of the classroom often pose scheduling conflicts for students.

Communication skills -- many under-represented students arrive in the classroom with communication skills that are not fully developed. Students are often learning English as they are learning the complex vocabulary of hydrogeology.

Math skills -- many students are under prepared in math and/or have math phobias

Funding -- many students are unable to pay laboratory and field trip fees.

I currently teach at minority serving institution. Here, I find that hands-on practice is the most successful learning experience for students. Students grasp concepts such as discharge, flux, and residence time more effectively when they are active participants in the learning process. The most effective method I have found for addressing these issues and encouraging under represented student participation in hydrogeology is to create student-designed group research projects. I used this strategy three quarters in a row, and the same students (as well as new students they recruit) continue to sign up for these courses. This trend, in addition to students' growing confidence in engaging in the scientific method, is my primary evidence for success.

Resources are very limited at my institution, so here are a couple of suggestions that work well.
Borrow equipment -- from other universities, from consulting companies, from colleagues.

Simplify analyses -- many interesting conclusions can be drawn from simply pH, conductivity, and temperature data. But, there are also relatively inexpensive test kits on the market that are sufficient for class purposes (ex. LaMotte urban water test kit ~$30).

Description
Everyone will have different class sizes, student preparation levels, and goals when attempting an exercise like this, so I will provide general information, which others can modify to meet their needs. Below I briefly outline the steps I take the students through during the project and highlight ideas for improving success for the targeted groups.

Form groups -- depending on class size, 2-4 students per group (I try to ensure the groups are balanced based on skills and student interests)
Choose topic -- I usually provide a list of possible topics and have students adapt a topic from the list that interests them. Students require a lot of guidance at this stage to assure selection of a manageable topic for a quarter-long project. This is the most important step - guiding students into a topic they are passionate about and where they can be successful is key. Students usually have no shortage of questions they want to answer about water in an urban environment! Since most of the students have spent their whole lives in an urban situation, they are deeply passionate about these issues.
Research literature -- students perform a background search for previous work on their topic to help guide them. I provide a laboratory session on how to search the library and databases for related information, as well as provide a list of recommended journals and websites. In addition, students locate supporting data (discharge, well levels, precipitation)
Plan study -- we discuss study design, sample types, sampling location, frequency. During this phase, students use maps, study weather patterns, and determine site accessibility.
Collect data -- we set aside lab periods for collecting data together. These are the sessions where you should be prepared to answer all sort of questions. Once the students begin implementing their study, many new questions come up.
Analyze and interpret results -- multiple lab periods are used to analyze data; student data are the basis of the remainder of labs. Techniques discussed are applied to their group projects.
Present findings -- students assemble posters and present results to their classmates.

Urban topics
Below is a short list of topics to stimulate ideas. Equipment required includes pH meter, conductivity meter, flow meter, Lamotte test kits.
Sources of N and P to the Los Angeles River
Contribution of golf courses to urban runoff
Extent of tidal influence on Ballona Creek
Metal fluxes from storm drains to the ocean
Relationship of land use to water quality
Relationship of population demographics to water quality

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Building construction is one of the most waste producing sectors. In the European Union, construction alone accounts for approximately 30% of the raw material input. In addition, the different life-cycle stages of buildings, from construction to end-of-life, cause a significant environmental impact related to energy consumption, waste generation and direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions.

The Circular Economy model offers guidelines and principles for promoting more sustainable building construction and reducing the impact on our environment. If you are interested in taking your first steps in transitioning to a more sustainable manner of construction, then this course is for you!

In this course you will become familiar with circularity as a systemic, multi-disciplinary approach, concerned with the different scales, from material to product, building, city, and region.

Some aspects of circularity that will be included in this course are maximizing reuse and recycle levels by closing the material loops. You will also learn how the Circular Economy can help to realign business incentives in supply chains, and how consumers can be engaged and contribute to the transition through new business models enabling circular design, reuse, repair, remanufacturing and recycling of building components.

In addition, you will learn how architecture and urban design can be adapted according to the principles of the Circular Economy and ensure that construction is more sustainable. You will also learn from case studies how companies already profitably incorporate this new theory into the design, construction and operation of the built environment.

Students experience the steps of the engineering design process as they design solutions for a real-world problem that could affect their health. After a quick review of the treatment processes that municipal water goes through before it comes from the tap, they learn about the still-present measurable contamination of drinking water due to anthropogenic (human-made) chemicals. Substances such as prescription medication, pesticides and hormones are detected in the drinking water supplies of American and European metropolitan cities. Using chlorine as a proxy for estrogen and other drugs found in water, student groups design and test prototype devices that remove the contamination as efficiently and effectively as possible. They use plastic tubing and assorted materials such as activated carbon, cotton balls, felt and cloth to create filters with the capability to regulate water flow to optimize the cleaning effect. They use water quality test strips to assess their success and redesign for improvement. They conclude by writing comprehensive summary design reports.

This workshop explores how designers might become as sensitive to space as they are to objects. Through a number of projects and precedent studies, architectural design is studied in relation to the Space Between. The design process is studied in reverse, considering space first and objects second. This is not to imply that objects are not important, but rather that space is equally important.

This course covers theories about the form that settlements should take and attempts a distinction between descriptive and normative theory by examining examples of various theories of city form over time. Case studies will highlight the origins of the modern city and theories about its emerging form, including the transformation of the nineteenth-century city and its organization. Through examples and historical context, current issues of city form in relation to city-making, social structure, and physical design will also be discussed and analyzed.

Students learn about oil spills and their environmental and economic effects. They experience the steps of the engineering design process as they brainstorm potential methods for oil spill clean-up, and then design, build, and re-design oil booms to prevent the spread of oil spills. During a reflective session after cleaning up their oil booms, students come up with ideas on how to reduce oil consumption to prevent future oil spills.

The three-hour course draws on educational concepts of rethinking higher educational practices towards complexity modelling, messiness and to bring about resistance against reductive simple systems of governance that privilege a homogenous one directional viewpoint. Citizen science as a form of digital education is explored in terms of public education and its application is extended to the area of light pollution. The author is a practising lighting designer and professor and chair of lighting design at the OWL University of Applied Sciences, Germany. This work is copyright of the author and licensed for free use by OER commons however attribution of work is required if it is re-used.

Engineers design methods of removing particulate matter from industrial sources to minimize negative effects of air pollution. In this activity, students will undertake a similar engineering challenge as they design and build a filter to remove pepper from an air stream without blocking more than 50% of the air.

In this hands-on activity, students explore whether rooftop gardens are a viable option for combating the urban heat island effect. The guiding question is: Can rooftop gardens reduce the temperature inside and outside of houses?

Students explore whether rooftop gardens are a viable option for combating the urban heat island effect. Can rooftop gardens reduce the temperature inside and outside houses? Teams each design and construct two model buildings using foam core board, one with a "green roof" and the other with a black tar paper roof. They measure and graph the ambient and inside building temperatures while under heat lamps and fans. Then students analyze the data and determine whether the rooftop gardens are beneficial to the inhabitants.