Topics in Sustainable Development

Transcription

1 Topics in Sustainable Development ARC 386M-01122, MAN , LAW 379M-25519, CRP , PA 388K u r b a n i m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e a l l e y - f l a t i n i t i a t i v e Syllabus as of 17 January 2008 Spring 2008 Dr. Steven A. Moore

2 TSD- 2 Course Description: This course is a trans-disciplinary graduate level seminar designed to critically explore the concept and practice of sustainable development from a variety of vantage points. The class is cross-listed in business, architecture, planning, law, public policy. It will be taught by faculty as well as outside speakers representing the full range of interest and experience with sustainable development. Topics vary by year, but generally include: the philosophical origins of sustainability; systems thinking; sustainable food systems; commerce in a sustainable world; government and market solutions to social and environmental problems; role of international governing institutions; sustainable community initiatives; sustainable architecture and cities; industrial ecology; and the difficult question of equity. For the spring 2007 course, we participated and won First Prize in a national competition sponsored by Austin Energy. This substantial award is being placed in a perpetual fund to support graduate student research related to sustainable development. For the spring 2008 course we will investigate the public infrastructure and policy implications of the Alley-Flat Initiative (AFI), a proposal to create a delivery system for affordable/sustainable housing in Austin. This project is being co-developed by the Center for Sustainable Development (CSD), the Austin Community Design and Development Center (ACDDC), and the Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation (GNDC). Findings of research teams will be used to raise funds and gather community support for the project. Through this experience transdiciplinary research teams will find a concrete opportunity to apply the theoretical concepts examined in class. In addition to the major research project, assignments will include weekly critical reading reviews. The purpose of the course is two-fold: 1. To provide students with an opportunity to learn from a real-life context, and 2. To make progressive change in the community Enrollment has historically been limited to five students from each of the five participating disciplines. This year, students from other disciplines particularly real estate and geography--are encouraged to register. Weekly writing assignment: Each week individual students will write a 1-2 page critical synopsis of the required reading as preparation for class discussion. The required reading will be both technical (salient to urban infrastructure) and theoretical (salient to social conditions) in scope. Technical reading will be that recommended by our visiting lecturers. Theoretical reading will primarily be selections from Pragmatic Sustainability, a soon-to-be-published compendium of previous lectures to the class edited by Steven Moore. Your job will be to relate these very different kinds of texts to the design problem. Not all of the reading is

3 TSD- 3 identified in this syllabus but will be placed on our Blackboard site under course documents. Research teams: On the first day of class students will select participation in one of four research teams that will explore the opportunities and constraints associated with different aspects of the Alley Flat Initiative. These are: 1. Infrastructure for sustainable urban housing (TECHNOLOGY TEAM). This group will focus on identifying and communicating the benefits, costs and technical details of infrastructure systems appropriate to the AFI. In particular, this team will focus on: a. Distributed solar-electric infrastructure systems b. Rainwater collection and integrated water management systems. 2. Legal and regulatory and opportunities (LEGAL TEAM). This group will work with other teams to identify and resolve regulatory obstacles to implementation. In particular, it will focus on: a. Regulatory to linking PV arrays across property lines b. Regulatory to managing on-site water collection and distribution. 3. Financing strategies for affordable, sustainable homes (HOUSING TEAM). This team will focus on identifying creative financing opportunities for the AFI. It will present results through a financing toolkit with resources targeted for: a. Private developers; b. Non-profit housing providers; and c. Homeowners. 4. Social and political dimensions of sustainable housing (NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING TEAM). Neighborhood planning groups have significant control over the location of secondary apartments. 1 Although many neighborhood activists support this approach to diversified affordable housing, many others have significant concerns. This group will explore the social and political dimensions of the AFI, including: a. Concerns about secondary apartments spurring gentrification b. Concerns about increased density, parking, and overcrowding by students. c. Concerns about over-built secondary units changing character of the neighborhood. It is not necessary to have significant educational background in the research area you select. All that is required is curiosity and the ability to collaborate. I do, however, expect students with the most experience in a given area to take 1 Secondary units are generally allowed on lots of 7,000 sq. ft. or more, but neighborhood planning groups control whether they can be built on lots ranging from 5,750-7,000 sq. ft.

4 TSD- 4 leadership roles. Selected team leaders should be available during the month of May to participate in editing of the aggregated report as a paid Research Assistant. Final Project: Each team will meet outside of class to coordinate preparation of their recommendations for further development of the Alley-flat Initiative, taking into account existing opportunities for and to implementation. The four reports will be in a common format so that they can be edited into a single document. This aggregated document will be presented to Austin Energy and the city with the intent of changing public policy and will serve as the basis for a book being developed as an assessment of the AFI. Related course: A related CRP seminar will be taught by Professor Sergio Palleroni and the two courses may meet together upon occasion. Course Reading: In general, readings required for each week are electronically available via blackboard. < All students should read Our Common Future (UNCED, 1987) no later than the second week of class. Two-page reports on recommended reading listed below may be handed in for extra-credit. Recommended additional reading: Hawkin, Paul; Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution (Boston, MA: Little Brown, 1999). See also: Schatzberg, Eric in Technology & Culture (43) January 2002 ( ). Prugh, Thomas; Robert Costanza and Herman Daly, The Local Politics of Global Sustainability (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2000). Wackernagel, Mathis and William E. Rees, Our Ecological Footprint: reducing human impact on the earth (Gabriola Island, BC; Philadelphia, PA : New Society Publishers, 1996). Also, calculate your footprint at: Other web resources: business related bibliography available at: see also our Blackboard site.

5 TSD- 5 Course schedule: date speaker(s) Organization topic reading 1-17 Steven Moore Sergio Palleroni Michael Gatto ACDDC course introduction Our Common Future 1-24 John Hennenberger Liz Mueller Mark Rogers TX Affordable Housing GNDC affordable housing finance Moore* Thompson* 1-31 Matt Hollon Kent Butler Andy Karvonen Chris Maxwell- Gaines Austin DWP PhD Innovative Water Solutions distributed urban water infrastructure McDaniel & Lanham* Winner* 2-7 Dick Peterson Environmental Program Coordinator, AE GBP distributed urban power infrastructure, Allen et al.* Guy* Kelly Weiss People Trust Land Trusts 2-14 Ellen Beasley Historian social history of alley-flats Beaseley Light* Canizaro* 2-28 Dave Sullivan Sonia Lopez Austin Plan Com Austin Plan Dept zoning and building codes Moore, Building Codes * Chusid* Steiner* 3-6 Andrew Jamison Aalborg Univ green urbanism Jamison* Melosi* 3-13 spring break 3-20 Lynn Osgood landscape Hess* Cash & Brody* 3-27 Michael Oden Susana Almanza PODER social equity Oden* Feenberg* 4-3 Legal team workshop legal opportunities and 4-10 Technology team workshop technological opportunities and 4-17 Housing policy team workshop housing policy opportunities and 4-24 Planning team workshop planning policy opportunities and 5-1 reports due * indicates reading posted on our Blackboard site Bold indicates participation confirmed

6 TSD- 6 Performance evaluation: As upper level graduate students you have considerable flexibility with regard to your schedule. However, attendance and promptness is expected. Final course grades will be based upon the scale outlined below. If any student wishes to protest a grade, a request for review must be made within one week of its issuance, after which no grade revision will be considered. It is up to the student to request interim evaluations from the instructor if you are concerned about your progress. Individual and group writing assignments will be evaluated as follows: A: Students work is original and of exceptional intellectual quality, is very well written, is supported by wide textual documentation, is structurally inventive, and is complete. B: Students work is of high intellectual quality, is well written, is supported by textual documentation, progresses logically, and is complete. C: Students work is of average intellectual quality, is written intelligibly, is supported by some textual documentation, progresses logically, and is complete. D: Students work is of below average intellectual quality, is written poorly, is not adequately supported by textual documentation, progresses illogically, and/or is incomplete. F: Students work is of unacceptable intellectual quality, badly written, unsupported, illogical, and/or incomplete. 30% individual class participation, 30% individual weekly writing assignments 40% final research projects Individual grades for group research will be determined by instructor observation and peer evaluation. In accordance with guidelines, grades will be given using (+) and (-) values. For information see: