Skills you'll gain

Specialization - 4 course series

This specialization includes four real world case studies that give students insights Into the issues and challenges encountered in sustainable development projects. They include the Fairfax County Virginia comprehensive transportation plan development, the Buffalo Bayou revitalization project In Houston, the 21st century waterfront development project in Chattanooga, and the Pearl project In San Antonio. In all cases they provide students with an in depth learning experience of smart growth strategies for sustainable development.

By the end of this course, you will be able to: - Formulate the relationship between regional principles, smart growth, and sustainability. - Evaluate growth priorities, community involvement and scale of governance to achieve sustainable smart growth. - Evaluate and explain regional mapping of rural preserves, rural reserves, neighborhoods, and districts as important tools in regional smart growth planning. - Describe the implications of mapping corridors and regional centers to the overall smart growth planning at the regional level. This course is for : - Government Officials involved planning, designing, monitoring, enforcement, and assessment of sustainable project developments at the local, state, and federal level. - Private sector companies in the transportation and municipal design and construction business. - Architects interested in advancing sustainable concepts for cities and communities. - Foundations, associations, and other NGOs that support smart growth strategies. - Academic faculty and students studying and researching community sustainability and resilience. - Private citizens interested in improving their communities and living conditions. The following list identifies background knowledge that will help you succeed in this course. - helpful to have a general understanding of how public/private projects are planned and implemented - have a strong interest or experience in planning and developing regional sustainable development plans - familiar with how government organizations function in the areas of transportation planning and project development - served as a volunteer committee member or leader on regional transportation projects and/or regional policy development initiatives - have a background and interest in environmental protection plans and projects - a general knowledge of regional transportation project planning and implementation - general knowledge or experience in public participation in governmental policy development - a strong interest and/or experience in improving the urban environment for the benefit of its citizens - have a general knowledge of legal and policy issues involved in sustainable development - have experience or general knowledge of social equity issues

By the end of this course, you will be able to: • Construct general plans for urban parks and natural corridors for achieving natural context neighborhoods. • Analyze how neighborhood schools, support services and civic sites contribute to neighborhood livability and sustainability. • Examine how local open space and housing density can be balanced as neighborhood components to achieve sustainable communities. • Evaluate the aspects of neighborhood structure that include packet parks, open-space configurations, and transit orientation in communities. • Apply lessons learned from the evaluation of three case studies at the Buffalo Bayou project in Houston, Texas, the Pearl District project in San Antonio Texas, and 21st century waterfront project in Chattanooga Tennessee. • Explain the importance of zoning for sustainable neighborhoods with a particular focus on form-based zoning. Example backgrounds that would be helpful for students to succeed in this course: - To have a general understanding of how public/private projects are planned and implemented - Have a strong interest or experience in planning and developing regional sustainable development plans - Familiar with how government organizations function in the areas of transportation planning and project development - Served as a volunteer committee member or leader on regional transportation projects and/or regional policy development initiatives - Have a background and interest in environmental protection plans and projects - A general knowledge of regional transportation project planning and implementation - General knowledge or experience in public participation in governmental policy development - A strong interest and/or experience in improving the urban environment for the benefit of its citizens - Have a general knowledge of legal and policy issues involved in sustainable development - Have experience or general knowledge of social equity issues

By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1. Survey and evaluate thoroughfare network considerations for connectivity, block size and sidewalk interaction. 2. Compare different complete street design options for application in smart growth planning. 3. Evaluate sidewalk design and planning strategies for public and private sidewalks to include street tree configurations and street light design. 4. Examine issues of water management with specialized curb design, ground water recharge areas and swales as part of the streetscape design and planning. 5. Identify and evaluate the differences between free-flow, slow-flow, and yield-flow thoroughfare design concepts. 6. Assess and evaluate smart urban planning, growth, and lifestyle indicators. The target audience for this course includes: - Government Officials involved planning, designing, monitoring, enforcement, and assessment of sustainable project developments at the local, state, and federal level. - Private sector companies in the transportation and municipal design and construction business - Architects interested in advancing sustainable concepts for cities and communities - Foundations, associations, and other NGOs that support smart growth strategies - Academic faculty and students studying and researching community sustainability and resilience - Private citizens interested in improving their communities and living conditions

By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1. Survey and evaluate a variety of parking policies that support sustainable cities and environmental quality. 2. Compare different parking options such as parking sheds, neighborhood parking, parking lot access, permeable parking spaces, and a variety of ways to hide parking lots. 3. Describe the approach that the state of Minnesota used in developing a greenhouse gas reduction plan for their transportation sector. 4. Examine issues of implementing climate – friendly transportation pricing and the concept of “fix it first” transportation policy. 5. Evaluate the concept of form-based codes and their benefits for creating sustainable cities. 6. Assess smart green construction practices such as use of sustainable building materials, on site energy generation, proper solar orientation, and the use of green building standards. Target Audience • Government Officials involved planning, designing, monitoring, enforcement, and assessment of sustainable project developments at the local, state, and federal level. • Private sector companies in the transportation and municipal design and construction business • Architects interested in advancing sustainable concepts for cities and communities • Foundations, associations, and other NGOs that support smart growth strategies • Academic faculty and students studying and researching community sustainability and resilience • Private citizens interested in improving their communities and living conditions

Sustainable Neighborhoods

Sustainable Transportation Networks and Streetscapes

Transportation, Sustainable Buildings, Green Construction