3 research outputs found
Teaching across disciplines: a case study of a project-based short course to teach holistic coastal adaptation design
Climate change has led to the need for innovation in resilient infrastructure and the social policies which will support those. This requires greater interdisciplinary interactions and knowledge building among emerging professionals. This paper presents a case study of a pilot short course intended to immerse graduate students in the design of resilient infrastructure using place-based and interdisciplinary active team learning. This course helps graduate students bridge the gap between research and practice on the social science and engineering of resilient infrastructure for coastal adaptation. The intellectual framework for the course (the Adaptive Gradients Framework) provides a holistic evaluation of adaptation design proposals and was used to recognize the complexity of social, ecological and engineering aspects and varied social benefits. The course provides a model to move outside rigid boundaries of institutions and disciplines to begin to build, in both students and instructors, the ability to work more effectively on complex social-ecological-engineering problems. Finally, this paper presents a summary of lessons learned from this pilot short course
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Planning for Climate Change A Reader in Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Design for Resilient Cities, 1st Edition
This book provides an overview of the large and interdisciplinary literature on the substance and process of urban climate change planning and design, using the most important articles from the last 15 years to engage readers in understanding problems and finding solutions to this increasingly critical issue. The Reader’s particular focus is how the impacts of climate change can be addressed in urban and suburban environments—what actions can be taken, as well as the need for and the process of climate planning. Both reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as adapting to future climate are explored. Many of the emerging best practices in this field involve improving the green infrastructure of the city and region—providing better on-site stormwater management, more urban greening to address excess heat, zoning for regional patterns of open space and public transportation corridors, and similar actions. These actions may also improve current public health and livability in cities, bringing benefits now and into the future. This Reader is innovative in bringing climate adaptation and green infrastructure together, encouraging a more hopeful perspective on the great challenge of climate change by exploring both the problems of climate change and local solutions