Syllabus Bank
In an era of accelerating climate disruption, the ways that people live in cities are changing in real time and urban governance must grapple with this emerging and transforming reality. While reducing emissions, or mitigation, remains as important as ever, adaptation, or finding ways for people and cities to live with climate impacts, is now imperative.
This course will cover major topics in urban adaptation broadly divided according to concepts, practices, and governance. Concepts will include cross-cutting issues such as equity and justice, limits to adaptation, and the adaptation/mitigation nexus. In this part, students will examine and debate the relative merits of incremental and transformational adaptation. To understand current best practices, students will delve into leading strategies for cities to adapt to major climate impacts including flooding, heat, drought, and wildfire. Governance will span scales from community-led resilience to transnational city networks, with leading practitioners giving guest lectures to shed light on current challenges.
Ultimately, students will critique best practices and research and propose more transformative alternatives so they will be well-equipped to challenge and advance the leading edge of practice.