Geography 331:  Urban Environmental Issues Spring 2001 Prof. Lisa Benton Short

Contact Information:

Office:  13 Persson Hall

Office Hours:  Tuesdays 12:00-1:00 PM; and 4-5 PM Thursdays 4:00-5:00 PM and by appointment

Phone 228-7864 or Email Lbenton@mail.colgate.edu

Geo 331 Course Description:

This course will explore the connection between nature and cities. We consider four key themes: water, air and land quality/degradation and urban design/sustainable cities.  We begin by considering the water quality and discuss issues of water pollution and policy (did you know that water pollution and contamination which transmits diseases such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhea is the number one killer of children in developing countries?).  We next move to waste and hazardous waste, then to air quality and pollution.  One common concern in the first three units is to discuss the different challenges facing cities in rich, industrialized countries and those challenges in cities of poorer and developing countries.  This comparative perspective allows us to understand the many types and causes of urban environmental issues in cities.  It also helps us to understand the complex challenges of environmental regulation in urban areas.    In the fourth unit,  we explore trends in urban design and planning and how these express ideas about “the environment” (for example city parks, lakes, greenbelts, public spaces, waterfront development).  We also consider disease and hazards as an “environmental issue.”  In this unit we are concerned with how the future of cities and the quality of life for those who live there can be improved through environmentally sensitive design, and “sustainable urban development projects.”  We compare efforts at sustainable urban development in Asia, Africa, Latin America and North America.

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