The Sustainable City
   

Course Overview

This exciting new seminar, team-taught by Professors Carl Zimring and Mike Bryson of the College of Professional Studies, explores the myriad environmental, social, and scientific dimensions of sustainability in urban regions through an interactive mix of lectures, field trips, and online discussions.  Using Chicago and its suburbs as a learning laboratory, the course takes a multidisciplinary approach to such topics as urban ecology, waste management and recycling, green technology and architecture, urban planning, parklands and open space, water supply and wastewater treatment, energy production and consumption, ecological restoration, and urban agriculture. 

Exploring Sustainability through the Natural & Social Sciences

A seminar theme like "The Sustainable City" naturally lends itself to interdisciplinary investigation.  The team-teaching approach by Professors Zimring and Bryson highlights the key analytic methods of the social and natural sciences, and examines how they shed light on urban sustainability.  In the process, we'll learn about environmental history and urban ecology, sustainable development and landscape transformations, recycling/waste management, and ecosystem restoration.  All of these topics are best examined not in isolation from one another, but in combination and through the lenses of history, policymaking, biology, and ecology --just to name a few relevant academic disciplines.

All students in the course will read and discuss a common set of readings about various aspects of sustainability in the city environment.  Those taking the course for BGS 390 or BGS 391 credit will conduct a research project in the social or natural sciences, respectively. 

Who Should Take this Course?

• Students in the BGS/BPS Program who need either BGS 390 (seminar in social science) or BGS 391 (seminar in natural science) as part of their general education requirements.

• BGS 394 (6 credit hours) may count as either BGS 390 or 391.  Students should consult their advisor about which option works best for them, and select that option at the time of registration.

• Pre-reqs:  University Writing Requirement; BGS 201 or 302.

Format:  Classroom + Online + Field Trips

BGS 394 is offered in a "hybrid" format that combines weekly in-class meetings on Tuesday evenings with regular online interaction via RUOnline, Roosevelt's web-based learning portal.  In addition, we have scheduled 5 to 6 field trips, mostly on selected Saturdays, to local sites in and around Chicago related to urban sustainability.  This unique format -- one night per week, selected Saturdays, and online participation -- makes this class an exciting and convenient way to take BGS social/natural science seminar.

Planned field trip destinations include the 2009 Wild Things Chicago Wilderness Conference at the UIC campus (Feb. 7th, 8:30-4:30pm), the lecture by author Van Jones at the Museum of Science and Industry (also Feb. 7th, 11am-1pm)the Center for Neighborhood Technology (Feb. 21st, 1:30pm), a Waste Management recycling plant (Monday, Mar. 9th, 6pm), a Chicago urban farm (date TBD), the Des Plaines River Wetlands Restoration Project (April 18th, 10am-1pm), and the Chicago River (May 2nd).

Required Texts 

Stephen Wheeler and Timothy Beatley, eds.  The Sustainable Urban Development Reader, 2nd edition.  New York:  Routledge, 2009.  ISBN 978-0-415-45382-0.  (On order at the RU bookstore.)

Chicago Wilderness, An Atlas of Biodiversity, 2000.  Available in digital format (pdf) or hardcopy at http://www.chiwild.org/pubprod/atlas/index.cfm (free).

Office Hours / Staying in Touch

Please feel free to talk to us during office hours or to make an appointment, should you have questions or feel like you need some individualized help.  Outside of office hours, email is the best way to reach us.

• Carl Zimring:  M and T 3:30-5:30pm, Th 2:30-3:30pm, and by appointment
  (Gage 205-F, ph. 312-281-3360 czimring@roosevelt.edu)

• Mike Bryson:  T 2-5:45pm and W 11:30am-4pm, and by appointment
  (Gage 205-F, ph. 312-281-3148, mbryson@roosevelt.edu)

Staying in touch is vitally important in this class, for our schedule is both tight and complex.  Come to class, check our Blackboard site regularly, and you'll always be up to date on what we're doing.  We check our voicemail and email frequently, and do our best to return messages within a day during the work week.  Remember that there's no substitute for regular class + online participation and timely submission of your assignments.

A Note on Cell Phone Usage

Please use common courtesy with regard to cell phone usage during class sessions by setting your phone to silent mode.  If you absolutely must receive an emergency call, please excuse yourself quietly from the room.  Otherwise, limit calls to before and after class.

Accommodation of Persons with Disabilities

"When a student . . . with a documented disability is able to perform the essential functions of the academic and program requirements, the University will provide reasonable accommodations to the needs of that individual, unless such accommodations would provide undue hardship to the University.

"Reasonable accommodations . . . will be determined on a case-by-case basis.  Students with medically recognized and documented disabilities and who are in need of accommodation should notify the University of their needs.  Students should contact the Office of Disability Services [ph. 312.341.3810] and provide documentation of their disability to this office" (RU Student Handbook, p. 75).

Accommodation of Students for Religious Holidays

"Roosevelt University respects the rights of students to observe major religious holidays and will make accommodations, upon request, for such observances. Students who wish to observe religious holidays must inform their instructors in writing within the first two weeks of each semester of their intent to observe the holiday so that alternative arrangements convenient to both students and faculty can be made at the earliest opportunity. Students who make such arrangements by the deadline will not be required to attend classes or take examinations on the designated days, and faculty must provide reasonable opportunities for such students to make up missed work and examinations. However, all work missed for such absences, including papers and examinations, must be made up. Students who do not arrange for excused absences by the deadline are not entitled to such accommodations" (RU Student Handbook, p. 69).

Page Design and Content by Michael A. Bryson and Carl A. Zimring / 2008 / Roosevelt University
M. Bryson's Faculty Home Page
Last Updated:  28 January 2009