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180.614.61
Urban Agriculture and Public Health

Location
East Baltimore
Term
Summer Institute
Department
Environmental Health and Engineering
Credit(s)
2
Academic Year
2017 - 2018
Instruction Method
TBD
Start Date
Saturday, June 17, 2017
End Date
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Class Time(s)
This is a blended course. Time traditionally spent onsite will be replaced by seventeen hours of outside-of-class coursework (in addition to assigned homework).
Sunday, 8:00am - 2:20pm
Saturday, 8:00am - 4:00pm
Auditors Allowed
Yes, with instructor consent
Available to Undergraduate
No
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Description
Urban agriculture is increasingly used as a tool for community development, improving neighborhood engagement, and improving access to healthy food. Through this course, public health students will gain an enhanced understanding of urban agriculture and its impacts on different aspects of public health. The course will be based at the Center for a Livable Future’s Food System Lab at Cylburn Arboretum, a small urban farm, and will feature lectures by faculty and local experts as well as a field trip to urban farms and a farmers market.
Explores the connections between urban agriculture and public health using case studies around the United States. Examines the people, practices, policies, and public health significance of urban agriculture. Lectures and background reading provide an evidence-based introduction to the connections among public health, agriculture, community development and food justice. Students are expected to listen to online lecture(s), do readings, and quizzes before the course begins. The course be based at the Center for a Livable Future’s Food System Lab, an urban farm at Cylburn Arboretum featuring an aquaponics system. Field trips to local food system sites, such as a farm, farmers market and community garden, and hands-on activities help students blend theory and practice. For a final project, students will translate what they learn in the course by exploring and reporting on aspects of their own local food environment.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
  1. Describe the connections between urban agriculture and public health
  2. Discuss key factors that have shaped urban agriculture in Baltimore and other urban locales
  3. Compare various urban agriculture methods and models, including aquaponics, and discuss their strengths and limitations
  4. Identify the potential strengths and limitations of urban agriculture to address food security
  5. Translate the skills and knowledge gained in this course to their own local food environment
Special Comments

This course will be based off-campus at the Center for a Livable Future’s Food System Lab at Cylburn Arboretum (in Baltimore), a small urban farm, and will feature lectures by faculty and local experts as well as a field trip to urban farms and a farmers market.

The course is a blend of traditional classroom time and outside-of-class activities with a corresponding reduction in in-person sessions. Students are expected to listen to lectures and complete readings and quizzes before the start of the course.