188.682.98
A Built Environment for A Healthy and Sustainable Future

Location
Barcelona, Spain
Term
2nd Term
Department
Environmental Health and Engineering
Credit(s)
3
Academic Year
2021 - 2022
Instruction Method
Synchronous Online
Start Date
Monday, November 1, 2021
End Date
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Class Time(s)
M, Tu, W, Th, 8:00am - 1:50pm
Auditors Allowed
No
Available to Undergraduate
No
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Shima Hamidi
Contact Name
Judy Holzer
Frequency Schedule
One Year Only
Next Offered
Only offered in 2021
Description
This course is intended for anyone interested in learning about how the built environment affects our health and well-being. We will address some rural and agricultural land use issues, but the majority of the course will focus on the urban built environment and transportation infrastructure. We will explore ways to change the urban built environment to contribute fewer greenhouse gases and also to adapt to a changing climate. With more than half of the global population now living in cities, this is a timely topic.
Addresses the role that the built environment plays in public health. Examines how building design, community planning and design, land use, and transportation networks contribute to energy use, water supply degradation, climate change, ecosystem degradation, and public health. Explores the contributions of suburban sprawl to adverse environmental and public health outcomes. Examines how the built environment could and must change if we are to stabilize the climate and move into a sustainable future.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
  1. Analyze how land use and transportation networks contribute to adverse public health outcomes
  2. Explain the role of health impact assessment in addressing these issues
  3. Use Systems Thinking to explain the relationships between the built environment, climate change, equity, and public health
  4. Distinguish the focus, tools, and solutions offered by the green architecture, the New Urbanism, and smart growth approaches to the environmental and public health impacts of the built environment
  5. Develop a framework for considering different strategies of creating or transforming the built environment for a sustainable future
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
  • 30% Participation
  • 30% Midterm Assignment
  • 40% Final Assignment
Enrollment Restriction
undergraduates are not permitted in this section
Instructor Consent
Consent required for all students
Consent Note
Due to enrollment cap, all students must obtain permission from Judy Holzer or Pam Davis in HPM to register for this Institute class
Consent Contact
jholzer1@jhu.edu
Special Comments

This course will be offered as part of the Fall Institute in a compressed format over the course of 4 days via zoom.