Course Description

Course Policies

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Course Description: (from course taught by H.Reynolds at Kalamazoo College)

"Most of the[se] arguments for the advantages of cities have been around for many centuries, of course, and they are why the great cities of the world are the way they are: dense, varied, exciting, economically resilient, and often strikingly beautiful places. The only pity is that we don't have them in America anymore, and have to take petroleum-burning airplanes to go visit them."
-- Ernest Callenbach, Sustainable Cities

As the human population continues to grow, the rise and expansion of densely populated cities may be the only hope for preserving open space, including wilderness and rural landscapes. However, during the last century, American cities have become overly industrialized, polluted, dangerous, and dense with automobiles such that many Americans are leaving the cities to pursue a dream house outside of town, in the suburbs or countryside. Consequently, pursuit of the "American Dream" is creating suburban sprawl that is arguably destroying both the natural ecosystems and the social structures on which we depend.

How can we design our cities to be more sustainable?

In this class,we will use our own city of Colorado Springs as a case study of both sustainable and unsustainable city design, planning, and function. The structure of the course will consist of guest lectures, readings, and discussions on different aspects of the city of Colorado Springs and its community. Central to the course will be the writing of a project proposal to the Independence Community Fund to make Colorado Springs a more beautiful and wonderful place to live!

Policies:

Honor Code. The Colorado College Honor Code applies to all aspects of this course. This includes, but is not limited to, appropriately acknowledging all sources used in written work and oral presentations. Discussions with other students are strongly encouraged re: lecture material and the project, but each person must do the appropriate amount of his or her own work to contribute to group projects. Refer to the constitution of the Honor Code if you have questions, or talk with us. Remember that it is the responsibility of the student to clarify ambiguous situations; in other words, if you are not sure, ask us.

Electronic Reserves . Most (if not all) readings will be available ONLINE on the electronic reserves web site of Tutt Library.