Sustainable Cities

More than half of the world's population—54 percent according to the World Health Organization—currently lives in urban areas, a figure projected to rise to 65 percent by 2050 according to the United Nations. However, cities face mounting sustainability challenges, including increased exposure to natural and environmental disasters and limited resources to address these risks. The future of urban societies—and, by extension, the majority of the global population—depends on our ability to design, build, and govern cities sustainably. Against this backdrop, this course explores the complexities of sustainable urban development by examining the challenges cities face and the strategies to address them. Key topics include governance, social and economic development, national and regional planning, risk and vulnerability reduction, and access to urban services and infrastructure. By analyzing how these challenges vary across different urban contexts, students develop both a broad understanding of urban sustainability and critical insights into the governance mechanisms that drive sustainable urban development.