Preview

Systems, Society and Sustainability

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3717 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Systems, Society and Sustainability
CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND GEOMATIC ENGINEERING

Systems, Society and Sustainability
The global challenge of sustainable development requires solutions and mindsets that bridge traditional divisions between nature and culture, and the technical and social sciences. Sustainable development requires that engineers and other professionals are able to include social and ecological considerations alongside technical and economic requirements in managing projects and infrastructure. This course outlines the challenges of sustainability, introduces some theories which can help think through these challenges more clearly, and applies them to the case of urban water systems.

1. Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course you should be able to: 1. Understand the concept of sustainable development as a response to global crises of ecology and human development 2. Describe the role of engineering systems in achieving sustainable development 3. Outline key features of socio-technical systems and their relevance to the challenge of sustainable development 4. Apply theories of socio-technical systems in analysing the sustainability of urban infrastructure

2. Teaching Staff
Module Co-ordinator Dr Priti Parikh Room 117 Phone 020 7679 7874 Email priti.parikh@ucl.ac.uk

Teaching Assistants Natalie Chan Alessandro Lizzul Reka Solymosi Rachna Leveque

natalie.chan.11@ucl.ac.uk alessandro.lizzul.10@ucl.ac.uk r.solymosi.11@ucl.ac.uk rachna.leveque.10@ucl.ac.uk

3. Course Schedule
Date 2 Oct 9 Oct Lecture topics Required Readings The ecological crisis Sustainable Baker S. (2006) The concept of sustainable development development, Chapter 2 in Sustainable Development London, Routledge, pp. 17-48. Kates, R., Parris, T. and Leiserowitz, A. (2005) What is sustainable development? Goals, indicators, values and practice, Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 47(3), pp.9-21. Ecological modernisation Barry J. (2005) Ecological Modernisation, in Dryzek
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Summary Of Sustainability By Leslie Paul Thiele
    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Summary Of Sustainability By Leslie Paul Thiele

    Thiele begins his text by offering a definition of the term sustainability as he stresses that it is a contested word. Thiele then moves onto discussing the areas that are important to discuss in seven chapters which include topics such as: time, geography, ecology, health, technology, politics economics, culture and society (Thiele 2). Targeted towards undergraduate students, Thiele…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Human Nature Relationships and How They Contribute to Sustainability
    • 1804 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Human Nature Relationships and How They Contribute to Sustainability

    Hasna, A. M. 2007. ‘Dimensions of sustainability’. Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Development: Energy, Environment, and Health 2 (1): College Publishing. pp. 47–57.…

    • 1804 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    Contemporary Urban Regeneration in the Uk
    • 2741 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Contemporary Urban Regeneration in the Uk

    Raco M. (2005) Sustainable Development, Rolled-out Neoliberalism and Sustainable Communities. Antipode, Volume 37 (2) [Online] Retrieved on 1 March 2011 from: http://web.ebscohost.com…

    • 2741 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Ethical Framework of Decision Making
    • 5878 Words
    • 24 Pages

    Ethical Framework of Decision Making

    1. Norton, B. (2005). Sustainability, A Philosophy of Adaptive Ecosystem Management. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.…

    • 5878 Words
    • 24 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    EEB422: Sustainable Environments And Communities
    • 3382 Words
    • 14 Pages

    EEB422: Sustainable Environments And Communities

    In this assignment students will have an opportunity to engage in scientific and social inquiry by posing and answering a question related to an environmental / sustainability issue relevant to their own life and/or community. The task requires students to engage with scientific and/or social research strategies to increase awareness of contemporary debates surrounding sustainability.…

    • 3382 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Sustainable Am I
    • 1158 Words
    • 5 Pages

    How Sustainable Am I

    Michael Thomas Needham referred to 'Sustainable Development ' "as the ability to meet the needs of the present while contributing to the future generations’ needs."[3] It is pretty clear that there is a big focus on the present generation’s responsibility to improve the future generation’s life by restoring the damage at the ecosystem and by preventing further damage. Now we know what sustainable development is, let 's find the key reasons why this is so important.…

    • 1158 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Environmental Controversy
    • 1785 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Environmental Controversy

    Understanding the role in which science plays in an environmental controversy is a crucial element for a comprehensive analysis. The use of scientific knowledge is often represented as a fundamental principle within environmental controversies. The centralized view of science relates to many factors. Firstly, the assumptions of science as an authority lend it to be a privileged type of knowledge. Secondly, as the status of science is portrayed as privileged, various groups or players within the controversy utilize this resource as a power of authority over other knowledge. The struggles over knowledge claims still reside in environmental controversies. However,…

    • 1785 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    CAN RISK MANAGEMENT BE USED AS A METHOD TO INCORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages

    CAN RISK MANAGEMENT BE USED AS A METHOD TO INCORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

    Based on the above, the importance of incorporation of sustainability issues in all stages of projects from planning to design and construction was highlighted. (Akef, 2013)…

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Global Citizenship
    • 2357 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Global Citizenship

    Cavallaro, V., & Dansero, E. (1998). Sustainable development: Global or local? GeoJournal, 45(1-2), 33-40. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1006994703248…

    • 2357 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Strategic Management: Planning
    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Strategic Management: Planning

    Strategic management can be used to determine an organization 's mission, vision, values, goals, objectives, roles and responsibilities, etc. Strategic planning is a management tool. As with any management tool, it is used to help an organization do a better job. It is used to focus its energy, to ensure that members of the organization are working toward common goals, to assess and fine-tune the organization 's direction in response to change. Essentially, strategic management is an effort to produce decisions and actions that guide what an organization is, what the organization does, and why it does it. Being strategic means being clear about the organization 's objectives, being aware of the organization 's resources, and incorporating both into being consciously responsive to a dynamic environment. The process is about planning because it involves intentionally setting goals (i.e., choosing a future) and developing an approach to achieving those goals. The process is disciplined and calls for a certain protocol to keep it focused. The process raises questions that help planners observe experience, test assumptions, gather information about the current situation, and anticipate the future environment. Finally, the strategic planning process is about fundamental decisions and actions because choices must be made in order to answer the sequence of questions mentioned above. The strategic plan is ultimately no more, and no less, than a set of decisions about what to do, why to do it, and how to do it. Because it is impossible to do everything that needs to be done in one day, strategic planning implies that some decisions and actions are more important than others. Much of the strategy depends on making the difficult decisions about what is most important to achieving success. The strategic planning process can be tricky and even cluttered, but it is always defined by the basic thoughts outlined above.…

    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Do We Live in a Sustainable Society?
    • 1741 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Do We Live in a Sustainable Society?

    There are many ways to define sustainability and to answer the question of whether we live in a sustainable society you should first define the question. The simplest definition of what a sustainable society is still very complex. A society that can persist over generations, one that is farseeing enough, flexible enough, and wise enough not to undermine either its physical or its social systems of support (Hubbard, 1996).…

    • 1741 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Economic Growth Environmental Sustainability
    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Economic Growth Environmental Sustainability

    Environmental sustainability and economic development can be considered contending imperatives. We as humans have a burning desire for economic growth and prosperity, while at the same time we have a need for the resources the planet provides us. Typically in order to grow our economy it requires that we deplete natural resources such as lumber, oil and minerals by means of deforestation, drilling and mining. It is important for us to realize that if we do not deal with environmental issues right now; the consequences could be devastating not only to ourselves, but to future generations. We are now seeing more and more concern for ‘sustainable development’ that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” [1]…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Anthropogenic Climate Change
    • 2106 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Anthropogenic Climate Change

    References: Bensel, T., Turk, J. (2011). Contemporary Environmental Issues. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUSCI207.11.1/sections/sec2.3…

    • 2106 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    The Sustainability Strategy of Virgin Group's Corporate
    • 1511 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Sustainability Strategy of Virgin Group's Corporate

    Concerns about climate change, the pending introduction of an emissions trading scheme and significant changes in demographics and society in general have combined to make sustainability a mainstream issue. “The goal of sustainable development is to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (G3.1 Guidelines, 2011, p4)…

    • 1511 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Sustainable development
    • 8927 Words
    • 36 Pages

    Sustainable development

    area of social science, ideas which affect millions of people and guide the policies of nations…

    • 8927 Words
    • 36 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics