Sustainable Cities at Stanford University
Sustainable Cities is a community-engaged learning course offered through the Program on Urban Studies and Earth Systems Program. Students learn and work collaboratively with Bay Area government agencies and community organizations to support their sustainability goals. Now in its twelfth year, the class attracts undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines from urban studies to civil and environmental engineering to law and public policy majors, to support community partners on meaningful fieldwork-based projects.
Student Highlights
Experiential learning outside the classroom allows our students to serve the local community in achieving a more sustainable future. The course is structured to train students for careers in sustainability, urban planning, civic engagement, and public policy through real-world problem solving while earning course credit.
Students select projects that fit their personal interests and skill-set and are matched with other students into project teams. Teams work diligently on the projects over ten weeks and present their final products to key stakeholders and community members at the conclusion of the class. Some of these projects, such as the Downtown Redwood City Bike Parking Inventory 2010 and the Redwood City Bike Share Assessment have been, or are in the process of being, implemented. Past partners include Redwood City, Joint Venture Silicon Valley, Friends of Caltrain, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, and more.
Course Information
Sustainable Cities is a community-engaged learning course offered through the Program on Urban Studies and Earth Systems Program. Students learn and work collaboratively with Bay Area government agencies and community organizations to support their sustainability goals. Now in its twelfth year, the class attracts undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines from urban studies to civil and environmental engineering to law and public policy majors, to support community partners on meaningful fieldwork-based projects.
Student Highlights
Experiential learning outside the classroom allows our students to serve the local community in achieving a more sustainable future. The course is structured to train students for careers in sustainability, urban planning, civic engagement, and public policy through real-world problem solving while earning course credit.
Students select projects that fit their personal interests and skill-set and are matched with other students into project teams. Teams work diligently on the projects over ten weeks and present their final products to key stakeholders and community members at the conclusion of the class. Some of these projects, such as the Downtown Redwood City Bike Parking Inventory 2010 and the Redwood City Bike Share Assessment have been, or are in the process of being, implemented. Past partners include Redwood City, Joint Venture Silicon Valley, Friends of Caltrain, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, and more.
Course Information
- Sustainable Cities is a 4-5 unit course offered in the Autumn Quarter.
- The expected workload is 15 hours per week to meet all course requirements.
- There will be classroom seminar discussions, required readings, written assignments, off-site project fieldwork, and participation in field trips in coordination with community partners.
- Sustainable Cities also fulfills undergraduate requirements in Ways of Thinking and Ways of Doing.
- The class is repeatable for credit.