The University of Oregon has 11 courses this Fall that integrate architecture and landscape architectural design, planning, ecology and public policy education in a broad approach to sustainability. This curriculum also gets a hands-on workshop approach with a year-long effort to support the City of Gresham’s push to become a sustainable city.
The local government planning exercise will involve 250 students and 14 professors in an effort to provide new ideas about sustainability with a concrete real-world exercise that addresses the problems of cities. The multidisciplinary team effort will explore new avenues for collaboration and cooperation that are combined with feedback from citizens on what constitutes a sustainable and livable city.
This forward-looking educational curriculum provides an excellent template for educators everywhere. It’s heartening to hear that future courses may involve law and business as well. Instead of a focus on solely systems or narrow applications, this coursework deals with problems and solutions that require a consensus-based approach. This education will provide a jump-start to the career opportunities of these students as they’ll be unleashed on a world that’s clamoring for sustainability solutions.
