9/8 thur 16:00 | educating the sustainability planner 1

Greening Planning Education: Lessons from International ExperienceChristopher Silver, FAICPDean and Professor College of Design, Construction and Planning University of FloridaSeptember 8, 2011

Key Points• Pervasiveness of “greening” and “sustainability” in

contemporary discourse• Disconnect between the rhetoric of “greening” and

“sustainability” and current planning education and planning practices in US

• Efforts in other parts of the world to more closely link “sustainability” education and “sustainability in practice”

• Discovery of this through a new and still trial program at UF, Masters of Sustainable Design

• Also, forthcoming online Masters of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning with a concentration in Sustainability

• How should we approach sustainability education for planners so that it represents a fundamentally different practice

The Buzz and the Reality Buzz• Sustainability is one of the hot topics in

business, in development, in public discourse, in higher education – it is everywhere

• Significant array of public programs to implement green agenda, especially in US, Europe and parts of Asia and Latin America

• Private sector and governments at all levels are embracing and advancing it

The Buzz and the Reality

Reality

• Renewable energy sources accounted for only18% of global electric production in 2009

• Yet, less than 10% of all energy produced in US is from renewable sources, such as hydro (7%), wind (1%), solar (less than 1%), Geothermal (less than 1%), Biomass (2%)

• Carbon production not slowing• Current patterns of urbanization and development run counter to

sustainability• Global ecological crises connected to poor planning and climate change• According to economist Paul Krugman, developed world needs market-

based approach to deal with climate change, one that limits carbon emission by putting a price on them

• Urbanization is the great challenge

Preparing Planners for Sustainability• Development of new educational

programs to prepare professionals for sustainability

• Widely varied approaches reflects the widely varied interpretations of sustainability

• The term “sustainable development” means everything and nothing” – Feiden and Hamin (2011)

Inventory of Sustainability Programs• Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education

• 11 MA programs (Urban Sustainability, Cultural Sustainability, Sustainable Communities, Design for Sustainability, Global Sustainability, etc.)

• 17 MS Programs (several in business field, several just in Sustainability, several in environmental studies, and one MS in Regenerative Studies at California State Polytechnic, Pomoma:

• Regenerative studies is a unique descriptor for the interdisciplinary field of inquiry concerned with a sustainable future. While closely aligned with environmental, economic and social sustainability projects, regenerative studies places emphasis on the development of community support systems which are capable of being restored, renewed, revitalized or regenerated through the integration of natural processes, community action and human behavior. It is argued that the development of regenerative systems is the most promising method for ensuring a sustainable future - not merely conserving critical natural resources, but even enhancing them over time.

Inventory of Sustainability Programs• 12 specialized MS degrees (many in business but run the

gamut from Architecture to Sustainable Development)• MS programs range from management, business, education,

engineering, environmental management, industrial ecology, and sustainable systems• Includes three from Europe at Leiden, Delft and Erasmus, all in

the Netherlands• Others in Germany and Italy

Where is Sustainability Education for Planners?

International Greening Education Event• “Educating for Sustainability,” sponsored by Etech and

Hamburg U. of Applied Sciences, and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy (with financial support from the European Union

• To be held this October in the green city of Karlsruhe, Germany

• Theme of gathering: “Are educational institutions preparing themselves effectively and sufficiently to respond to the fast changing global scenario? What needs to be done to make sustainability an integral part of teaching and learning, and not just consciousness awakening”

• IS THE APPROPRIATE TO SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION LIMITED LARGE TO CONSCIOUSNESS AWAKENING??

Conditions for a Sustainability Curriculum for Planners• Greening existing courses• Addressing green agenda and sustainability at multiple scales,

namely the building, the neighborhood/community, the district, city metropolitan and regional levels

• Case studies of best practice drawn from international examples• Basic reconstituting of legal and foundational practices to

ensure that they yield sustainability outcomes• As with the building of modern planning practice, new

approaches need to be sanctioned through legal scrutiny and based upon foundation principles of health, safety and welfare

• Ecologizing the curriculum – Paul Hawkens “The first rule of sustainability is to align with natural forces, or at least not try to defy them.”

Ecological DesignVan der Ryn & Cowan 1996:• “design …the intentional shaping of matter,

energy, and process to meet a perceived need or desire…a hinge that inevitably connects culture and nature through exchanges of materials, flows of energy and choices of land use.”

• “any form of design that minimizes environmentally destructive impacts by integrating itself with living processes”

David Orr 1992:• “two versions of

sustainability• technological

sustainability and• ecological

sustainability • necessary parts of a

sustainable world”Club of Rome’s Limits to Growth

Herman Kahn

The Sustainable Blueprint contains the strategies and initiatives we believe are needed for Singapore to achieve both economic growth and a good living environment over the next two decades. The government will, actively and imaginatively, draw up policies, regulations and incentives to promote this. However, for us to succeed, our business leaders, our community leaders and our people, have to share a common vision, and work together to bring about changes needed in our households, our communities, our businesses and our country. Ultimately, Singapore will be our best home if each one of us has contributed to its development, and together shaped a sustainable city that reflects our shared aspirations and our values as a society.

http://app.mewr.gov.sg/web/Contents/ContentsSSS.aspx?Id=118

Models of Sustainability Education• University of Nottingham, UK, Department of Architecture and

Built Environment (within the Faculty of Engineering)• MSc in Sustainable Building Design• Oriented to individual building scale but with some attention

to other site factors – incorporates technology/ecology• Curriculum addresses:

bioclimatic designurban designrenewable energy technologies and solutionsenergy efficient services and systemscomputer modeling and simulationtotal building performance solutions

Model of Sustainability Education• MSc Sustainable Building Design offered in collaboration with

the Building Construction Authority, Singapore • Not currently offered in UK; has a campus in Malaysia• Other offerings in UK by University of Nottingham

• March in Sustainable Tall Buildings• MSc in Sustainable Building Technology• MSc in Sustainable Energy and Entrepeneurship• MSc in Renewable Energy and Architecture• MSc in Energy Conservation and Management

National University of Singapore

Forging an Integrative, Multidisciplinary Approach The compartmentalisation of the design process into disciplinary silos limits the performance of buildings and cities, and disallows paradigm shifts that are necessary for sustainable solutions. An integrative approach is one that advocates synergy between disciplines and stakeholders across different domains of knowledge in the interest of holistic, sustainable solutions. In the programme, the Integrated Project Studios will be the vehicle for forging new mindsets and collaborative outlooks. Students will learn how decisions by other disciplines and their own collectively impact performance.

UF Master of Sustainable Design• Done in collaboration with the Center for American Education,

Singapore• Much more multi-disciplinary than the Nottingham program• Deals with sustainability issues at the building, neighborhood,

metropolitan and regional scales• Covers both regreening existing urban fabric as well as

creating new sustainable urban fabric• Grounded in ecological concepts and values

UF Master of Sustainable Design Curriculum• Program and Course Structure• Semester 1 12 CR• International Sustainable Development 4 CR• Sustainable Design Problem Solving 4 CR• Ecological Issues in Sustainability 4 CR• Semester 2 12 CR• Design Studio in Sustainability 6 CR• Comparative Law and Policy for Sustainability 3 CR• Greening Existing Buildings 2 CR• Capstone Project Proposal Development 1 CR• Semester 3 12 CR• Sustainability Capstone Project 6 CR• Electives in Sustainable Design 4 CR• Cases of Sustainability in Practice (study tour in US) 2 CR• TOTAL 36 CR

How Do We Recast Planning Education to Promote Sustainability?

•Ecological economics•Ecological systems•Ecological design

Purview of Environmental Macroeconomics or Ecological Economics

Closed System

Ecosystem service Examples

Gas regulation CO2/O2 balance

Climate regulation greenhouse gas regulation

Disturbance regulation storm protection/flood control

Water regulation provisioning of water for ag/industry

Water supply Provisioning of water by watersheds and aquifers, “drinking water”

Erosion control/sediment retention prevention of soil loss

Soil formation weathering of rock

Ecosystem Services from Costanza et al, Science 1997

Ecosystem service Examples

Nutrient cycling N, P and other cycles

Waste treatment pollution control/detoxification

Pollination pollinators for plant reproduction

Biological control predator/prey equilibria

Refugia habitat for plant & animal species

Food Production fish, game, crops

Raw materials lumber, fuel, fodder

Genetic resources sources of medicines, food crops, biodiversity

Recreation ecotourism, outdoor recreation

Cultural aesthetic, artistic, spiritual

Sustainable Design is more than Green DesignDan Williams, 2007:• “Green design is an element of sustainable

design. Green buildings that efficiently use …non-renewable energy slow the …. crisis, but if the energy sources ….are unsustainable, the design is not sustainable”

• “Sustainable design differs from green design in that it includes continuing, surviving, thriving and adapting.”

3 Strategies from Van der Ryn and Cowan

•Conservation

•Regeneration

•Stewardship

Degree ofDifficulty

slows the rate of resource depletion:

• recycling materials• building denser

communities to preserve agricultural land

• adopting energy efficient mechanical systems including transportation

Conservation

Regeneration of living tissue:• restoring an eroded stream• re-creating habitat

Regeneration

Stewardship

maintains natural capital by spending frugally and investing wisely

Ecological Principles for Sustainable Planning• Solutions grow from place• Ecological accounting informs design• Design with nature• Everyone is a designer• Make nature visible

Your comments

•How do we ensure that planning education will yield professionals capable of advancing sustainable development?

Dawn Jourdan, esq., Ph.D.Assistant Professor, Urban Planning and LawUniversity of Florida

Sustainability and the Law

• What is the role of law in sustainable development?

Emerging Area of the Law• Environmental and natural resources law are foundational.

Existing environmental laws…

• Fail to address the “gamut of sustainability challenges” (Dernbach, 2011).


• Are typically focused on preserving the quality/quantity of resources.


• Do not deal with cumulative impacts of unsustainable development practices.

Sustainable Development Laws are emerging!!!

Sustainable Development Laws…

• Are evidence and performance based.

Sustainable Development Laws..

• Focus on reducing the ecological footprint of a city, region, or nation by• Reducing consumption and• Waste.


• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions.


• Encourage green building.


• Cautiously embrace technological substitutes for energy production.


• Seek to minimize risk.


• Relocates development from hazard-prone areas.


• Promote the efficient use of land and other natural resources.


• Extend beyond jurisdictional boundaries.


• Create employment opportunities in environmental protection and restoration.


• Do not discount issues relating population growth.


• Are built on the principles of environmental justice and intergenerational equity.