Health and the Built Environment 2 - ESH-502B

Course Description

Learn How Social Infrastructure Impacts Sustainability in Engineering

Building upon the previous course, ESH-X502A, this course will critically examine the complex interplay between human interventions that change the built environment (such as engineering and development interventions), and their impacts on community, global, environmental, animal, and planetary health. We will employ
transdisciplinary, multilevel, and complex adaptive systems approaches to better understand how changes to the environment can impact health outcomes, and thereby foster an awareness of the unintended outcomes of their practice and the need for intentionality and an accompanying consciousness in planning, design, and implementation of engineering, development, humanitarian, and health projects. This course will also cultivate an understanding of the important, but often overlooked, development of social infrastructure in tandem with the development of physical infrastructure for fostering sustainability.

Learner Outcomes

• Assess what sustainability is and how social and physical infrastructure can impact sustainability
• Identify how human interventions (eg; engineering and development) impact the built environment, as well and human and ecosystem health
• Identify potential unintended negative outcomes of human interventions on human and planetary health 
• Propose interventions that redress the negative impacts of past human interventions on human and planetary health

Course Details

Number of Units: 2.0 graduate level extension credit(s) in semester hours

Who Should Attend: course. This course is part of the ESH certificate and is intended as an introduction to the broader themes of the MESH Masters program enabling students to build confidence in their abilities, as well as experiencing the unique pedagogy and goals of the MESH community. It is aimed at those who have an interest in the subject matter but who are not yet ready to commit to the full Masters program, or who prefer to take a shorter course to raise skills and awareness. The course is open to students/ professionals from any discipline who wish to either change career direction or enhance their own potential career pathway. This can include but it not limited to : engineering, environmental science and health professionals wishing to change career or take on a different role or challenge within their organization; school teachers wishing to advance their career to administrative roles whilst also taking on a sustainability profile; any professional wishing to move into
sustainability management roles; students who have recently graduated looking for direction into future career paths related to sustainability and development.

Required Course Materials: List full citation including title, author, publisher, location and publication name, date of publication, number of pages of required reading for each citation. If course uses a reader, please submit several samples from the reader. For non-published materials, all materials must be submitted for
review. A reading list is provided.

Technical Requirements

Applies Towards the Following Certificate(s), Professional Programs and Series

• Engineering, Sustainability and Health Certificate : Engineering, Sustainability and Health Certificate