Cities and Climate Change: Mitigation and Adaptation (I, II and III)
Investigate the relationship between international cities and the effects of climate change through the expertise of urban leaders, practitioners, and academics and through peer-based discussion, applying knowledge to develop mitigation and adaptation strategies for resilient, case study cities.
Course Information
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About this Course
Cities - home to 55% of the global population, or 4.2 billion people - are responsible for up to 70% of human-caused fossil fuel emissions and therefore have a crucial role in addressing climate change across sectors. 11.270x Cities and Climate Change: Mitigation and Adaptation explores all of these areas with critical examination of the strategies cities have already deployed, enabling course participants to investigate urban climate change actions and develop policy recommendations for adaptation and mitigation response.
This instructor-paced course is equal parts information assimilation and hands-on application. Learners will gain a deeper understanding of fundamental theories of urban social and economic governance and evaluate these from the standpoint of climate resilience. Learners will improve their understanding of the operation of actors and systems involved in structuring policy and climate action. Through the perspectives of leading academics and practitioners, students will gain fundamental knowledge on core topics in urban climate mitigation and adaptation, including urban climate science, global warming, energy and transportation systems, environmental justice and equity, governance and policy, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), land use planning, urban design, disaster risk management, among others.
Building on and working with the Urban Climate Change Research Network’s (UCCRN’s) scientific community, learners will hear from climate change experts in different disciplines to understand how challenges and opportunities are experienced across the world. They will apply insights gleaned in class to explore city-specific research on climate resilience strategies. This course offers a foundation of knowledge on cities and climate change, with the opportunity to apply what is learned through city case study research for climate policy and action.
Course created with support from
What you'll learn
- Gain a deeper understanding of fundamental theories of governance and planning impacting urban climate mitigation and adaptation
- Comprehend the relationships between multi-level governance and multi-level climate risk assessment
- Improve understanding of the operation of actors and systems involved in structuring policy and urban planning in response to climate change
- Articulate and advocate for the best practices in climate mitigation and adaptation planning in local urban contexts
Prerequisites
None
Meet your instructors
Daniela Coray
Research Associate
Daniela Coray is Research Associate for Equitable Resilience at the Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism at MIT, where she leads collaborative research projects with MIT faculty and community partners in investigating issues of equity and justice in the built environment. Prior to joining MIT, Daniela was Course Manager and Faculty in Landscape Architecture at the Boston Architectural College, where she also received her Masters in Landscape Architecture. Daniela has served as Co-Chair for K-12 Outreach for the Boston Society of Landscape Architects, leading youth design studio programs for Boston-area high school students, both online and in person. She was the Ada Louise Huxtable Fellow in Civic Engagement in 2017, embedded with MASS Design Group in the landscape architecture team. She has 10+ years of experience in landscape design, research and education.
