PAFF 517Sust Act: Evidence,Tools,Exper

Catalog

This course examines how evidence is produced, interpreted, and mobilized in sustainability planning and governance, with a focus on decision-making in cities and communities. Students explore how planners, policymakers, consultants, and community organizations engage with sustainability data and knowledge, including indicators, models, assessments, reports, and lived experience. A central theme of the course is the role of expertise in sustainability action. Students will examine who is recognized as an expert, how expert authority is established, leveraged, and challenged, and how technical, professional, and community-based forms of knowledge interact in planning processes. Students will gain a conceptual introduction to common sustainability tools such as greenhouse gas inventories, life-cycle assessment, climate risk mapping, and sustainability indicators, with an emphasis on understanding their applications in real-world contexts. Throughout the course, students consider the equity implications of sustainability data and expertise, and how inclusive knowledge practices can support fairer and more effective sustainability action.