Boston as an Urban System

Cities are complex environments shaped by social and ecological interactions and mediated by built infrastructure and technology. Understanding these dynamics can help explain urban environmental problems and chart more sustainable futures. This course uses the city of Boston as a laboratory for exploring how urban environmental and infrastructural history shapes current challenges, and how cities respond, innovate, and communicate policy goals to residents and other stakeholders in a changing climate. Drawing on multidisciplinary perspectives, we will study the city as a dynamic urban system and critically examine how cities like Boston interpret and communicate goals like sustainability, resilience, and social equity. Drawing on multiple kinds of data, students will develop a project focusing on a real-world issue in the city and explore potential solutions.