Sustainable regional principles, planning and transportation
Course 1 • 7 hours • 4.5 (130 ratings)
Course Details
What you’ll learn
This course will provide students with an introduction to sustainable regional principles, regional planning concepts, and examine issues in the regional transportation system. This will be achieved through dynamic video lectures, practical cases, and an evaluation of methods for success. Among other things, discussions will be held on:
- The importance of the regional plan
- How to drive community engagement
- The importance of understanding the development axis
Strategies for growth priorities will be examined, along with consideration of housing and food security expenditures. The concepts of regional preservation and rural preservation will be evaluated, and mapping of key aspects of the region, such as neighborhoods and districts, will be explained. Emphasis will be placed on evaluating regional transportation systems, balancing transportation types, and incorporating choices in transportation models. Considerations for building a regional rail system will also be examined, while adjusting accessibility and user movement.
At the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Articulate the connection between regional principles, smart growth, and resilience.
- Assess growth priorities, community engagement, and scale of government to achieve smart, sustainable growth.
- Evaluate and explain the regional mapping of rural reserves, urban reserves, neighborhoods, and districts as important tools in planning smart regional growth.
- Describe the implications of mapping regional orders and centers for smart growth planning at the regional level.
The course is intended for:
- Government officials involved in the planning, design, supervision, enforcement, and evaluation of sustainable projects at the local, state, and federal levels.
- Private sector companies in the transportation industry and urban design and construction.
- Architects interested in promoting sustainable concepts for cities and communities.
- Foundations, associations and NGOs that support smart growth strategies.
- Academic faculty and students studying and researching community resilience.
- Private citizens interested in improving their communities and quality of life.
Below is a list of prior knowledge that can help you succeed in this course:
- General understanding of planning and execution of public/private projects
- Interest or experience in planning and developing regional sustainable development programs
- Familiarity with the functioning of government organizations in the field of transportation planning and project development
- Served as a committee volunteer or leader on regional transportation projects and/or regional policy development initiatives
- Background and interest in environmental protection programs and initiatives
- General knowledge in the planning and execution of regional transportation projects
- General knowledge or experience in public participation in government policy development
- Strong interest and/or experience in improving the urban environment for the benefit of its citizens
- General knowledge of legal and political issues related to sustainable development
- Experience or general knowledge of social equality issues
Skills you will acquire
- Category: Regional Planning
- Category: Efficient Transportation Systems
- Category: Regional Park Planning
- Category: Regional Strategies
- Category: Environmental Protection
Sustainable neighborhoods
Course 2 • 4 hours • 4.7 (62 ratings)
Course Details
What you’ll learn
This course will provide students with an introduction to the tools and concepts for understanding the importance of the neighborhood as part of a sustainable city. It will include an in-depth look at the natural context of successful neighborhoods, an appreciation of the important components and structures that create a sustainable neighborhood. Successful neighborhoods can provide their residents with pedestrian access to schools, housing, recreation centers, and a variety of public spaces, as well as opportunities for food production. Other aspects of sustainable neighborhoods will be assessed in this course, including practical cases of neighborhood development in Houston, Texas, San Antonio, Texas, and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Finally, the course will review the importance of the region and regional planning with a focus on form-based regional planning.
At the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Build master plans for urban parks and environmental nature to achieve neighborhoods in a natural context.
- Analyze how local schools, supporting services, and civic sites contribute to the life and functioning of the neighborhood.
- Examine how open spaces and housing density can be balanced as neighborhood components to achieve sustainable communities.
- Assess the structural aspects of the neighborhood, including neighborhood parks, open space configurations, and transportation directions in communities.
- Apply lessons learned from evaluating three cases from the Buffalo Bay Project in Houston, Texas, the Peverel Project in Doneccia, Texas, and the 21st Century Coast Project in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- Explain the importance of regional planning for sustainable neighborhoods, focusing on form-based regional planning.
Examples of background that can help students succeed in this course:
- General understanding of planning and execution of public/private projects
- Interest or experience in planning and developing sustainable regional development programs
- Familiarity with the functioning of government organizations in the field of transportation planning and project development
- Served as a committee volunteer or leader on regional transportation projects and/or regional policy development initiatives
- Background and interest in environmental protection programs and initiatives
- General knowledge in the planning and execution of regional transportation projects
- General knowledge or experience in public participation in government policy development
- Strong interest and/or experience in improving the urban environment for the benefit of its citizens
- General knowledge of legal and political issues related to sustainable development
- Experience or general knowledge of social equality issues
Skills you will acquire
- Category: Regional Planning for Sustainable Neighborhoods
- Category: Neighborhood Organization
- Category: Parks and Neighborhood Planning
Sustainable transportation networks and street buildings
Course 3 • 4 hours • 4.8 (56 ratings)
Course Details
What you’ll learn
This course will evaluate best practices in transportation networks, transportation arteries, and street design for the efficient movement of people, goods, and services through an area. The design and implementation of sustainable public and private streets will be examined and evaluated for use in sustainable cities. Considerations for smart urban planning, growth, and lifestyle will be explored. Strategies for creating equitable, healthy, and sustainable communities will also be explored.
At the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Review and evaluate considerations in the arterial transportation network, including connectivity, block size, and sidewalk interaction.
- Compare different design options for solid streets for implementation in smart growth planning.
- Evaluate design and planning strategies for public and private sidewalks, including street tree configurations and lamppost design.
- Examine water management issues in pavement design with special curb lines, saturated zones, and grease lane areas as part of the pavement design.
- Identify and evaluate the differences between unobstructed, slow-flow, and newborn flow transport artery design principles.
- Assess and request indicators of smart urban planning, growth and lifestyle.
The target audience of the course includes:
- Government officials involved in the planning, design, supervision, enforcement, and evaluation of sustainable projects at the local, state, and federal levels.
- Private sector companies in the transportation industry and urban design and construction.
- Architects interested in promoting sustainable concepts for cities and communities.
- Foundations, associations and NGOs that support smart growth strategies.
- Academic faculty and students studying and researching community resilience.
- Private citizens interested in improving their communities and quality of life.
Skills you will acquire
- Category: Full streets
- Category: Urban Planning
- Category: Design of arterial transportation networks
- Category: Smart Streets
- Category: Surface Water Management
Transportation, Sustainable Buildings, Green Building
Course 4 • 6 hours • 4.7 (160 ratings)
Course Details
What you’ll learn
This course will include an assessment of best practices in parking policies for sustainable cities. Examples include city center parking policies, understanding the high cost of free parking, developing parking shelters, neighborhood parking management, parking concealment and strategies, and more. In addition, a review of the Canadian parking management in Victoria will be provided, which explores parking planning issues and addresses the potential costs and savings of advanced management. An introduction to the use of shape-based codes for application in sustainable cities will also be provided. Different building types will be examined such as 4-6 storey buildings, apartment buildings, mixed-use buildings, single-family homes, and townhouses. Emphasis will be placed on vacant property strategies for equitable and healthy communities. Vacant property rehabilitation strategies will be examined with a regeneration cycle analysis. Green building principles will be examined with regard to natural light and ventilation, energy efficiency, use of sustainable building materials, energy-efficient design, on-site energy generation, and other considerations. Architectural design will balance the climate, building materials, and the culture and history of the site. Architectural choices should have a uniform appearance within the community and provide privacy for residents. Additional considerations include protection and preservation of historic buildings, use of universal design concepts, careful siting of public buildings, and the appropriate use of subsidized housing.
At the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Review and evaluate a variety of parking policies that support sustainable cities and environmental quality.
- Compare different parking options such as parking sheds, neighborhood parking, access to parking lots, permeable parking areas, and various methods of concealing parking lots.
- Describe the State of Minnesota’s approach to developing a plan to reduce greenhouse gases in the transportation sector.
- Examine problems in implementing environmentally friendly prices in the transportation sector and the idea of ”fix first.”
- Evaluate the idea of shape-based codes and their benefits in creating sustainable cities.
- Evaluate smart green building practices such as using sustainable building materials, on-site energy generation, proper energy direction, and using green building standards.
Target audience
- Government officials involved in the planning, design, supervision, enforcement, and evaluation of sustainable projects at the local, state, and federal levels.
- Private sector companies in the transportation industry and urban design and construction.
- Architects interested in promoting sustainable concepts for cities and communities.
- Foundations, associations and NGOs that support smart growth strategies.
- Academic faculty and students studying and researching community resilience.
- Private citizens interested in improving their communities and quality of life.
Skills you will acquire
- Category: Parking Management
- Category: Health Buildings
- Category: Parking Policy
- Category: Implementing environmentally friendly prices in transportation
- Category: Energy Efficient Building Design
