This course explores policy and planning for sustainable development. It critically examines concept of sustainability as a process of social, organizational, and political development drawing on cases from the U.S. and Europe. It also explores pathways to sustainability through debates on ecological modernization; sustainable technology development, international and intergenerational fairness, and democratic governance.

For the last century, precepts of scientific management and administrative rationality have concentrated power in the hands of technical specialists, which in recent decades has contributed to widespread disenfranchisement and discontent among stakeholders in natural resources cases. In this seminar we examine the limitations of scientific management as a model both for governance and for gathering and using information, and describe alternative methods for informing and organizing decision-making processes. We feature cases involving large carnivores in the West (mountain lions and grizzly bears), Northeast coastal fisheries, and adaptive management of the Colorado River. There will be nightly readings and a short written assignment.

This course is an introduction to real-world dynamics of public policy controversies. Topics to be considered include national, state, and local policy disputes, such as smoking, hazardous waste, abortion, gun control, and education. Using a case study approach, students study whether and how those disputes get resolved. Students conduct debates and simulations in addition to writing a series of short essays.

How can we translate real-world challenges into future business opportunities? How can individuals, organizations, and society learn and undergo change at the pace needed to stave off worsening problems? Today, organizations of all kinds—traditional manufacturing firms, those that extract resources, a huge variety of new start-ups, services, non-profits, and governmental organizations of all types, among many others—are tackling these very questions. For some, the massive challenges of moving towards sustainability offer real opportunities for new products and services, for reinventing old ones, or for solving problems in new ways. The course aims to provide participants with access and in-depth exposure to firms that are actively grappling with the sustainability-related issues through cases, readings and guest speakers.

This course examines alternative conceptions and theoretical underpinnings of sustainable development. It focuses on the sustainability problems of industrial countries, and of developing states and economies in transition. It also explores the sociology of knowledge regarding sustainability, the economic and technological dimensions, and institutional imperatives, along with implications for political constitution of economic performance.
17.181 fulfills the undergraduate public policy requirement in the Political Science major and minor. Graduate students are expected to explore the subject in greater depth through reading and individual research.

The course provides a systematic framework to understand the most challenging issues in sustainability in the real estate industry. It examines economic mechanisms, technological advances, business models, building design, and investment and financing strategies available for the different market players to promote sustainability in the building sector.
Prof. Siqi Zheng is the faculty director of the MIT Center for Real Estate and founder and director of the MIT Sustainable Urbanization Lab. She specializes in urban and environmental economics, with a special focus on sustainable cities and real estate.
Zhengzhen Tan is a lecturer and researcher with MIT Center for Real Estate and MIT Asia Real Estate Initiative, specializing in real estate sustainability, healthy buildings, and digital technology innovation.
Prof. Juan Palacios is a visiting professor from Maastricht University whose research focuses on environmental economics, sustainable real estate, and health economics.

This one-day workshop provides a brief overview of system dynamics and a hands-on simulation experience. It also serves as a preview of the more in-depth coverage of the subject available in other courses offered at MIT Sloan.

This course addresses the relationship between technology-related problems and the law applicable to work environment. The National Labor Relations Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, state worker’s compensation, and suits by workers in the courts are discussed in the course. Problems related to occupational health and safety, collective bargaining as a mechanism for altering technology in the workplace, job alienation, productivity, and the organization of work are also addressed. Prior courses or experience in environmental, public health, or law-related areas will be useful.

15.975 U-Lab: Leading Profound Innovation for a More Sustainable World is an interactive and experiential class about leading profound innovation for pioneering a more sustainable economy and society. The class is organized around personal reflection practices, relational practices, and societal practices. It focuses on the intertwined relationship between the evolution of capitalism, multi-stakeholder innovation, and presencing.

“Designing a dream city is easy. Rebuilding a living one takes imagination.”    -Jane Jacobs
This course examines the challenges that cities will face and strategies they can use to prepare for the impacts of climate change. Particular attention will be paid to the presence of global disparities, the needs of vulnerable populations and resource constrained locales, and the ways in which local government and community-based activities can achieve equitable levels of climate-readiness.

This class is about figuring out together what cities and users can do to reduce their energy use and carbon emissions. Many other classes at MIT focus on policies, technologies, and systems, often at the national or international level, but this course focuses on the scale of cities and users. It is designed for any students interested in learning how to intervene in the energy use of cities using policy, technology, economics, and urban planning.

This course examines the policy, politics, planning, and engineering of transportation systems in urban areas, with a special focus on the Boston area. It covers the role of the federal, state, and local government and the MPO, public transit in the era of the automobile, analysis of current trends and pattern breaks; analytical tools for transportation planning, traffic engineering, and policy analysis; the contribution of transportation to air pollution, social costs, and climate change; land use and transportation interactions, and more. Transportation sustainability is a central theme throughout the course, as well as consideration of if and how it is possible to resolve the tension between the three E’s (environment, economy, and equity). The goal of this course is to elicit discussion, stimulate independent thinking, and encourage students to understand and challenge the “conventional wisdom” of transportation planning.

This course, which examines ways of resolving conflicts over the allocation of water resources, is designed to raise student awareness of the state of freshwater resources globally and the need for more effective water governance. It builds on several case studies of transboundary water conflicts in different parts of the world while also helping students develop the negotiation and mediation skills they will need to resolve water disputes.