Summer 2024. Subject to refinement/updating.
Instructor: Jessica Wurwarg
Schedule: Tuesday/Thursday Evenings
Location: Online with optional field trips
3 credits 3 hours/week
Instructor: Jessica Wurwarg (Adjunct Instructor)
Instructor Information
· Contact Information: wurwarg@gmail.com "> wurwarg@gmail.com
· By appointment –please email
Course Information
Tuesdays and Thursdays 6 – 8:30 PM June 4 – July 30
(no class on July 4th)
Mid-Term Paper: due and presented in class on June 27th (proposed topics due June 18);
Final Paper: due and presented in class on July 28th and 30th (proposed topics due July 16).
Course Description
The course will examine the role transportation plays globally in connecting people, things, and places, and how it--as a top emitter--and we can be more sustainable. Through this, we will examine the crucial roles of collaboration and interdisciplinary planning and operating in improving sustainability and simply completing successful projects. Through a series of expert guest speakers, site visits, lectures and student research, conversations and presentations we will explore sustainability in transportation. The course will explore concepts in transportation planning, design, innovation, behavior change, and policy, and how these concepts can help the transportation sector and humans behave more sustainably—possibly through developing and using more public transportation. We will learn from history, the impact of the industrial revolution, the impact of cars and ultimately electrification on transportation, transportation infrastructure and the potential we have to revolutionize transport again to help lessen the impacts transportation has on the environment... We will consider barriers to using public transit, including perceptions of and actual safety on public transit. We will learn about financing and funding of transportation and transportation infrastructure.
Using the New York metropolitan area as a case study, accompanied by examples from other parts of the United States as well as examples from higher and lower income countries, we will learn from case studies about the real life impacts of these sometimes political decisions and their impacts on people, cities and the environment. The course will address current and evolving models promoting sustainability. These will include technical solutions to reduce carbon emissions, land use/transport shifts, including transit-oriented design, and information technology substitutions for transportation.
Course Goals, Objectives and Outcomes
- Widen students’ framework and understanding of sustainable transportation potential and goals. This will include fundamental definitions, terms, concepts and theories.
- Learn from real life examples of sustainable transportation policy, planning, practice and operations--through guest speakers and site visits.
- Learn about transportation and transportation infrastructure locally and globally, and the relationship to and impact it has had on current transportation modes and sustainability challenges.
- Understand the interrelationship of various transportation modes and the importance of multidisciplinary planning and collaboration for success.
- Understand the impact electric vehicles and electrification generally could have on greenhouse gas emissions and the pros and cons of rolling them out en masse. Do other technologies, including hydrogen, provide more opportunities for sustainable transportation?
- Develop a general understanding of the various laws, rules and regulations that develop the framework within which sustainable transportation decisions and planning must adhere and operate.
- Better understand the lifecycle of a transportation infrastructure project.
- Understand the barriers that economic status, gender and race might play in accessing more sustainable forms of transportation.
- Engage in problem solving and develop students’ own ideas for reducing emissions and sustainable transportation planning using technology and land use as policy tools and solutions.
- Develop a pragmatic viewpoint and understanding of the “real world” – where the limitations of best practices and theory meet the reality of promoting sustainable transportation – through case studies involving actual projects, policy plans and by engaging guest lecturers who have experience and work in the field of sustainable transportation.
- Hone, develop and improve analytical thinking and writing skills.
- Improve oral and written expression, including concise articulation and presentation skills.
- Improve interpersonal and collaborative skills by working together on projects with other students.
Course Requirements and Grading
Course Structure:
The session consists of lectures, discussions, student participation, some short films, guest speakers, with a focus on group discussion. Students should complete all readings prior to class to ensure a productive discussion and exchange of ideas. Students should come to class prepared to participate in class, and speak about and question transportation and sustainability concepts.
Assignments
· Readings: Students are expected to complete all assigned readings prior to the class session when they are covered. Preliminary reading assignments for each class are set forth below, and will comprise mostly of articles that will be distributed or identified in advance. In advance of classes with guest speakers, the bio for the speaker will be distributed before class and students will be expected to come to class prepared with two-three questions to ask the guest speaker during class discussion. Students may also be assigned topics for which to lead discussions for each class.
Additional reading assignments—which will mostly be articles freely accessible may be updated and emailed prior to class.
· Written assignments: Written assignments will consist of a midterm written case study paper and in class presentation and a final project/paper and in class presentation.
Midterm: The midterm will be a case study of a historic nature focusing on a transportation or transportation infrastructure project of the past and its impacts on people, cities, the environment and economy. The midterm case study could also be based on student interviews of professionals in the field.
Final paper: The final paper will be a look at a sustainable transportation innovation, and the students will evaluate it based on its ability to be implemented and the potential impact it could have socially, environmentally and economically. Students can also feel free to delve deeper into a sustainable transportation topic of their choosing, but must get approval in advance from the instructor to write about it.
Communication Policy
The best way for students to communicate with the instructor during the two-month course period and the two weeks following, before the final papers/projects are due, is via the email address listed above. If there is a specific question, please make sure it is clear, and your questions/emails will be answered to the best of the instructor’s abilities, within 48 hours.
Assessment Strategy and Grading Policy
The course consists of lectures, discussions, student participation, some short films, guest speaker(s), with a focus on group discussion. Students should complete all readings prior to class to ensure a productive discussion and exchange of ideas. Students should come to class prepared to participate in class, and speak about transportation and sustainability issues that strike them as interesting. Grading is determined by class participation (20%), a short (3-5) page paper/ case study) midway through the course (35%) and then at the end of the course, a longer more developed paper about sustainable transportation innovation (45%). The projects can be developed from a list the instructor will provide or can be developed by the students individually. If paper topics are developed individually by students the topic must be cleared with the instructor in advance. Papers must have sources cited and must have a clear structure with an introduction, body where points are made and supported, and a clear conclusion. The final projects will be presented in class on the last two class sessions.
Class participation is defined by presenting the shorter and longer projects to the class in class and participating in class discussion by sharing ideas, thoughts from the reading, and answering and/or asking questions regularly, and engaging in discussion with guest speakers. Students must have their cameras on during class in order to be given credit for attending. If there are extenuating circumstances, please confirm with the instructor.
Academic Integrity
ChatGPT and other AI tools may be used as tools to enhance or advance learning, not as a crutch or in place of critical thinking. All papers and assignments must include source citations. Students will not learn the material if ChatGPT or other AI devices are uncritically relied upon for assignments. There are ways to use ChatGPT and other AI devices to enhance student understanding of various topics. Students are required to follow CCNY's Community Standardsand the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity.
Class Topics
Class 1 June 4
Introduction--What is Sustainable Transportation? What are the components of a sustainable transportation system? Who are some key players? How do we define this and what would some preliminary concepts for more sustainable transportation systems look like? Come to class prepared to introduce yourself, highlighting why you signed up for this course and any particular topics or projects or concepts you'd like to delve into more deeply.
Class 2 June 6
The Public Realm and Transit-Oriented and Interdisciplinary Planning
Readings for this class:
Transit Oriented Development: Moving from Rhetoric to Reality
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/belzertod.pdf
Streets as Places: How Transportation Can Create a Sense of Community
https://www.pps.org/article/streets-as-places-how-transportation-can-create-a-sense-of-community
Watch
City Spaces, Human Places,
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8mpdo3
Class 3 June 11 Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning in NYC Walking Tour with Rayn Riel--Meet at 5:30 PM exact location TBC
Have you ever wondered what original details still remain inside New York's oldest subway stations? Why there are so many abandoned platforms? What the politics were surrounding some of the MTA's costliest stations? Or even why your subway train is delayed? It's time to head underground to uncover the past, present, and future of mass transit in our region of 20+ million people.
Our unique subterranean experience will include:
An overview of how and why Manhattan's transit system was built underground at the beginning of the 20th century
The catastrophic effects of 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy on New York's downtown transit system, along with how the subterranean network is now more resilient than ever
The meaning behind the art and architecture surrounding some of the system's oldest subway stations — and the stark differences with stations built in the 21st century
Transit secrets surrounding some of the older stations, such as a former wine cellar under the Brooklyn Bridge connected to NYC Subway tunnels
A peek at several abandoned stations and platforms hidden in plain sight, including the famous 1904 City Hall Station
A walk through the newest downtown subway stations, including the $1.4 billion Fulton Center and $4 billion World Trade Center Oculus
Class 4 June 13 Understanding Emissions and Financing Transportation Infrastructure: Congestion Pricing and other mechanisms
Readings for this class:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/20/europe-transport-emissions-greenhouse-gases
Class 5 June 18 Electric Vehicles and Infrastructure--Mark Simon, NYC DOT
Class 6 June 20 Alison Kling, ConEd: Electric Vehicles and Infrastructure--Utility Perspective!
Class 7 June 25 Sustainable Roadways and Asphalt with Irena Nedeljkovic /// Transit Oriented Development with Guest Speaker Paul Januszewski, VP Planning, Transit Oriented Development, Construction and Development, MTA
Class 8 June 27 Midterm presentations
Midterm papers due and presented in class--at approximately 5-7 min each
Class 9 July 2 Public Transit: Subways and Commuter Rail--Rolling out Zero Emissions Buses
Readings for this class:
https://www.parkcity.org/home/showpublisheddocument/73143/638099776483670000
MTA Zero Emission Transition Plan https://new.mta.info/document/120411
Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution by Janette Sadik-Khan and Seth Solomonow Chapter 11: Sorry to Interrupt but We have to Talk About Buses
Class 10 July 9 Site visit/walking tour Highline and Little Island (afternoon) Big Investments in Walkability, Public Space and Reusing infrastructure
Class 11 July 11 Guest Speaker Margaret Forgione, First Deputy Commissioner NYC DOT
Class 12 July 16 Bridges and Tunnels and Transportation Infrastructure--Walking tour over the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges
Class 13 July 18 will take place on July 19 instead, at 10 AM Site Visit to Queens Farm on Bridge Infrastructure
Class 14 July 23 Innovations in Sustainable Transportation and Transportation Planning
Street Fight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution by Janette Sadik-Khan and Seth Solomonow Chapter 9: Bike Share: a New Frontier in the Shared Economy
Class 15 July 25 Final Presentations Part I
Midterm papers due and presented in class--at approximately 10 min each with five minutes for questions.
Class 16 July 30 Final Presentations Part II
Midterm papers due and presented in class--at approximately 10 min each with five minutes for questions.
Last Updated: 06/04/2024 14:52