Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Cities and Urban Ecologies

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Cities are ecological systems that are defined by social, economic, cultural and political processes. A better understanding of these ecologies is necessary in order to steer the direction of urban design and development in order to respond to climate change, inequality and a digital lifestyle. The 12-credit Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Cities and Urban Ecologies is comprised of four courses for those who wish to gain the foundational skills and knowledge to operate as an Architect and Designer at an urban scale. Who would be suited to take this program? Especially large architecture firms operate at the urban scale. This certificate provides a better understanding of systems that operate at an urban scale that usually falls short in a typical professional architecture education. It also attracts professionals in the architecture and planning industry that want to update their skillset with cutting edge tools, techniques and methods in the field of urban design. Related professions include Architects, Urban Designers, Urban Planners, and Real Estate Developers. What will I learn? This certificate program covers: Methods for conducting historically driven, interdisciplinary research on the built environment (with a focus on cities and suburbs) through the lens of architecture, landscape, geography, and material culture. Methodology is studied to inform the production of urban history and to frame historical perspectives on contemporary urban issues. Historiography and critical theory are key aspects of the study of urban history's methodologies. In addition to traditional historical methodologies, the course examines emerging digital humanities methodologies. Evaluation and use of computer graphics hardware and software for architectural applications. Focus is on computers as tools, operating systems and methods of data manipulation. Two- and three-dimensional modeling software are discussed, and assignments using such software are given to provide understanding of the modeling of built environments. Introduction to the economic, financial and political aspects of real estate and their effect on architectural decision-making. Topics include: needs assessment, real estate appraisal, financial instruments, regulations and real estate, design as value-adding, and the effect of tax policies on real estate development. Planning Spatial relations of human behavior patterns to land use: methods of employment and population studies are evaluated location and spatial requirements are related to land use plans and concepts of urban renewal and recreational planning are investigated by case studies. Geographical/Land Information System (GIS/LIS) is a computerized system capable of storing, manipulating and using spatial data describing location and significant properties of the earth's surface. GIS is an interdisciplinary technology used for studying and managing land uses, land resource assessment, environmental monitoring and hazard/toxic waste control, etc. Introduces this emerging technology and its applications. Cities are growing at an unprecedented speed. Cities currently account for about 70 percent of global carbon emissions and over 60 per cent of resource use. We have to develop a vision for more sustainable cities and new protocols and processes to implement more sustainable vision for urban areas. This course will provide an inside into challenges we face (growing number of slum dwellers, inadequate infrastructure and services) and on solutions to address them.

Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts