Advanced Topics in Sustainability Engineering for Infrastructure Systems

A commonly cited definition of sustainable development, from the landmark United Nations "Our Common Future" Brundtland Report in 1987, is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." To design engineered systems that uphold the principle of sustainability, the entire life cycle of an engineered system must be considered. Through this course, students will learn to critically assess sustainability in the context of civil infrastructure and technology systems. This includes learning and practicing methods to quantitatively evaluate sustainability and holistically consider the lifespan of engineered systems. Specifically, students will learn to identify what are important and relevant questions around sustainability, investigate data availability and assumptions, develop models and frameworks for analysis, understand impact categories, and assess strengths and limitations of different approaches. The course material will engage with literature and examples on sustainability from environmental, social, and economic perspectives.