Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Community Development Handbook

 Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Community DevelopmentProgram Handbook

updated spring 2024 

Introduction to the Major in Sustainable Community Development

Program Director: Peter Dunn

@email

The Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Community Development (SCD) offers opportunities to study many aspects of the living environment from a design and planning point of view. This degree provides content across major areas of community- level sustainability, including ecology, economy, policy, equity, engagement, culture, and history, as well as field-specific knowledge in urban design and regional planning. Formerly titled Environmental Design, this program was established in 1966 as a pre-professional undergraduate degree. The name change in the fall of 2014 and the curriculum update in the fall of 2017 reflect the evolving nature of our field, dealing with social and natural environments.

Graduates from the BS-SCD program will be prepared to pursue a profession or higher degree in the various fields related to urban design, regional planning, and community development and to make informed and effective development decisions that can have a lasting impact on the built and natural environments. The curriculum broadly exposes students to the theories and techniques of planning and design so they can understand how human and ecological activity shape a landscape and what is involved in the sustainable development of neighborhoods, cities, and regions. It provides the academic background needed for dealing with a wide range of cultural, social, political, economic and ecological aspects in envisioning and creating sustainable communities.

Core classes prepare students to understand the dynamics of neighborhoods, cities, and landscapes, and to engage communities in envisioning a more socially and environmentally balanced world. Through five concentration options, the BS- SCD program provides historical, theoretical, and professional perspectives in the liberal arts and science fields. Each concentration emphasizes environmental or social issues at a different a scale, from construction details and buildings to urban landscapes and regions. The SCD areas of concentration are:

• Built Environment Provides technical language skills for understanding environmental design at the site and building scale, bridging building technology, architecture, and landscape. Aligned with architecture and design fields.
• City and Society Builds a broad social science understanding of how neighborhoods, towns, cities, and regions work, and how they can be influenced to better serve a range of social and environmental goals. Aligned with the field of urban planning.
• Climate Change and Green Infrastructure Focuses on the ways that cities and buildings can reduce greenhouse gasses, improve livability and resilience, and enhance ecology through design and planning interventions.
• Landscape Design and Build Provides theoretical and practical knowledge to design and build landscapes in a sustainable way. Designed for students entering the program from the two-year Associate Degree in Landscape Contracting.
• Independently Designed Concentration In consultation with Program Director, it is possible to combine LARP courses from the various standard concentrations to allow a more interdisciplinary focus.

Students declare a concentration when they enter the program, but this may be changed later in consultation with an advisor.

This Program Handbook provides details on course requirements, academic policies, and other useful information for current and prospective Sustainable Community Development students.