Introduction to Environmental Policy and Planning
MIT's graduate-level introduction to environmental policy and planning, required for students specializing in this area within the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. The course compares national environmental and energy policy approaches worldwide, covering debates between growth-oriented and deep ecology positions, command-and-control versus market-based regulation, and expert knowledge versus indigenous knowledge. Topics include sustainability management, ecosystem politics, environmental governance, ecological economics, integrated impact and risk assessment, joint fact-finding in science-heavy disputes, environmental justice in low-income communities of color, and dispute resolution techniques. Materials include the video-enhanced eBook Environmental Problem-Solving by Susskind et al., which bundles assigned readings, faculty commentary, and examples of strong past student work. The course aims to help students build their own working theory of environmental planning practice through this material, available free via MIT OpenCourseWare under a Creative Commons license.