| WEEK # | TOPICS | READINGS |
|---|---|---|
| Part I - Framing Sustainability: Global Problems and Local Actions | ||
| 1 | Introduction and Overview Review of Assignment | |
| 2 | Some Prominent Ways of Framing Sustainability |
 World Commission on Environment and Development. Our Common Future. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1987, pp. ix-v, 1-23, 43-65. ISBN: 019282080X.Redclift, Michael. "The Multiple Dimensions of Sustainable Development." Geography 76 (1991): 36-42. Meadows, Dennis, Donella Meadows, and Jorgen Randers. Beyond the Limits: Confronting Global Collapse, Envisioning a Sustainable Future. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 1993, preface, chapters 1 and 6. ISBN: 0930031628. Holdren, John P., Gretchen C. Daily, and Paul R. Ehrlich. "The Meaning of Sustainability: Bio-Geophysical Aspects." Excerpted from Defining and Measuring Sustainability. Edited by Mohan Munasinghe and Walter Shearer. Washington, DC: World Bank, 1995. ISBN: 0821331345. Solow, R. "Sustainability: An Economist's Perspective." In Economics of the Environment. Edited by R. Dorfman and N. Dorfman. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1993, pp. 179-187. ISBN: 0393963101.Howarth, Richard. "Intergenerational Justice and the Chain of Obligation." Environmental Values 1 (1992): 133-40. Sen, Amartya. Development as Freedom. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999, Introduction and chapter 1. ISBN: 0385720270. |
| 3 | Framing Sustainability Locally: An International Comparison |
Sitarz, D., ed. Agenda 21: The Earth Summit Strategy to Save Our Planet. Boulder, CO: Earthpress, 1994, pp. 1-23, 131-134, and 263-316. ISBN: 093575511X. Review the links listed in the related resources section. |
| 4 | Framing Sustainability as Local Action: Cambridge and MIT Guest: Rosalie Anders, Cambridge Department of Community Planning Steven Lanou, MIT Environmental Programs Office |
Cambridge Climate Change Protection Plan Armstrong, Robert, and Ernest Moniz. "Report of the Energy Research Council." Cambridge, MA: MIT Energy Research Council, May 3, 2006. (PDF - 2.4 MB) |
| 5 | Understanding and Managing Change in Organizational Settings |
Wenger, Etienne. Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 1-42, 43-51, and 225-241. ISBN: 0521430178. Wenger, E. C., and W. M. Snyder. "Communities of Practice: the Organizational Frontier." Harvard Business Review 78, no. 1 (2000): 139-147. Laws, David, and Lily Pollans. "SunLine Transit: Managing Change for Sustainable Development." Cambridge, MA: MIT Environmental Technology and Public Policy Program Working Paper, May 20, 2004. |
| 6 | Sustainability and Innovation |
Lester, Richard, and Michael Piore. Innovation the Missing Dimension. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004, chapters 2 and 3. ISBN: 0674015819. Weber, Matthias, Remco Hoogma, Ben Lane, and Johan Schot. Experimenting with Sustainable Transport Innovations: A Workbook for Strategic Niche Management. Seville, Spain: Enschede Press, 1999. ISBN: 0415271169. |
| Part II - Local Sustainability Initiatives: Networks, Designs, and Communities of Practice | ||
| 7 | Promoting Sustainability in State and Local Government Guests Kim Lundgren - ICELI Ian Finlayson - Massachusetts State Sustainability Office | Review materials on ICELI and the Massachusetts State Sustainability Program. (See the links in the related resources section.) |
| 8 | Sustainable Action at a University Guests Laxmi Rao - Project Manager, MIT Facilities Office Jaclyn Emig - Longwood Green Campus Initiative Program Coordinator |
Rao, Laxmi. "Problem to Solution(s): Change Agency Competencies." In-class presentation, used with permission. (PDF) |
| 9 | Preliminary Presentations and In-class Critique Guest Critic - John de Monchaux | |
| 10 | Building a Story about Change |
Mishler, Elliot. Storylines: Craftartists' Narratives of Identity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004, pp. xiii-xv, 1-20, and 165-169. ISBN: 067401586X. |
| 11 | Working Session | |
| 12 | Final Presentations | |