By the end of this course, students will have an understanding 
of:
(1)  The basic process by which urban infrastructure systems 
are developed, planned and managed today, and the way to assess 
the sustainability of such development with a system point of 
view.
(2)  The cultural and regional differences which lead to 
different urban Infrastructure planning approaches.
(3)  Local and regional environmental issues that affect 
development and management of urban systems.
(4)  The evolution of priorities and planning procedures in the 
U.S. during the past century.
(5)  Key issues are involved in the development of sustainable 
future urban developments and how engineers will contribute to 
these issues.  The emphasis will be the system interdependency 
and life cycle impacts of designs. 
(6)  How urban planning and development in other areas of the 
world might be adapted to the particular needs of United States 
society.

1) The urban planning process in use today in the United States
a) Overview of sustainability definitions, metrics, ecological 
footprint
b) Reviewing of the urban planning theory and the history of 
urban development in the United States
c) The complex interactions of the economic, social, and 
political systems involved

2) How engineered systems fit into and impact the built 
environment and urban planning process
a) Engineered systems mandated by the urban form
b) Transportation driven infrastructure development
c) Analysis, assessment, and metrics; summary of analysis tools
d) Impact of urban sprawling 
e) Comparison of United States cities in terms of sustainability

3) Case studies and proposed urban models for exploring the key 
engineering issues of
a) Transportation 
b) Renewable energy: Conservation and different technologies 
c) Water infrastructure, distributed v. central, resilient 
systems, water reuse, aquifer storage and recovery
d) Energy efficient/sustainable buildings: Green build/green 
design, LEED certification

4) Case studies on recent policy on urban infrastructure 
developments or redevelopments that illustrate the new models 
and focus on the key engineering related issues of 
transportation, energy, water, and buildings
a) United States: The policy on centralized v. distributed 
water infrastructure
b) Other international: Good and bad examples of infrastructure 
renovation