Geog 446 Topics in Geography: Social Sustainability
         

Course Schedule, January 2009 (this schedule will be updated during the term)
 
Week Topic Discussion/Assignments
 
Week 1: Introduction to the Course
Jan 5-9

Introduction to the Course
Introduction to Sustainability
Readings:
1. UBC Sustainability Office (SO) website: http://www.sustain.ubc.ca/
2. Inspirations and Aspirations (SO website)
3. UBC Sustainability Annual Report (SO website)
4. Institutionalizing Sustainability
5. Think Systemically, Act Cooperatively

 
 

Week 2: UBC Sustainability and Social Sustainability
Discussion of Assignment 1

Jan. 12-16

Institutionalizing Sustainability and defining
Social Sustainability
discussion Assignment 1
Readings:
1. review readings from week 1
2. STARS: Sustainability Tracking and Assessment Reporting System
optional:
1. J Fischer et al. 2007?, "Mind the sustainability gap"
2. Goodland, R. 2002 "Sustainability: Human, Social, Environmental and Economic"

 
Week 3: Social Sustainability Presentation
Jan. 19-23 2010 Sustainability Olympic speaker (Ann Duffy Chief Sustainability Officer VANOC)
Readings:
www. winter2010.com

 
Week 4: Sustainability Management and Reporting
Jan. 26-30 Basic components of a measurement and reporting system
Summary/Review of Social Sustainability lecture from week 2
STARS presentation

 
Week 5: Assignment 1 presentation
Feb. 2-6 Presentation of Assignment 1 results
Assignment 1 due
 
Week 6: Social sustainability at UBC: consensus building
Feb. 9-13 Consensus Building

Feb 16- 20 Mid Term Break/Reading Week
 
Week 7: Baselining Social Sustainability Research Methodology
Feb. 25 follow-up discussion from last class on categories and sub-categories
discussion of Assignment 2 research methodology for Part A, Part B and Part C
Assignment 2: Baselining Social Sustainability at UBC (handout) Group Project
 
Week 8: Sustainability in Action
Mar. 4 City of Vancouver and Social Sustainability: Heather Schofield (9-10)
discussion assignment 2
 
Week 9: Sustainability in Action
Mar. 11 UBC's Aboriginal Program: Linc Kesler, Director UBC First Nations House of Learning, Senior Advisor to the President (9-10)
discussion assignment 2

 
Week 10: Sustainability in Action
Mar. 18

UBC's CIRS project: John Robinson, IRES (9:30-10:30)
Readings:
CIRS Goals
Comfort paper
Plea_paper
Accelerating Sustainability
 
Week 11: Assignment 2: group discussions
Mar. 25 Social sustainability and Community Planning: Nancy Knight, AVP Campus and Community Planning (9-10)
discussion assignment 2
 
Week 12: Assignment 2 presentations
Ap. 1 presentations (15 minutes per group)
discussion of Assignment 2 Part C: adaptive 		Assignment 2 due
 
Week 13:Wrap up: Executive presentation preparation
Apr. 8

discussion of format for university presentation of course deliverables

Assignment 3: Reflective learning (handout)

Executive Presentation pdf

Updated May 11, 2009