SUSD 3170 Sustainable Development in the Cities Spanish Language, Liberal Arts & Environmental Sciences Program Summer 2016 July 5-Week 1 Course - San Jose

12.000 years ago, human beings started living in cities, after realizing the benefits of living in society. These urban agglomerations have suffered many different kinds of issues, and therefore have changed their shapes, functions, and other characteristics. Surpluses in production have led to trade and interaction with other cities and therefore other cultures. As commerce flourished, so did technologies that facilitate it, like cars and roads. People were drawn from the countryside to the cities as more jobs and opportunities became available.

Latin American cities are growing at a faster pace than the rest of the cities, forcing them to react differently to global issues. Nowadays the cities have a new challenge: to be sustainable. It is estimated that by 2050, 9 out of 10 Costa Ricans will live in cities. How will cities need to change to accommodate this growth without jeopardizing the potential for people in the future to meet their needs?

The educational content will be provided through an examination of the meaning of sustainability as it is in the Earth Charter. Each aspect (economic, environmental and social) will be analyzed and implemented in practical and local cases. The city of San José will be the main case study where we are going to apply the theory and discover what are their strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. The practical field trip will be in Nosara, Guanacaste, and a beach village that is claiming to be the most sustainable in the country due the practices of the citizens.

This course will prepare the student to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape a sustainable future in the cities and help you understand the model of development we are dealing with.