NRE 501.036 Sustainable Systems in Developing Countries
Ming Xu
M W 830-10am

The world is flat. As David Held, a British scholar in political science, once said, globalization is the í¢â‚¬Å“widening, deepening and speeding up of worldwide interconnectedness in all aspects of contemporary social life.í¢â‚¬  The same is true for sustainability. Yet the information on sustainability in developing countries is often not well received in the developed world.

This course is designed to introduce the students to a number of current issues challenging sustainability in developing countries and equip the students with analytical tools to understand a number of critical systems including water, energy, cities, urban infrastructure, critical industries, technology, etc.  The course will emphasize on issues in Africa and Asia (China and India in particular) with comparative examples and case studies drawn from the developed world.

Students will be equipped with a global perspective for sustainable systems as well as appropriate analytical tools. After this course, students are expected to:
í¢â‚¬ ¢understand critical sustainability issues in developing countries,
í¢â‚¬ ¢understand and use environmentally extended input-output analysis to examine lifecycle environmental consequences of economic activities at a macro level (e.g., computing carbon footprint or embodied energy for international trade),
í¢â‚¬ ¢learn technological solutions available for developing countries, and
í¢â‚¬ ¢learn policy issues critical for sustainability in developing countries.