SUS 8000S - Socioecological Resilience in Urban Parks

Spring 2022

Monday evenings 
Room

Elaine Mahoney
Emahoney@ccny.cuny.edu

Office hours: W 11-12 or by appt.

This course provides an exploration of the interdependent relationship between communities and nature in urban areas. We will study the relationship of parks to the city and various political ideologies from the 18th century through today. Students will study the benefits of parks to communities through examining literature, studies, and vulnerability assessments. Students will use a variety of digital tools to evaluate vulnerability of parks and adjacent communities to climate change and extreme weather. Drawing from the foundation of the readings and vulnerability assessments, students will work in teams to draft a formal research proposal. Students will work in teams to produce formal proposals to undertake research in NYC’s Gateway National Recreation Area (GNRA) in summer 2022. This course is a pre-requisite for a paid, full-time summer research fellowship in GNRA with the National Park Service, Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay, and the Center for the Study of Brooklyn at Brooklyn College.

Learning Objectives

This course has four purposes: 

1. teach students to evaluate evidence and data critically and analytically
2. teach students to evaluate geography within context 
3. Apply contextual and scientific knowledge to a specific site to create data set  
4. Present and organize findings in a meaningful way  

Each week will be devoted to discussion of a selection of texts – usually 2, occasionally 3 - that all students must read in common. Two students will be responsible for introducing the common readings for a given week, as well as writing 700-900 word summaries of the readings and distributing copies of these summaries to the other students. The focus of this seminar is community resilience in the face of climate change. In order to assess and define community, we will have to engage in the community of the classroom.  Active, informed participation in class discussions counts as 35% of your final grade.

Weekly summaries should be emailed to all class participants by noon on the day of class.

Students will be expected to complete a 5 page risk and vulnerability report. The report will include an overview of the neighborhood, an assessment of existing conditions of the people, ecology, housing, and infrastructure, mapping products illustrating vulnerability and risk, findings and recommendations for the community.  Once you have chosen the neighborhood you will be expected to submit a preliminary bibliography and an outline by the date indicated on the syllabus. This paper counts as 20% of the final grade.

At the end of the semester students will be asked to submit a 10 page formal research proposal. The research proposal will include proposed methodology and mapping, a timeline, literature review, and bibliography. This proposal will be worked on in small teams and executed during the paid summer research seminar.

Class participation: 20%

Response papers: 25%

Risk and Vulnerability Report: 25%

Research Proposal: 30%
 

All readings for the course are on reserve in the Graduate Center Library. Note: An * denotes a supplemental reading 

An additional appendix for the course will be provided by SRIJB  

Schedule of meetings