Technology, Society, and Environment

The case of Transportation

Using the case of systems for the provision and management of mobility we will engage in an interdisciplinary examination of the interface of society, large technical systems, and the environment.

The course consists of three parallel efforts: (1) to provide an understanding of key issues in and principles of sustainable transport; (2) to provide a social-analytic perspective on the impacts and context of the system of mass motorized mobility that is dominant in many developed countries and an implicit model for many developing ones; and (3) to examine the processes of fixity and change in a deeply rooted technical system.

The analytic tools of this course could be applied to many large technical systems (for the provision of food, or water, or energy, or housing, for example).

Students in the course can obtain a detailed syllabus and course materials from the instructor.