SOS 498/594: Fall 2018

There is a dearth of documented sustainability best practices for urban systems in arid and semi-arid environment.

This includes the sectors of sustainable energy, water, waste management, urban forestry, food systems, transportation and health. Practitioners and policy makers in Arizona seek best practices and case studies to draw information from and for comparative purposes for improved decision making. In this applied course students collaborate with stakeholders from cities and municipalities to document and analyze best practices, draft case studies and provide insight on a variety of sustainability topics. Students collaborate with and shadow selected officials to design, explore, verify and disseminate activities that are being currently implemented and have not been documented. Using standardized practices, this highly collaborative work forms the basis of the cities’ real time case studies and best practices in any chosen sector.

Urban Sustainability Applications is a graduate and senior level course offered each Fall by the School of Sustainability taught by Dr. Nalini Chhetri and advised by Anne Reichman. At the conclusion of the Fall 2018 semester, the students presented their work at a meeting hosted by SCN on November 29, 2018. The final deliverables and presentations from this semester are listed below.


Fall 2018

SOS 494/598 Urban Sustainability Applications is a graduate and senior level course offered each Fall by the School of Sustainability taught by Dr. Nalini Chhetri and advised by Anne Reichman. At the conclusion of the Fall 2018 semester, the students presented their work to the SCN Steering Committee on November 29, 2018. The final deliverables and presentations from this semester are listed below.

Class Presentations

A Collaborative Approach for a Resilient Maricopa County: Sustainability Benchmark Recommendations Report

By Christopher Ryan, Peyton James, Kevin Lane, Collin Mieras, Ronald Turner, Tsz Wong, Asya Vo, Christina Schmitt, Whitney Hermann, and Grant Falvo


Maricopa County Sustainability Benchmark Recommendations: Infrastructure Challenges & Opportunities

By Payton James and Chris Ryan


Maricopa County Sustainability Benchmark Recommendations: Water in a Drying Climate

By Kevin Lane and Collin Mieras


Maricopa County Sustainability Benchmark Recommendations: Energizing the Future of Maricopa County

By Ron Tuner and Tze Wong


Maricopa County Sustainability Benchmark Recommendations: Waste Management

By Christina Schmitt and Aysa Vo


Maricopa County Sustainability Benchmark Recommendations: Food and Agriculture in Maricopa County

By Grant Falvo and Whitney Herrmann