Associated Honors Course

The students participating in the Fall Break trip to Seattle, Washington are gaining important context for their trip by gathering together over the course of several Friday afternoons during the Fall 2024 semester to study what makes a city more or less sustainable, resilient, safe and inclusive. These meetings will incorporate field trips to downtown Raleigh, where the students will meet with City professionals and community leaders to discuss complex topics such as affordable housing, the homeless/unhoused community, land use planning, public transit, climate policy and resiliency, and more! 

Student participants will earn 3 credit hours of Honors Seminar coursework credit, which will help them complete their University Honors Program requirements. 

Our assigned textbook for this class is Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step At A Time (10th Anniversary Edition) by Jeff Speck. 

Link to course syllabus (link opens in Google Docs)

Fall 2024 Class Meeting Schedule:

Class Meeting 1

Meeting Theme: Introductions & Expectations 

Meeting Agenda: 

• Introduction of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal #11, "Sustainable Cities & Communities" 

• Discuss semester-long course projects

• Discussion/review of previously-assigned section of group read, Walkable City by Jeff Speck

Meeting 2 - Cancelled due to weather impacts from Hurricane Helene

Meeting Theme: Housing, Homelessness, and Things In Between

Meeting Agenda: Meet with Raleigh City Manager, Marchell Adams-David

• We hope to be able to reschedule this class meeting for later in the semester!

Meeting 3

Meeting Theme: City of Raleigh Sustainability Initiatives

Meeting Agenda: Meet with Senior Sustainability Strategist, Jason Hardin, City of Raleigh Office of Sustainability

• Take the city bus system downtown to the Raleigh Municipal Building to meet Mr. Hardin

• Discuss City sustainability projects and initiatives in the Office of Sustainability 

• Take a walking tour of current sustainability initiatives 

Break in "class meetings" for course-associated trip to Seattle, Washington!

Meeting 4

Meeting Theme: Public Transit

Meeting Agenda: Meet with Project Managers in Network Development, Ben Dodson and Anna Stokes, Amtrak

• Introduce and discuss new and ongoing projects to expand the current Amtrak network

• Discussing Amtrak's goals and future in connecting cities through intercity rail travel

• Focus specifically on projects going on in North Carolina like the S-Line expansion and the Piedmont service upgrade

Meeting 5

Meeting Theme: Land Use Planning, Natural Heritage & The Benefits of Green Open Space

Meeting Agenda: 

Meeting 6

Meeting Theme: Rescheduled meeting with City Manager Marchell Adams-David?

Meeting Agenda: