Urban Ecology
Complex Problems
American University Core
Spring 2021
Goals of this course?
As American University change-makers and global citizens, your overarching goal for this course is to use Urban Ecology as a springboard for practicing critical thinking and communicating complex ideas. It is imperative that our leaders of tomorrow have a well-developed analytical toolbox that empowers them to make evidence-based decisions and policies that protect the existence of human and non-human life on Earth.
What are the consequences of human-built environments for nature?
The ecology that exists in urban environments may one day be the predominant ecology of our planet, so we must understand how we affect it, how it affects us, and how we can be good stewards of the nature woven into our cities. This field of inquiry stands at the interface between multiple disciplines, including biology, sociology, engineering, economics, politics, and public health. This field is inherently comprised of complex topics because human manipulation of the landscape has cascading and complicated effects on the species directly and indirectly connected to that landscape, including humans.
What is a complex problem?
A complex problem or enduring question is something that defies easy answers, binary thinking, or unilateral approaches.
This problem or question should be one with many stakeholders –such as academic disciplines, professions, ideologies, or cultural groups –to require students to explore it from multiple angles.
By nature, these problems are interdisciplinary and must be viewed through many lenses and from multiple perspectives.