Environment and Urban Sustainability
Course Descriptions
Professional Courses in the EUS Program
ASC 102 The Built World. Management of Finite Resources. This course provides the foundation for understanding how elements such as natural resources, time, money and human capital influence the creation of the built environment. Consideration is given as to how these resources can best be managed and integrated into the built environment to meet social, economic, environmental and cultural needs in projects that vary in scale from the individual building to the city or region
ASC 200 Sustainable Practices. Principles. This course addresses the means by which the principles of sustainability can be addressed in architectural design. The importance of the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability is presented and students become familiar with the process of implementation of environmentally conscious design. Various strategies to reduce the environmental impact of construction are discussed as are the means of measuring their success.
ASC 403 Site Development and Planning. This course presents techniques for the analysis and planning of sites that respond to human, contextual and infrastructural criteria. The role of analysis is emphasized as the basis for site development, and various analytical approaches are surveyed. Methods of developing both large and small scale sites are explored with reference to the constraints and opportunities of the natural, controlled and built environment, project constructability, and the appropriate legal and planning setting.
ASC 501 Sustainable Housing Design. Sustainable Housing Design deals with the design of low rise multiple unit residential housing which demonstrates and promotes advanced levels of energy efficiency, resource conservation strategies and sustainable development policies.
ASC 852 Landscape Ecological Design. In this course students will explore the fundamentals of landscape design principles and applied ecological form. This course will focus on theories of both designed and natural composition of landscapes elements. The course objectives are achieved through lectures, field trips, case studies and in-class assignments
ASC 855 Sustainable Ratings Systems. The course will be focusing on the environmental impact assessment method which should be used in Canada since the launch of Canadian LEED in December 2004. Designing with LEED deals with the use of the LEED green building rating system as a design tool for the creation of environmentally responsible buildings. There are other environmental issues which are assessed by other methods not necessarily included in LEED
BLG 143 Biology I. This course includes the structure and function of macro-molecules and the cell. Topics include cell physiology, enzymes, membrane function, metabolism, photosynthesis and cell division. Also included is an introduction to genetics and patterns of inheritance, evolution and diversity. Laboratory exercises complement lectures.
BLG 340 Environmental Biology. This course covers the relationships of organisms, particularly microorganisms, with their environment. Topics covered include population interactions, environmental determinants, biogeochemical cycling and microbial contribution to pollution. Applications to waste management and pollution control will be discussed. Laboratory exercises complement lectures
BLG 401 Ecotoxicology. Ecotoxicology is the study of the fate of chemicals in the environment and their effects on the ecological systems. The course will examine the origin, fate, and the potential impact of some of these chemicals derived from the human activities on natural ecosystems, including the aquatic and terrestrial environments. Organisms of interest will include the microbial community, primary producers, aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates and vertebrates and lastly terrestrial mammals.
CHY 142 Organic Chemistry I. This is an introductory course based on the mechanistic approach to the study of organic reactions, and includes functionality, IUPAC nomenclature, structural and steroisomerism, oxidation and reduction, nucleophilic additions, nucleophilic substitutions, eliminations, electrophilic additions of aliphatic compounds. The laboratory introduces techniques such as melting point, recrystallization, extraction, and distillation. Also included is the synthesis, isolation and purification of organic compounds.
CHY 261 Biochemistry. This course deals with the structures, functions, chemistry and food applications of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids. Also included is an introduction to enzymology (coenzymes, nomenclature and classification of enzymes and enzymatic control of biochemical reactions). The laboratory provides an introduction to the basic biochemical techniques including chromatography, electrophoresis and spectrophotometry
CHY 423 Environmental Science. Air pollution-a study of the major sources of air pollution. Methods of air sampling and air monitoring. The sampling and analysis of air, vapours, fumes and smoke. Incinerator design and evaluation. Testing and design of abatement components and systems. Water pollution-a study of the major sources of water pollution. Methods of sampling and analyzing water and waste water. Design and evaluation of waste treatment systems. Solid waste-methods of disposal. Other disposal problems.
ECN 510 Environmental Economics. This course applies economic analysis to the problems of pollution and the use of natural resources. It examines market processes when externalities in production and consumption are present. The relationship between the environment and the economic system, sources of pollution and methods of pollution abatement are studied. Application of cost-benefit analysis to the problems of environmental goods is evaluated. Examination of the economics of renewable and nonrenewable resources follows. Topics include: resource classification, the theory of optimal usage, resource conservation, and the limits to growth debate.
ECN 511 Economy and Environment. This course looks at the relationship between the economy and the environment. It discusses how economics can help identify key issues in environmental problems. Economic concepts are used to shed light on solutions to the problem of pollution, the management of common property resources, and the possibility of “sustainable development”. Issues to be discussed in the course include acid rain, the greenhouse effect, the devastation of tropical rainforests, biodiversity, and environmental ethics.
ENH 122 Introduction to Epidemiology. A three-hour per week lecture course dealing with disease causation, terminology and control. The common diseases are presented to illustrate principles of spread, prevention and control. Vital statistics are presented to familiarize the student with their uses. The principles and practices of field investigation are studied.
ENH 524 Pollution Control. This course will investigate environmental health concerns and contemporary technologies associated with waste recovery, treatment, and disposal. This will include recovery from aqueous and dry waste streams, biological, physical and chemical treatments, thermal destruction and land disposal. Various sectoral studies will also be undertaken.
ENH 617 Applied Ecology. This course presents the study of theoretical and applied aspects of the ecological environment. Ecosystems and responses of ecosystems, populations and organisms to stresses placed on them by human activities are examined. The course covers the structural and functional relations in ecosystems, the nature of energy and nutrient cycles, and the behaviour of organisms in an ecosystem; competition, predation and mutualism. Applications of ecological principles to environmental health practice are discussed.
ENH 825 Risk Assessment. This course examines the application of risk analysis and assessment in public/occupational health. Methods for estimating risks for environmental hazards, including hazardous and toxic materials, food additives, pesticide residues and risk generating facilities are introduced. The risk analysis includes risk identification, pathways analysis, exposure models and dose-response relationships. The course also reviews the process of risk perceptional and communication.
EUS 102 Environment and Sustainability: This course provides an introduction to the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability in cities, particularly establishing the theoretical bases and understanding of the broad range of environmental problems that result when consumptive economies exploit their physical resources.
EUS 202 Sustaining the City’s Environments: This course provides insights into the promotion of geographically-balanced settlement structures, sustainable waste and water management systems, the efficient management of urban pollution, and effective and environmentally-sound transportation systems have been identified as being essential to sustaining the city’s environment. Students will develop an environmental report card as their major project and will have the opportunity to see firsthand working urban systems of sustainability.
EUS 301 Reading Neighbourhood Environments: This course acquaints students with the complex set of historical and contemporary factors that continue to influence Toronto’s development as a city of neighbourhoods. The significance of Toronto’s local environments will be examined within the context of Toronto as a healthy and culturally diverse city and students will have the opportunity to develop their own appreciation for the importance of these factors by analyzing or reading the environments of selected Toronto locales in fieldwork projects.
EUS 401 Patterns of Demography and Environment: This course outlines the theoretical basis of demography and explores the demographic variables that reflect the past, present, and future of our society. Lectures and labs expand on the complexities of the seemingly simple expressions of birth, death and migration in Canada. Spreadsheet analysis is the basis for exploration of population comparisons, change and prediction within plant, animal, and human populations. The possible impacts of these predicted population changes on Canadian society will be covered in the concluding lectures.
EUS 402 Research and Statistics: This course is an introduction to statistical methods for student in environment and urban sustainability. It complements the student's knowledge of basic analytical approaches used in research learned in SSH 301 (Research Design and Qualitative Methods). Descriptive statistics, sampling distributions, hypothesis testing, and statistical tests give the student the practical methods needed to statistically describe and analyze environmental phenomena and to present those results. Prerequisite: EUS XXX [Environment and Sustainability
EUS 450 Climate Change: Science, Mitigation and Adaptation: This course explores the concepts of climate change, environmental sustainability, and sustainable development from an interdisciplinary perspective. It places emphasis on mitigation and adaptation strategies and deals explicitly with their interactions in response to climate change. The focus is on urban areas and their potential for mitigation of impacts through strategies that reduce greenhouse emissions, and as locus for adaptation to global change.
EUS 501 Ecological Processes in the Canadian Landscape: The goal of this program course is to give students a firm grasp of the concepts of ecosystem processes and patterns occurring at a landscape scale, and of how these concepts can be applied to enhance the effectiveness of environmental policy, assessment and management. The course will explore the principles that are foundational to the understanding of landscape ecology using examples from Canadian ecosystems. Students will develop an understanding and appreciation for: characteristic spatial and temporal scales of ecological events; physical and biological agents of pattern; the concept of disturbance and landscape equilibrium; the applications of landscape ecology to monitoring and conservation; and, an appreciation for how individual organisms and human activity have, and continue to, influence ecological processes.
EUS 550 Sustainable Cities: A Comparative Review: This course critically examines the concept of sustainability in relations to cities in Canada and around the world. It investigates the extent to which the notion of sustainability translates or carries across cities and regions, and considers how cities in Canada are achieving various components of urban sustainability in comparison to cities around the world. The course will also critically examine how demographic change, poverty and wealth influence the sustainability of cities, and the types of strategies cities adopt to address these issues.
EUS 601 Nature in Fragments: The Legacy of Sprawl: This course will be devoted to hands-on discussion and demonstration of major topics related to understanding sprawl and its impacts on the natural environment. It will begin by exploring the political, economic, social, and demographic forces impacting development patterns in metropolitan areas across North America, with specific examples drawn from southern Ontario. With this as background, the course will transition to an investigation of the impact of sprawl on ecological functions, and attempt to better understand how science and policy may interface to guide development patterns in a more ecologically sustainable way.
EUS 650 Waste and Waste Management: This course introduces the student to the world of waste management by developing a solid background in the categories of waste, and the political and economic, as well as environmental, rationales behind the adoption and promotion of international and Canadian waste management systems. The students will have an opportunity to develop waste audits as well as experience firsthand waste management systems in action.
EUS 701: Field Studies in Urban Ecology: This is a senior level program course designed specifically for Environment and Urban Sustainability students. It seeks to unite theory and application acquired in foundational years by providing students the opportunity to conceive of and study a relevant scientific question within the field of urban ecology. Specifically, the goal do this course it to provide fourth year students with a real world opportunity to design and conduct their own urban ecology research project. Prerequisite: EUS XXX [Ecological Processes in the Canadian Landscape].
EUS 750 Sustainable Transportation and Energy Strategies: This course looks at issues associated with transportation and energy planning through the lens of sustainable development with a focus on urban areas. The main objectives of the course are to recognize the importance of transportation- and energy-related environmental problems, particularly in the local context, and to explore how transportation and energy use may be made more sustainable.
EUS 760 Cities at Risk: Urban places are susceptible to a wide spectrum of threats from natural and biological hazards and from a wide assortment of human activities. This course addresses the need to understand the scope of potential threats, to appreciate the mechanisms that activate them, and to formulate responses that mitigate, if not eliminate, the damage they cause.
EUS 801 Senior Projects in Environment and Urban Sustainability: The principal goal of this course is to help provide synthesis and maturity of perspective for the appropriate on-the-job application of the wide range of theory, models, methods, skills and approaches to which fourth year students have been exposed. The course places students in a consulting project which stresses the importance of organization, cooperation, teamwork, efficient research and report writing. Students will work as a group of “consultants” who jointly undertake secondary and primary environmental policy research and report preparation on behalf of a “client” in a non-academic context.
EUS 850 Sustainability in Organizations: The course is designed as an introduction to and evaluation of the planning and implementation of environmental management and sustainability in business firms, local governments and organizations, and provincial and federal agency. The course examines the role and responsibilities of the environmental manager, covering the principal objectives, components and planning of an effective environmental management system (EMS), which is an integral part of an organization’s management structure.
EUS 860 Measuring Sustainability: The main objective of this course is to investigate the basic tools of sustainable development by understanding the possibilities, constraints and interactions of methods for measuring and monitoring sustainability. Students will gain familiarity with the application of a variety of tools and methodologies such as State of Environment Reporting, Best Practice Assessment, Urban Metabolism Analysis, and Environmental Costing.
EUS 870 Ecological Restoration: This program course will focus on the ecological issues associated with restoration of degraded habitats. It will concentrate on the application of ecological theory to restoration practice, and the use of restoration as a test of our knowledge concerning how natural systems function. The course will include discussion of restoration in a variety of habitat types, with special attention devoted to those present in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Students will become familiar with historical and contemporary approaches to restoring diversity and function to disturbed ecosystems. Restoration concepts will be enhanced and reinforced through an opportunity critique a professional restoration plan.
EUS 900 EUS Internship Placement I An optional placement based on a minimum of 10 weeks of full-time employment is available allowing students to experience career-related work terms that enhance their university learning experience. Enrolment is limited with admission based on the student's grade point average. The work term is normally in the summer period between a student’s second and third years.
EUS 901 EUS Internship Placement II An optional placement based on a minimum of 10 weeks of full-time employment is available allowing students to experience career-related work terms that enhance their university learning experience. Enrolment is limited with admission based on the student's grade point average. The work term is normally in the summer period between a student’s third and fourth years.
GEO 313 Geography of the Physical Environment. This course provides an introduction to the natural environment from a geographical perspective. Mapping, meteorology, climatology and hydrology are addressed conceptually and practically as they relate to the development of both understanding and applications. Physical processes and their resulting spatial expression are investigated in terms of how they relate to the promotion of environmental sustainability both locally and globally. The learning experience is comprised of lectures, research/readings, and a series of workshop and lab exercises.
GEO 411 Resource and Environmental Planning. This course provides a survey of concepts and approaches for resource and environmental planning. The relevance of the broad array of environmental, economic and social factors is considered. While the course is process oriented, case studies are used to assess critically the application of different methods to combine theory with the practical aspects of resource management.
GEO 513 Physical Geography in Decision Support. The origins of environmental conflicts are investigated from the perspective of atmospheric and earth sciences. The role of data and information in understanding physical processes is traced from field observations to modelling, spatial analysis, prediction, and decision making. Suggested case studies will address “greenfields development”, atmospheric stability, water balances, fluvial processes, slope stability, waterfront processes, periglacial geomorphology, and conservation land designation. The learning experience is comprised of field observation exercises, lectures, readings, and seminars.
GEO 514 Resource Management in Northern Canada. Northern Canada has experienced rapid change in recent years. Implementation of land claim settlements has introduced new approaches to resource management; global energy demands have renewed pressure for megaprojects, while toxins in the environment and climate change have created new environmental stresses. The course examines the underpinnings of these issues and demonstrates the role of geographic analysis in policy formulation and approaches to resource management in the contemporary North.
GEO 581 GIS, Geographic Data, and Mapping. This course examines geographic data and explores the power of data visualization. Students will investigate the nature of geographic data, GIS data models and database structure, methods to input data into a GIS and some of the ways in which geographic data can be displayed. Special attention will be given to mapping statistical data and cartographic design. The course uses lecture and lab format to introduce students to the fundamentals of geographic databases and digital cartography in both theory and practice.
GEO 612 Environmental Decision Making. This course involves the analysis of frameworks for the investigation and resolution of complex resource and environmental problems. In many cases such problems deal with the consideration of a wide variety of data and of a number of objectives. General methods to deal with such situations are presented. Application of these methods is demonstrated by a critical analysis of the technical practice of environmental analysis.
GEO 671 Developmental and Environmental Law. This course presents an overview of legal principles and concepts that relate to development and environmental issues. It examines the role of the Courts and administrative tribunals in resolving disputes that arise from these issues. Particular problems addressed include water, air and noise pollution, waste management, private land development, zoning conflicts and land use controls.
GEO 681: GIS and Geographic Analysis This course examines the broad range of analytical functions available in a GIS. Through lectures and labs, students will gain an understanding of the potential of GIS in decision support in a variety of applications including crime, population health, service provision, and sustainable development. The labs will be scenario-driven incorporating the analytical power of GIS to solve real-world problems in areas related to the backgrounds of the students.
HST 788 Water Use in History. Since ancient times, human integrity has enabled mankind to adapt to life even in hostile environments. The most important factor was successful management of the available water resources for agriculture, urban supply and industry. Starting in the third millennium BC, this course uses case studies from Asia and Europe to explore the hydraulic technologies employed, and to assess past and present social, political, economic and environmental implications of water management and mismanagement.
HST 828 Science, Corporations and the Environment. The exploitation and funding of science by corporate industries has created a range of serious problems, from distorted “science” to chemical products that damage the environment and harm humans. This course will examine corporate and scientific responsibility through case studies including I.G. Farben and chemical weapons, the development of refrigerants (ozone depletion), pesticides, gasoline additives, pollutants (Love Canal, Erin Brockovich), fraudulent medical and cigarette research, and the looming problems of Genetically Modified foods and organisms.
HTT 510 Sustainable Tourism Development. This course critically examines sustainable and responsible tourism development practices at both the micro and macro levels of the industry. Case study analysis is an integral component of the course. A major focus will be on benefits and impacts associated with tourism development, as well as the strategies for maximizing benefits and minimizing adverse effects.
IDE 309 Sustainable Design. The construction and operation of buildings consume the majority of the world's natural resources and energy, and contribute the bulk of landfill waste. This course introduces the concept of sustainable design for the built environment. It examines the environmental impact of building design and construction, addresses the issues such as: scarcity, social responsibility, cradle-to-cradle and increased regulatory provisions associated with sustainability. The context is the micro environment or interiors as examined using case study analysis.
LAW 535 Environmental and Business Law. This course introduces students to the regulatory policies governing the environment in Canada, with a focus on the implications for business operations. The discourse of sustainable development aims to reconceptualize the business-environment-society relation- ship at both the national and global levels of governance. The course critically examines the principles that the sustainability discourse has generated: the internalization of environmental costs through the use of economic instruments; the principle of environmental justice, and the precautionary principle.
OHS 322 Introductory Toxicology. This course is an introduction to toxicology. The first part of the course introduces the general principles of toxicology. Chemical disposition will be studied including routes of absorption, distribution, biotransformation and excretion of chemicals. Dose response relationships are examined. Other topics include mutagenesis, teratogenesis and carcinogenesis. Target organs for chemical toxicity and classes of compounds associated with toxicity.
OHS 422 Advanced Toxicology. This course builds on OHS 322 Introductory Toxicology by shifting the emphasis from the toxic effects of agents on particular tissues and organs to the toxicological characteristics of the most important classes of toxic agents: inorganic gases (e.g., CO, H2S, NH3), corrosives, partic- ulates, solvents, metals, and pesticides.
PHL 525: Environmental Ethics: The course will discuss ways in which traditional philosophies have approached the human-environment relationship, as well as the recent development of distinctly environmental philosophies such as deep ecology, social ecology, and ecofeminism, and discuss the applications of these ideas to local and global environmental problems.
PLE 715 Environmental Assessment. This course introduces the concepts and methods of Environmental Assessment in Ontario. It examines the biological, economic and social impacts that are commonly associated with development activities and the means used to predict, evaluate and mitigate impacts in human and natural environments. It includes a review of the history of environmental assessment and its relation to environmental planning principles. It covers the basic elements of assessment; geophysical, biological and socio-economic impacts and their inter-relationships. The course concludes with a review of current practice in assessment and the major controversies in the field.
PLE 835 Ecological Design. This course will examine critically and in depth the concepts, theory and practice of ecological design. It will explore the interface between ecological science and land use planning in the context of design for sustainable developments. Through lectures, seminars, and practical exercises tied to specific sites, students will examine how the interdependent and dynamic relationship between ecology and planning can be creatively harnessed in the design of urban landscapes and their built forms.
POG 377 Urban Sustainable Policy : This course examines the challenge of achieving urban sustainability from the perspective of government. The course considers the many environmental, social and economic dimensions to achieving urban sustainability and how governments can, do and try to respond to these challenges. Hence, the course examines sustainable development as a policy and political challenge in the urban context. The course considers how urban policy choices are made and the factors that influence the policy choices necessary to achieve sustainability.
POG 415 Environmental Politics and Policy. Through an examination of various environmental issues, this provides an introduction to environmental politics and policy. It examines how cultural values, environmentalism as a social and political movement, levels of development, science, political institutions and economics shape environmental politics in Canada and other parts of the world. An important theme in the course is the challenge of environmental governance given the complexity, scale and equity dimensions of environmental problems.
SOC 708 Environmental Sociology: Environmental sociology is the study of the reciprocal interactions between the physical environment, social organization, and social behavior. In the course, attention is paid to the social processes by which certain environmental conditions become socially defined as problems, including concerns regarding the inequitable distributions of environmental risks.
SSH 105 Critical Thinking. Rational discourse has long been viewed as a principal force for social change. In this course, we will examine the structures and principles that undergird all forms of rational discourse, and we will learn how to assess the logical strength and persuasiveness of particular discourses. These skills will be applied to arguments found in everyday life, and to the formulation of one’s own positions.
SSH 205 Academic Writing and Research. This writing-intensive course, which takes writing itself as its subject, explores the social and cultural implications of print. In particular, we examine whether writing, and the various modes of reproducing words, can influence the way we think, what we believe, and how we organize ourselves socially. By exploring the shift from oral to print culture, the role of scribes and writers in communities, and the impact of digital technology, this course examines how and why we write.
SSH 301 Research Design and Qualitative Methods. This course will focus on the student gaining an understanding of the uses of qualitative research designs and techniques. Topics include sampling methods, questionnaire design and implementation, interviews, focus groups, participant observation, and action research. Methodological assumptions, concepts and procedures will be presented. Students will develop their ability to review existing literature and to construct their own research.
