Sustainability Course

Since 2012

In 2012, Professor Licon developed a new course entitled Foundations of Sustainable Systems. This course offers an introduction to sustainable systems and methodologies. Understanding sustainable development efforts through a systems perspective is critical to address current complex and interrelated development challenges. This introductory course is a requirement for students across USU in the Sustainable Systems Minor.

The course has steadily grown in enrollment and is now being taught by Professors Licon and Anderson. For the first time, LAEP 2039 will be offered online this fall. Combined face-to-face and online enrollments in the fall of 2018 will surpass 120 students.

A fun assignment in this course is to ask the questions: What is sustainability? How do we communicate this idea, and how can we understand it better? Students are asked to choose a theme (preserve, change, promote, etc.), a place, or an idea based on their interpretation of sustainability, and express that in the form a small postcard (4”x6”). It represents their ideas about sustainability and their ability to effectively communicate these ideas to others. The content must be presented in the form of a question, causing the reader to think. A 100-word summary is also included on the back of the postcard. Students then judge the postcards in class.

Following are postcards created by students in LAEP 2039:

Department of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning | InSites 2018