URBDP 498/598 ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING Spring Quarter 2014
GLD 102 Tue-­‐‑Thu 10:00-­‐‑11:20
Regime Shifts, Resilience, and Transformation in Urban Ecosystems
Marina Alberti
malberti@u.washington.edu
(206) 616-8667

DESCRIPTION
This course focuses on the integration of principles of ecosystem dynamics and resilience into
planning and decision-making. It is structured in 4 modules: 1) theories of environmental
planning, 2) methods of environmental assessment, 3) scenarios and models of coupled humannatural
systems, and 4) collaborative adaptive management and planning. Together these
modules are used to frame and address critical transitions and resilience in urban ecosystems in
the Puget Sound region. The course builds on complex systems theory and its application to
coupled human-ecological systems. Students learn techniques for developing scenarios, building
models, assessing resilience and devising management strategies. The course builds on a broad
range of approaches including strategic environmental assessment, place-based, life cycle, and
risk assessment, and adaptive collaborative planning.

PRACTICUM This year practicum will focus on Regime Shifts, Resilience, and Transformation
in Urban Ecosystems. We will explore regime shifts that are likely to occur in urban ecosystems
and examine the drivers, mechanisms, and functions that regulate system dynamic and their
impact on human and ecological wellbeing. Building on case studies of hydrological and
ecological regime shifts in urbanizing regions, we will develop hypotheses about what system
characteristics and qualities make cities more resilient to change. We will select case examples in
the Puget Sound region and test these hypotheses by exploring system adaptive capacities under
alternative future scenarios. The practicum will reflect upon and develop principles to translate
resilience science into strategies to enhance resilience in urbanizing regions.

PREREQUISITE: Introductory Environmental Systems class

For add codes: contact udp@uw.edu