Laura Steinberg, Syracuse University
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This talk introduces a new course for seniors created and taught by the author called “Modern Urban Infrastructure: Theory and Practice”. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the course introduces the concepts of economic impact, social capital, public participation, public-private partnerships, and disaster preparedness into the more common paradigm of teaching infrastructure through the linear and technically-based construct of project planning, design, and operation.
The course uses readings from history texts ; contemporary magazine journalism; textbook excerpts; engineering and social science journals; and current news articles, to provide students with a broad picture of how infrastructure can be conceived, built, and managed to achieve the greatest possible social good.
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The course culminates in each student’s development of a case study exploring a major infrastructure project. One aim of the case study is to have the students apply key concepts to a single major project in a comprehensive and deeply researched manner. A second aim of the case study is to allow the students an opportunity to exercise and improve their writing skills; the first draft of their paper is closely read and critiqued by the author. The student is provided with in-depth suggestions for improvement and reminded of basic tenets of good writing (for example, the use of topic sentences and the need to avoid repetition) which typically not have been thoughtfully exercised since the freshman writing course. A third aim is to provide an opportunity to practice skills of lifelong learning by asking students to:
1) read one or more books,
2) consult primary and secondary sources,
3) synthesize information from many disciplines into a cohesive analysis using the breadth of ideas covered during the entire semester
The author looks forward to sharing her experience with the course and hopes to receive suggestions for improvement from the participants.