Shoshanna Saxe

The Challenges of Urban Policy-Making
Addressing societal and engineering challenges in the 21st century requires engineers to think holistically about the systems we design and build. Public policy often dictates what engineering projects are commissioned and what values are being optimized for in engineering practice (e.g. cost, beauty, environment, safety, equity). However, too few engineers understand the drivers of public policy, how public policy is developed, and the role it plays in engineering. Similarly, too few policy makers understand the applied science of engineering. The interplay between policy and civil engineering is particularly acute in the urban environment, where civil engineering works (transportation, housing, water services, libraries, etc.) are concentrated and where, in Canada, the public policies of three levels of government influence engineering practice.
This seminar course challenges engineers to think about how public policy is made and how it guides the practice of engineering both directly and indirectly. Particular focus is placed on urban policy and urban engineering. The first month of the course will deal with the process of urban policy making examining how issues emerge, how important ideas are framed, priorities are established, and agendas are set and managed. Factors to be considered include the role of bureaucratic and political actors, organized interests and non-governmental groups, the importance and influence of networks, and the potential for new models and options for the engagement of stakeholders and citizens at large.
The second and third month of the course will focus on the relationship between public policy and the practice of civil engineering. The focus of the course will be to examine the myriad ways public policy and priorities intersect with the development of the built environment. The relationship between public policy and engineering in housing, transport, energy and sustainability will be discussed. The focus of the course will be on Canadian cities with examples from cities located elsewhere in the high-income world; examples and experiences from other parts of the world are welcomed.

Registration in this course is reserved for MEngCEM students. Other students wishing to register must request permission from the Office of Student Services.

Special Studies in Civil Engineering - Large Scale Infrastructure and Sustainability
The next 15 years will see major changes in the global infrastructure system; in this time US$90 Trillion dollars will be spent on infrastructure. To meet local, national and international sustainability goals this next generation of infrastructure must be planned, designed and built in new ways. Large scale infrastructure projects have impacts well beyond their stated primary purpose: they consume significant amounts of natural resources and, once built, change how we live, work and move. As key players in planning, designing, constructing and commissioning large infrastructure projects, engineers have a special responsibility to understand the myriad ways infrastructure interacts with our natural and social systems. This course will explore what sustainability means in the context of infrastructure development, examine infrastructure needs and sustainability at the global and project scale, and provide students will skills and techniques to impact infrastructure sustainability in their future work. At the end of this course, students will be able to think critically about the wider impacts of large scale infrastructure projects and use this knowledge alongside their technical engineering skills to develop better outcomes. Special studies courses are offered when a professor is available to instruct on a new or unusual topic. Each topic offered constitutes one normal half-course. Special studies course codes may be taken more than once provided that the topic is different each time.