UNION COLLEGE

Environmental Science, Policy & Engineering Program (ESPE)

Spring 2026

Sustainable Infrastructure

ENS-247

Lectures: TTH 10:55AM-12:40PM, Olin 306.

Office hours: immediately after class or request an appointment.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Infrastructure is the backbone of nations. It is a society's inventory of systems and facilities that allow it to function properly and smoothly. This includes, but is not limited to, roads, bridges, tunnels, dams, transit, waterways, ports, aviation, pipelines, transmission lines, rail, parks, and public buildings such as schools, courts, hospitals, and recreational and sport facilities. Infrastructure involves also services such as energy, water supply, wastewater treatment, power and gas distribution grids, waste collection, and sewer disposal. Major advances in technology resulted in digital infrastructure that includes communication networks, signal transmission towers, data centers, information repositories, servers/computers, and the Internet. This course explores the progress humanity achieved in developing infrastructure facilities and the present move towards sustainability. Methods, materials, processes, technologies, practices, and operations required to maintain a healthy environment and efficient infrastructure will be examined. The intersection between policies necessary for sustainable infrastructure and political, economical, social, societal, and cultural factors will be emphasized.

COURSE GRADE

• Term Test (6th week) = 30%
• Class Participation = 20%
• Term Paper & Presentation = 20%
• Final Examination = 30%

NOTES

• Attendance of exams is mandatory.
• If you must miss the midterm test due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control (a letter from the Dean of Students will be required in this case), your 30 points of the midterm test will be automatically transferred to the final exam, i.e., your final will be graded out of 60 points. No makeup for the midterm test will be allowed for any reason. If you miss the midterm without a supporting letter from the Dean of Students, there will be 5 points penalty, i.e., the maximum score you can earn in your final exam is 55/60.
• If you must miss the final exam due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control (a letter from the Dean of Students will be required in this case), your grade in the course will be prorated based on the components of your term work. No makeup for the final exam will be allowed for any reason.
• Students are randomly selected to participate in class discussion. If you are unprepared or absent without documentation (a formal note from a doctor, nurse, coach, dean of students, etc.), this will impact participation credit.
• Due date for assigned course work will be announced in class. Late submission of course work is assessed at -1 point per day or part thereof.
• The academic performance of the students in this course will be held to the standards of Union College's Honor Code.
• Students with disabilities will be accommodated as per Union College's Policy.

TEXTBOOK

Hayes, Brian (2014). Infrastructure: A Guide to the Industrial Landscape. W.W. Norton & Co. (ISBN-10: 0393349837)

COURSE SYLLABUS

Sustainable Infrastructure Term Paper

Introduction

The term paper in this course is expected to be thought provoking in addressing an issue related to sustainable infrastructure. Define the issue, indicate its relevance, show why it matters, state its impact and dimensions, detail the solution, and help the reader appreciate the elegance of your arguments.

Paper Subject

• Students in this course are to select a subject relevant to the sustainable infrastructure theme for their term paper.
• Students can select their subject at anytime during the course but no later than the 7th week of the term.
• All papers must be on different subjects. A student that was the first in selecting a given subject would be the only one entitled to it. The earlier you select a subject, the wider the selection available to you. You can drop a subject you selected and select a different one as long as this is done no later than the 7th week of the term (provided that the new subject had not been previously taken by another student).
• Once you settled on a subject, upload to Nexus a title for your paper and a brief description of your intended subject. The instructor will provide you with feedback on the viability of the selected subject.

Resources

• Students may collect the materials (technical and non-technical) for their chosen project from one or more of the following sources (in no specific order): the Internet, publications, professional journals, magazines, textbooks, movies, documentaries, and all other credible sources including interviews with knowledgeable and experienced individuals.
• Students are required to cite in their paper all the sources they used in their research in the form of "References", "Bibliography", Works Cited", "Footnotes", or any standard method of citation. Internet sites are cited using the address (URL) of those sites.
• All other references are to be cited with the name of author, year, title of paper or book, page, and publisher.
• Students are responsible for checking the accuracy of materials obtained from Internet sources.
• Many Internet sources are not peer-reviewed and may lack credibility. Remember that in this day and age, any one can publish anything on the Internet. This does not qualify published materials to be worthy of an academic endeavor such as a term paper.

Submittals

Papers should be a Word document or PDF. There is no minimum or maximum page limit for papers. In addition to the text, students may wish to supplement their papers with proper photos, pictures, tables, graphs, charts, and figures. Supplementing materials must be referenced at least once in the text of the paper.

Grading Criteria

Students taking this course will receive Engineering/Technology/Society (ETS) credit. Classroom presentations and discussion will promote critical thinking to enable students to evaluate evidence, results, and claims related to the natural sciences/engineering/technology and their impact on broader human and societal issues.

In their written paper and in their oral presentation, students are expected to highlight and detail principles similar to those listed above. The grade in this term paper will be assigned based on the quality and depth of thought, organization, and relevance of content to the subject under consideration, understanding, clarity of presentation, and demonstration of ability to address questions with comprehension.

SUGGESTED REFERENCES (possible sources for assigned reading)

Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities (Paperback)

• by Mark A. Benedict (Author), Edward T. McMahon (Author)
• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Island Press; 1 edition (March 18, 2006)
• ISBN-10: 1559635584
• ISBN-13: 978-1559635585

Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises (Paperback)

• by Architecture for Humanity (Author), Kate Stohr (Editor), Cameron Sinclair (Editor)
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Metropolis Books; 1st edition (January 15, 2006)
• ISBN-10: 1933045256
• ISBN-13: 978-1933045252

Materials for Sustainable Sites: A Complete Guide to the Evaluation, Selection, and Use of Sustainable Construction Materials (Hardcover)

• by Meg Calkins
• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (October 6, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0470134550
• ISBN-13: 978-0470134559

Sustainable Critical Infrastructure Systems: A Framework for Meeting 21st Century Imperatives (Paperback)

• by Toward Sustainable Critical Infrastructure Systems: Framing the Challenges Workshop Committee (Author), National Research Council (Author)
• Paperback: 82 pages
• Publisher: National Academies Press (July 1, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0309137926
• ISBN-13: 978-0309137928

The Works: Anatomy of a City (Hardcover)

• by Kate Ascher
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The (November 3, 2005)
• ISBN-10: 1594200718
• ISBN-13: 978-1594200717

Case Studies in Sustainability Management and Strategy (Hardcover)

• by Jost Hamschmidt (Author, Editor)
• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: Greenleaf Publishing (September 30, 2007)
• ISBN-10: 1906093016
• ISBN-13: 978-1906093013

Developing Value: The Business Case for Sustainability in Emerging Markets (Paperback)

• by Roger Cowe
• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Sustainability; 1 edition (August 1, 2002)
• ISBN-10: 0821351818
• ISBN-13: 978-0821351819

Infrastructure for the Built Environment: Global Procurement Strategies (Paperback) 

• by Rodney Howes (Author), Herbert Robinson (Author) Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann (December 13, 2005)
• ISBN-10: 0750668709
• ISBN-13: 978-0750668705

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