How can we innovate to solve the world’s water crisis? Mobilizing water-related design in pursuit of environmental sustainability is one of the most cutting-edge topics in architecture, engineering, planning, urban design, and urban ecology. In this course, students will learn about innovative solutions to the global water crisis, featuring Vancouver–one of the world’s leading cities for blue-green design. Students will explore multiple perspectives from interdisciplinary research in the social and natural sciences, develop an understanding of the interconnections between water and other environmental security issues (the ‘water-energy-food-health nexus’), critically analyze innovative strategies, and be inspired by examples of regenerative sustainability in action.

Using compelling documentary-style videos, the course features architects, planners, artists, engineers, and academics that have been central to creating real-world innovations which link water and sustainability in the built environment. Specific…