Master's Degree - Community Development

Course Information
Sustainable Communities

Course Description
Content of this course links management of natural capital to other community-based actions around resource allocation and the impacts on quality of life. Students examine literature on community-based natural resource management and assess alternative ways of valuing natural capital. Students contrast theories of natural capital in communities and human society as the theories relate to community sustainability with regard to economic vitality, social well-being, and ecosystem health.
Contacts
Campus Coordinator

For course access questions, contact the teaching university’s campus coordinator. For enrollment questions, contact your home university campus coordinator.
View the Campus Coordinator Directory >>

Disability Support Services

To request accommodations for this course, contact the disability support office at your home university. You must register each semester and for each course. Read more about the Great Plains IDEA process for requesting accommodations.


Textbooks

Climate crisis and the democratic prospect: participatory governance in sustainable communities
Fischer, Frank
Edition: 2017
ISBN: 0199594929
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Thinking in systems: A primer
Meadows, Donella
Edition: 2008
ISBN: 978-1-60358-055-7
Publisher: White River Junction VT: Chelsea Green

The community resilience reader: Essential resources for an era of upheaval
Lerch, Daniel
Edition: 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61091-860-2
Publisher: Washington: Island Press


Course Access
 
In the three weeks prior to the start of class, students will receive course information and access instructions via email from the Iowa State campus coordinator, Iowa State Online
 
The email will include instructions for how students can set up their Iowa State Net-ID and password which is needed to log into Iowa State’s Canvas system. It typically takes 1-2 business days after setting up a Net-ID before students can log into Iowa State’s Canvas. Courses may not be visible in Canvas until the first day of class.
 
If students experience problems registering for a Net-ID, they can contact the Iowa State Solution Center for assistance at 515-294-4000. Students will need their 9-digit ISU university ID (provided in the ISU campus coordinator email) for the Solution Center to assist them. The Solution Center is open evenings and weekends.  View the Solution Center's hours of operation.

Exam Proctor

This course does not require an exam proctor.

Synchronous Components

This course does not include synchronous components.

University Members
Members of the Great Plains IDEA are universities accredited by a regional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Member universities recruit, admit and graduate students, teach in an academic program and contribute to the leadership and maintenance of the alliance. Membership in the alliance is a selective process that engages institutional leadership at all levels.

Headshot photo of Ana Treptow smilingIn addition to professional development and advancement, this program challenges and promotes my personal growth as I gain skills and understanding applicable to my own life and relationships.  I look forward to using the lessons from each class in every segment of my life.

– – Ana Treptow, Family and Community Services Master's Graduate,
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