Environmental degradation

Impact of the physical environment on individual and group behavior. Three basic concerns examined: (a) environmental determinants of behavior at the individual and interpersonal level; (b) social planning and urban design; and (c) methodological approaches to the study of environmental issues.

The relationship between urban areas and transportation systems. Economic analysis of cities, transportation and urban form, highway congestion, environmental impacts of transportation, public transit, land use and transportation, and political influences on transportation planning.

Introduction to the basic science and state of predictability of various natural catastrophic events including hurricanes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, as well as possibly future climate catastrophes including severe droughts, abrupt climate change, thermohaline circulation collapse and sea level rise.