STI Strat for Sustainable Dev

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course offers a comprehensive exploration of the intersection between STI policies and the realm of infrastructure projects. Enormous infrastructure projects, such as mines, dams, highways, and transoceanic canals, attract huge investments and drive major socio-environmental changes, encompassing deforestation and community displacement. While these impacts are well-documented, numerous proposed initiatives remain unrealized. These halted developments can have far-reaching consequences, even influencing legislation and policies. A thorough analysis of these unimplemented projects is crucial, demanding interdisciplinary study that integrates academic and decision-makers' perspectives. The course delves into the socio-environmental impacts of major stalled or canceled infrastructure projects using real-world cases, covering topics like technological and socio-environmental assessments, legal challenges, public opposition, and escalating costs. Illustrative examples include projects in Chile, Costa Rica, Canada, Panama, Colombia, the United States, and Nicaragua. The course scrutinizes the enduring effects of unrealized infrastructure projects, including their influence on research, societal norms, activism, land utilization, and equity. It provides an interdisciplinary perspective on development, governance, policy, knowledge, and environmental change. Emphasizing the necessity of studying even these unrealized projects, underscores their long-lasting impact on societies and landscapes. Students gain insights into the dynamics of development, power, and socio-environmental changes, not only in low and middle-income nations but also in Canada and the United States. This focus on their potential impact is vital for international lending and development organizations, as well as for global security and governance—an essential perspective for students interested in the field of STI policies. This course is essential for equipping students with the knowledge and skills needed to address evolving global challenges, such as climate change and global security, by mitigating the socio-environmental impacts of infrastructure projects and promoting sustainability. The course comprises four units: Introduction and case background, reasons for project disruptions, socio-environmental consequences of unrealized projects, and the global impact of unimplemented projects. Students will: Analyze STI policies' role in preventing project disruptions and propose effective solutions. Explore how innovative technologies can lead to sustainable infrastructure development. Investigate the impact of international STI policies on large-scale projects.