The origins of this course lie in developments in environmental policy and public and community engagement over the last three decades, and in the history of the concept of sustainability as it has been articulated at local, national and international levels.

The central aim of this course is to build your literacy in current environmental thinking focusing particularly on issues of sustainability and processes of public consultation. Engineers, planners and environmental consultants need to understand the diverse public values at play in environmental controversies and the different interpretations of sustainable development which arise from divergent world views, preferences, values and interests of key social actors.

The course will provide you with a conceptual toolkit for analysing current environmental issues and developing appropriately designed processes of public and stakeholder consultation and engagement. Within the course, you will explore these approaches through a series of targeted case studies.