Minor in Sustainable Cities
By emphasizing real-world solutions to today’s challenges, the Minor in Sustainable Cities positions students to become leaders in the fast-growing, interdisciplinary field of urban sustainability. Grounded in the social sciences, this interdisciplinary minor offers courses in environmental and climate justice, environmental policy and planning, GIS, food justice, and energy and carbon management in the built environment. Combining relevant knowledge, skills and experiential learning, the Minor in Sustainable Cities helps students start cutting-edge careers in a range of sectors, including policy and planning, energy, environmental education, natural resource conservation, pollution mitigation, building design, transportation, healthcare, housing, fashion, ESG, and many more.
Contact:
Professor Natalie Bump Vena (natalie.vena@qc.cuny.edu)
Powdermaker Hall 250
(718) 997-5130
The Sustainable Cities Minor sponsors an outdoor production of the interactive play “Flood Sensor Aunty” for Earth Day 2025. Photos courtesy of New York City Emergency Management.
Required Courses (9 credits):
Students must take the following courses:
- URBST 101—Urban Poverty and Affluence
- URBST 267 – Environmental Justice
- URBST 356 – The Climate Crisis in Cities
Elective Courses (9 credits)
Students may choose any three of the following courses:
- URBST 263: Introduction to GIS
- URBST 213: Urban Food Justice
- URBST 230: Environmental Health and Public Health Policy
- URBST 254: Urban Transportation
- URBST 266: Special Topics in Urban Sustainability
- URBST 256: Land-use Planning
- URBST 222: Introduction to Urban Housing
- URBST 373W: Sustainable Cities Project
- URBST 370: Service Learning Practicum
- HIST 163: VT: The Urban Environment in U.S. History (this section only)
- PHIL 125: Philosophy of the Environment
- PSCI 287: Law, Politics and the Environment
- PSCI 2891: Law, Politics and Sustainable Development
- SOC 210: Modern Urban Community [2]
- SOC 208: Social Problems
- ECON 228W: The Economics of the Environment*
- ECON 232: Economics of Climate Change*
- ECON 246: Urban Economics*
- FNES 105: Food Sustainability: Understanding the Food System
- FASH 228: Fashion, Sustainability, and Social Justice
- ENGL 327/327W: Environmental Literature*
- MEDST 270: Media and the Environment
- ANTH 342: Ancient Cities [3]
*The prerequisites for these courses are waived for Sustainable Cities Minors.
[2] Students may substitute URBST 101 for SOC 101 as a prerequisite for both SOC courses (pending Dept approval)
[3] 9 credits in Urban Studies courses may be substituted for this course’s prerequisites.