Environmental solution logo

This website features work from the completion of Phase 1 of the SCALES Project.

We are currently seeking partnerships for Phase 2.

SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities & Communities

  • Poster & Presentation

    Create a poster about your project. Your poster should speak to the planning issue(s) in New Orleans that you are researching and writing about. What question can you ask that will pull a reader into your poster and get him/her thinking about your project? What issues are you working on? What data have you gathered? What story can you tell about your planning issue in New Orleans?

    OR

    Alternatively, create a poster for your client's needs. This poster could inform neighborhood groups about a particular planning issue. This poster could graphically showcase how citizens can understand design standards easily and efficiently, and/or this poster could help citizens understand the importance of using public transportation. In other words, it could be used as part of a community campaign to bring attention to a planning issue in New Orleans. Posters will be made part of an exhibit that showcases the work of our students working in New Orleans. Posters should be 20”x30”, either direction.

    Read more: Poster & Presentation

  • Field Research and Report

    In this second phase, student teams will undertake in-depth research, analysis and design in project areas in Valparaíso. Once on the ground, students need to understand the requirements needed to realize goals and opportunities of the projects by assessing existing resources and assets, identifying critical obstacles and resources gaps to address, and defining other factors that shape effective strategies and interventions to generate the client’s desired revitalization goals for the district.

    Read more: Field Research and Report

  • Disaster Mitigation Plans, Planners & Policies

    Students will explore and analyze a mitigation plan in a U.S. city or town.

    What is your town’s Mitigation Plan?

    Decide on a town to research. We prefer that you use your hometown, if possible. As someone from the town, you will better understand town dynamics, town threats, town government, and maybe even town politics.

    Find a copy of your town’s mitigation plan, if there is one, and analyze the plan.

    Read more: Disaster Mitigation Plans, Planners & Policies

  • Online Blog – Research and Reflective Practice

    Students will be expected to keep a blog where reflection assignments will be completed weekly. These assignments are geared to explore issues faced by planners during the planning process as well as document student professional growth and experiences working in multi-disciplinary teams. 

    Read more: Online Blog – Research and Reflective Practice

  • Course Project

    The course is designed around collaborations focused on specific student deliverables. My intention is to create student “teams” among class members who will collaborate on specific short-term activities that will build on ongoing research and inform the ultimate class output, a response to the Draft Interim CECP, including (1) a meta-analysis of recent surveys of current, former, and potential transit riders, geared toward understanding attitudes toward personal mobility and transit specifically, and how they may have evolved, and (2) a similar analysis of global “best practices” in connection with transit operations designed to ensure public health and rider confidence. This will require review of relevant material (which will be included in the readings) and additional (reasonably modest) research to identify gaps, new material, and insights that combine to synthesize extant research and surveys relevant to the course purpose.

    Read more: Course Project

  • Course Project

    As announced in the course syllabus, the final course deliverable is the presentation of an environmental design concept for the 3500m2 innovation/startup space that you have been working on since assignment 5. The final presentation should last for 12 minutes plus 3 minutes for Q&A and draw from the material that you have generated during previous assignments. You may want to add some additional work to create a coherent project narrative.

    Read more: Course Project

  • Simulation Game Analysis (Assignment 8)

    The objective of the game is to redesign your class project, with the lowest possible operational Source Energy Use Intensity (Source EUI, kWh/m2) as simulated in DIVA/Archsim/EnergyPlus. Starting off with an approximate thermal model of your latest design from Assignment 6, your task is to create a version of your building with the lowest Source EUI and a purchasing budget at or under $50 MIT dollars. The team with the largest proportional EUI reduction vis-à-vis their baseline design wins. Follow all rules below. When time is up (after 80 minutes), your team must save all of your files and submit them along with a detailed description of your final designs and how you arrived at your best performing iteration.

    Read more: Simulation Game Analysis (Assignment 8)

  • Energy Explorations (Assignment 7)

    Now that you have a well daylit, visually comfortable building with an electric lighting design in place, we are turning our attention towards evaluating and improving the energy performance of your design. In this assignment you will first create a baseline energy model of your building and then explore various energy updates.

    Read more: Energy Explorations (Assignment 7)

  • Visual Comfort and Electric Lighting (Assignment 6)

    The goal of this assignment is check your final daylighting design from Assignment 5 for potential areas of glare and remedy them as well as to design an electric lighting concept for your design. As a target level, the electric lighting should provide around 300lux on all key working surfaces and around 150lux in all circulation areas.

    Read more: Visual Comfort and Electric Lighting (Assignment 6)

  • Daylight Availability Study (Assignment 5)

    In this assignment you will start working in groups on your final course project which is the development of an environmental design concept for an about 3500m2 innovation/startup space located in either Chicago, Houston or Seattle, depending on which city you previously signed up for. Your building should accommodate work spaces for around 250 workers, a reception area, lavatory, two seminar rooms and a cafe (optional). It is up to you to define the final program. You may pick any available site within your city and should also consider external factors such as a site’s walkscore etc. Remember to include neighboring buildings in your shading and daylighting analysis. The goal of this first assignment is to develop and evaluate a series of massing options and façade designs that you will then further refine in future assignments.

    Read more: Daylight Availability Study (Assignment 5)

Notice something that doesn’t seem right? Want to make a suggestion or provide feedback about how something is classified? 
Please reach out to esi [at] mit.edu and include SCALES Website in the subject of your email.
Feedback and any actions taken with regards to the feedback, will be shared as they are addressed.