Environmental Studies

Tuscany is a world-renowned producer of fine quality wine, olive oil, and a wide variety of typical food products. Over the last few years, a growing number of Tuscan food entrepreneurs have embraced the principles of sustainability, through the introduction of business practices designed to minimize the consumption of natural resources, reduce emissions, and, ultimately, protect the environment for future generations. Sustainable productions, alongside iconic rural landscapes, farms, and vineyards, attract visitors from all over the world and thus make a positive contribution to the tourist industry and the local economy as a whole. This course focuses on Tuscany's food industry and its commitment to sustainability, as well as its relationship with tourism. It specifically explores how sustainability has impacted the food supply chain, inbound tourist flows, and food firms' competitiveness. The course analyzes a wide range of academic and managerial issues in connection with real-world business situations, thereby linking theory and practice.

This course examines the current global energy crisis and environmental issues facing society. The history of energy consumption shows the importance of energy in relation to quality of life. With the further development and the increase of the world population, our society is challenged by an unprecedented energy demand in 21st century. At the same time, global warming and climate changes are also causing more and more attentions. The first part of the course addresses our current energy options and their impacts on the environment. The second part of the course explores ways in which we can meet our future energy needs without deteriorating the environment. Possible routes to develop a green society are discussed with a focus on renewable energy resources, smart grid, eco-friendly vehicles, and carbon sequestration and carbon audit. 

The course focuses on selected theories, discourses, and concepts for urban design. It encompasses visions and plans for the morphology of cities, the interplay with social and ecological sustainability, and ideas about the ideal city and good urban life from the 19th century through today. The course concentrates on three main themes of contemporary urban development: pre-modern to post-modern urban design, place making and the role of public space, and sustainable urban development and urban nature. It discusses central paradigms and various approaches to city design and re-design. The contemporary city is used to illustrate how urban design concepts and models have been operationalized and have influenced practice. 

This course is an introduction to environmental systems analysis. The course focuses on its analytical tools to assess climate change impacts and adaptation and apply these tools to a climate change impact problem. This course teaches through an environmental systems approach for analyzing complex environmental problems such as climate change. This approach provides a general framework to consider multiple aspects in exploring alternative solutions for complex environmental problems. Different analytical tools exist that can be used in environmental systems analysis, but the focus is on the tool conceptual model, regression model, and scenario analysis that together can be used to assess climate change impacts and adaptation. The systems approach, climate change impact, and adaptation assessment are taught in lectures, practiced in a practical, and applied in an assignment. In the assignment, students study a selected climate change impact problem linked to the study fields of the environmental systems analysis groups, for example, health, tourism, ecosystem services, biofuels, and nutrients. Datasets are provided and students set up a conceptual model, develop a statistical regression model, apply a scenario analysis, study adaptation options, and communicate results.