Emerging Issues in Environmental and Occupational Health

EOHS

820

Emerging Issues in Environmental and Occupational Health

This course examines the impact of macro-level trends such as corporate globalization, immigration patterns, and technological development on the urban physical environment. It focuses on the relationship between the urban infrastructure (e.g., housing, transportation, sewage and waste disposal) and environmental media (e.g., air quality, water quality and land use). This course also examines the impact of macro-level trends on occupational health and safety conditions, focusing on such issues as outsourcing of manufacturing jobs to developing nations, the rise in the service and informal economies, immigrant labor, de-unionization, the new working class and the loss of the safety net. It examines the effectiveness of current policies in addressing these problems. Through focused readings and in-depth examination of case studies, students develop the tools for analyzing how macro-social trends affect the urban physical environment, workplaces and health. Teams of students then analyze an environmental and occupational issue, illustrate how it affects urban communities, and develop solutions to reduce environmental and occupational health burdens.

Spring

Doctoral

No