Thanks to onlineschools.org we can all afford to go back to school this fall – especially with this very handy list of 100 FREE open courses focused on green technology, building and design and development. The first 26 classes listed are all about building , so if you can’t ignore the demand for green building any longer, check out these free courses and get your feet wet.

Complements of Bowling Green State University

Architecture

1. Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings. Find out about energy consumption in buildings and learn about innovative designing and sustainable building. [MIT]
2. Contemporary Architecture and Critical Debate. Learn about architecture after WWII and assess current issues against that period. [MIT]
3. Ecologies of Construction. Industrial ecology is at the heart of this class that looks at resource requirements for current building. [MIT]
4. Emergent Materials II. This course focuses on sustainable design by examining responsible building materials in both current and future buildings. [MIT]
5. Daylighting. Learn how to integrate natural lighting into design to help reduce dependence on electric lighting. [MIT]
6. Sustainable Design and Technology Research Workshop. Explore the issues of sustainability as they relate to architecture in this class where students propose their own solutions. [MIT]
7. Case Studies in City Form. Examine the physical, historical, and social form of cities in the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth century periods of expansion. [MIT]
8. CityScope: New Orleans. Practice finding humane and sustainable solutions to difficult situations with this course. New Orleans is the focus of this particular class. [MIT]
9. Introduction to Integrated Design. Take this course to learn about the basics of architecture as it relates to disciplines including sustainability, history, and structures. [MIT]
10. Building Technology Laboratory. Study building concepts and experimental methods to help promote sustainable building in architecture. [MIT]

Social and Environmental Policy and Planning

1. Gateway: Planning Action. Explore real-life case studies to learn about themes and challenges facing urban planners in this course. [MIT]
2. Special Studies in Urban Studies and Planning – The Cardiner River Corridor Workshop. Learn about preserving and enhancing existing landscapes while examining the Cardiner River Corridor in Catalunya, Spain in this workshop. [MIT]
3. Environmental Justice. Take a look at the issues surrounding environmental justice and the effects of analyses of these issues on environmental policy and planning. [MIT]
4. Wildland Fire Management and Planning. Learn about fire behavior, its interaction with the environment, and ways to predict fire behavior in this class. [Utah State University]
5. Environmental Management Practicum: Brownfield Redevelopment. Participate in an urban renewal project on a former inner-city industrial site being transformed for the best community usage. [MIT]
6. Urban Transportation, Land Use, and the Environment. Three in-depth studies of cities in South and Central America guide students through transportation and environmental issues of urban planning. [MIT]
7. Civil Society and the Environment. This class takes a close look at NGOs and their relationships to environmental policy and planning. [MIT]
8. Integrated safety, health and environmental management: an introduction. Look at the risks involved in safety, health, and environmental management and examine ways to integrate systems and implement emergency planning. [The Open University]
9. Environment and Society. Study the environmental and social impacts of industry, examine personal responsibilities and roles in these problems, and explore solutions here. [MIT]
10. Science, Politics, and Environmental Policy. Examine the role of science in environmental policymaking in the US and compare to other political systems’ processes. [MIT]
11. Regional Energy – Environmental Economic Modeling. Explore the impact of energy and the economy within the context of such topics as supply and demand, energy forecasts, and environmental implications. [MIT]
12. Reforming Natural Resources Governance: Failings of Scientific Rationalism and Alternatives for Building Common Ground. Study the results of scientific management in recent natural resource cases and explore alternative methods for decision-making processes in this class. [MIT]
13. Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Urban and Environmental Analysis. Learn how to use GIS, a computer-based tool, for storing, mapping, and analyzing data when exploring urban planning and environmental issues. [Tufts University]

Sustainable Development

1. Planning for Sustainable Development. This class examines ways to incorporate sustainable development in urban planning while looking at the US and Europe. [MIT]
2. Introduction to Environmental Policy and Planning. Get the basics in environmental planning techniques and strategies with this introductory class that sets the foundation for further investigation into environmental policy and planning. [MIT]
3. Sustainable Economic Development. Study environmental and economic development planning, policy, and management for urban communities in this course. [MIT]

List is complements of Online Schools, dedicated to providing resources for online learning. Check out the rest of their lists and guides at www.onlineschools.org.

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