Thesis
Sustainable development: a thesis portfolio showcasing practice and theory
University of Iowa
Master of Science (MS), University of Iowa
Autumn 2024
DOI: 10.25820/etd.007648
Abstract
Climate change progresses largely unimpeded. One aspect contributing to humanity’s climate inaction is the notion that conventional modes of development, specifically fossil-fuel based industrialization, are necessary to improve human quality of life and thus human development is incompatible with environmental protection. Through efforts and organizations like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations convenes and seeks to empower decision-makers to tackle the climate crisis. However, climate action remains insufficient, and anthropogenic climate change continues to be a wicked problem, not due to the science or technology, but community capacity for action, burdened by a lack of political will, limited financial and human resources, and inequitable outcomes (i.e., climate change disproportionately affects disadvantaged communities). Quality, interdisciplinary higher education programs are necessary to produce development practitioners (SDP) able to inform and demonstrate to decision makers and the wider community that sustainable development is environmentally, economically, and socially feasible. For SDPs to successfully bridge this gap between theory and practice, sustainable development education must build the skills necessary for graduates to implement systemic change. SDPs face four major impediments: urgency, resistance, reality, and complexity. These impediments can be countered through proficiencies in efficiency, advocacy, innovation, and adaptability. Sustainable development programs must not only instill these proficiencies, but also offer opportunities to apply them. In this thesis portfolio, I discuss how the University of Iowa’s Master’s Program in Sustainable Development prepared me to be a change-maker and present examples of my work.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Sustainable development: a thesis portfolio showcasing practice and theory
- Creators
- Hannah Lyons
- Contributors
- David Cwiertny (Advisor)Dave Bennett (Committee Member)Stratis Giannakouros (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (MS), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Sustainable Development
- Date degree season
- Autumn 2024
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.007648
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- 1 volume (various pagings)
- Copyright
- Copyright 2024 Hannah Lyons
- Comment
- This thesis has been optimized for improved web viewing. If you require the original version, contact the University Archives at the University of Iowa: https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/contact/
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 12/09/2024
- Description illustrations
- Illustrations, tables, graphs, charts
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 33-41).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
Humanity has not made sufficient progress in combating climate change. This is in part due to current systems that place environmental protection in conflict with human development. While scientists and experts have and continue to present leaders across the globe with roadmaps for climate action, these plans remain largely unimplemented, largely because of economic, political, and social concerns. The swift education and deployment of knowledgeable and qualified sustainable development practitioners (SDP) is necessary to bridge the gap between sustainable development theory and practice. To produce SDPs that can meaningfully contribute to the preservation of our world and improvement of our communities, sustainable development education must teach not only the foundational concepts upon which the field was built, but the skills necessary to implement the change desperately needed. Therefore, sustainable development programs must educate students on how to act efficiently, effectively advocate for change, apply their problem-solving skills in a variety of contexts, and develop innovative solutions to intractable challenges. The University of Iowa’s Master’s Program in Sustainable Development seeks to equip students with the academic, as well as the practical. In this thesis, I discuss my experience in the program and present a portfolio of my coursework.
- Academic Unit
- Sustainable Development
- Record Identifier
- 9984774548202771
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