How do you define a healthy life? How does the design of the built environment shape human health? How do we meet these needs while facing the growing challenges of economic inequality, social fragmentation, and climate change? How can we work at an achievable scale while not losing sight of the big picture and missing opportunities for developing holistic solutions?

How can we build health?

How do we structure communities physically, socially, and economically to meet basic needs while increasing opportunity and agency?

Answering these questions will require an array of perspectives and expertise. We need your help to recruit students from diverse fields – spread the word.

This seminar aims to inspire an interdisciplinary, entrepreneurial approach to tackling persistent problems plaguing affordable housing and urban water and energy infrastructure. We will develop designs and business plans focused on increasing access to affordable living and environmental justice while coordinating with Professor Judith Sheine’s mass-timber, off-grid modular housing Design Studio. We will focus on projects and in-class discussion and bring in collaborators from varying fields to expand our perspective and explore opportunities to apply what we learn.