Sara's research has focused on the nexus between community health, design of the built environment and policies that shape human behaviors. Over the past decade, Sara has been working in the neighborhoods of Denver and Boulder on a variety of issues related to the built environment and health, including active mobility, urban greenness, sun safety and integrated ecology. As an interdisciplinary educator and researcher, Sara employs methods of community engagement, and a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods to study and teach topics across the fields of environmental health, equity and urban ecology.
keywords
Healthy Community Design, Urban Greenness, Human Behavior and Design, Environmental health
ENVD 1002 - Technology 1: Applications for Environmental Design
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2019
Introduces technological competencies to support studio work including design representation and presentation. Students develop fundamental competencies in sketching, graphic design, file management and 3D modeling.
ENVD 1012 - Technology 2: Visual Communications
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2020 / Spring 2022 / Summer 2022 / Spring 2023 / Summer 2023
Explores the basic written and graphical communication skills necessary for environmental design through typography, composition, visual hierarchy, color theory, and descriptive writing. Students continue to develop a variety of digital tools used in written and graphic communications building on the skills introduced in Technology 1.
ENVD 1020 - Studio 1: Introduction to Architecture
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2019 / Fall 2020
The second of four introductory studios introduces students to strategies and techniques of architectural design and communication in a hands-on studio environment. Students design a small-scale architectural project that responds to environmental, contextual and programmatic needs while developing the necessary skills for iterative design processes.
ENVD 1030 - Studio 1: Introduction to Landscape Architecture
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Summer 2022 / Spring 2023 / Summer 2023 / Spring 2024
The third of four introductory studios exposes students to concepts and strategies inherent to the practice of landscape architecture. Students analyze and design ecological related systems within an urban context in this immersive studio environment.
ENVD 1040 - Studio 1: Introduction to Planning and Urban Design
Primary Instructor
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Summer 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2023
The fourth of four introductory studios in which students learn concepts and strategies related to urban planning and design. Students collaboratively develop a design solution to a small-scale problem within an urban fabric using basic skills of analysis and design iteration.
ENVD 1120 - Studio 2: Fundamentals of Architecture
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2021
Focusing on the languages of design, as well as on traditional and digital methods of visualizing architectural ideas and forms, this course builds on the skills learned in Studio 1 and begins incorporating the dynamic forces that shape our buildings.
ENVD 1130 - Studio 2: Fundamentals of Landscape Architecture
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2020 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
Building on skills learned from the introductory studio, this course expands the skills and knowledge needed for the practice of landscape architecture. With a focus on resilient design and an exploration through multiple scales, students design ecological systems in an urban context.
ENVD 1140 - Studio 2: Fundamentals of Planning and Urban Design
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2021
Through a small-scale urban planning and design project, students explore solutions to challenges in dynamic urban systems. Builds on knowledge and skills gained in the introductory studios to explore the human and environmental dimensions of intertwined systems within the built environment.
ENVD 1150 - First Year Writing for Environmental Design
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2022
Introduces students to fundamentals of effective academic and professional communication with an emphasis in Environmental Design. Projects are designed to develop strong written and oral communication skills as well as building knowledge of research techniques, while classroom activities and discussions challenge students to become more critical and flexible thinkers.
ENVD 2130 - Environmental Design Studio 2
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2019
Exposes students to a sequence of design investigations that lead to the development of design concepts for critical evaluation and discussion. The intent of this introductory design studio is to expose students to the fundamental design practices that are common to the disciplines of architecture, urban design and landscape design - disciplines that share the responsibility for shaping the designed environment. Recommended corequisite: ENVD 3003.
ENVD 3100 - Environmental Design Studio 3
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018
Exposes students to a sequence of design investigations that lead to the development of design concepts for critical evaluation and discussion. The intent of this introductory design studio is to expose students to the fundamental design practices that are common to the disciplines of environmental design, planning, urban design and landscape design - that share the responsibility fro shaping the designed environment. Recommended corequisite: ENVD 3122.
ENVD 4979 - Honors Thesis
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2024
Working with an advisor, students prepare, complete, and defend an honors thesis project, either written or creative.
LAND 2100 - Studio 1: Foundations of Landscape Architecture
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2024
Introduces essential landscape architecture skills through a project-based studio, builds on design literacy, incorporates varied ecological processes, explores landscape as a medium for connecting the natural and cultural, develops analog and digital communication tools and focuses on the importance of place-making. Recommended corequisite: LAND 2004.
LAND 3003 - Site Planning, Materials, and Technologies
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
Covers the principles of site planning, grading, site drainage, earthwork, stormwater management techniques, and materials and methods.
PLAN 2100 - Studio 1: Foundations of Planning and Urban Design
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2021
Expands on introductory planning and urban design concepts and methods to address social and ecological challenges in communities. Explores skills including spatial analysis, basic community engagement techniques and policy alternatives. The resultant project addresses challenges at the intersection between social and environmental systems. Recommended corequisite: PLAN 2004.
WRTG 1150 - First-Year Writing and Rhetoric
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018
Rhetorically informed introduction to college writing. Focuses on critical analysis, argument, inquiry and information literacy. Taught as a writing workshop, the course places a premium on invention, drafting and thoughtful revision. For placement criteria, see the arts and sciences advising office. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.
