Working with established and emerging environmental management frameworks, this course aims to explore and apply practical (and measurable) approaches to address urban sustainability challenges at the street, neighborhood, district, and municipal scale with a focus on regions within the greater Los Angeles area as laboratories for investigation. The course generates an overall picture of L.A.'s metabolism to map and analyze resource flows and to examine the city’s ecological footprint. It evaluates where and how resources are used and where action might be taken to transform existing infrastructures, landscapes and buildings to meet sustainability performance goals established by the city of Los Angeles, the State of CA, and the class.