Project Summary :
This eight-week project, endorsed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), brought together students from DePaul University and ETH Zurich to explore urban sustainability through the LEED for Cities and Communities framework. Working in international teams, students compared community areas in Chicago with paired districts in Zurich, analyzing environmental, social, and economic indicators. The project strengthened cross-cultural communication, global competencies, and students’ understanding of how different planning systems influence sustainable development.
Project Length:
Technology Tools Used:
- Miro dashboards
- Whatsapp
- Zoom
- Google Documents
Communication Type/ Interaction Mode :
Learning Outcomes :
- Students understood and applied the LEED for Communities framework to assess sustainability performance at the neighborhood and city scale.
- Students developed the ability to collaborate across cultures and time zones using digital platforms to analyze urban sustainability challenges.
- Students critically compared urban sustainability practices in Zurich and Chicago, identifying contextual strengths and gaps.
- Students reflected on how personal, cultural, and environmental contexts influence perceptions of sustainable urban living.
Faculty Feedback:
"It was striking to witness students move from initial unfamiliarity to confident, disciplined collaboration across time zones, cultures, and planning systems. They took full ownership of the work and used the tools and frameworks to produce serious, real-world comparisons between the two cities, gaining professional experience that will stay with them well beyond this course."
~ Tijana Tufek Memisevic
"This collaboration was ambitious - not only in its technical scope, but also in its international dimension. Working across countries, time zones, and academic cultures is an important part of today’s professional reality, and we hope the students were able to develop valuable intercultural awareness along the way."
~ Ana Peric Momcilovic
Tijana Tufek Memisevic
Institution: DePaul University
Discipline: Sustainable Urban Development / Urban Planning
Course name: Green Cities
Ana Peric Momcilovic
Institution: ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)
Discipline: Urban Planning
Course name: European Aspects of Spatial Development