Urbanization and climate change are on a collision course. With increasing frequency, intensity and impacts of extreme events in cities, building resilience is fast becoming one of the most important issues for cities globally. The aim of this course is to examine the past, present and future relations between cities, urbanization and ecological infrastructure; to introduce students to urban systems science, including biophysical and social science and planning as lenses for exploring resilience of complex urban systems; and to encourage empirical, normative and imaginative reflection on the possibilities (and potential pathologies) that lie behind discourse of ‘urban sustainability’ and ‘resilience’. The central objective of this course is to explore historical and current scientific perspectives on human dominated ecosystems and resilience; future prospects of the study of cities through a critical systems theory lens and how they can be resilient to rising urban pressures including climate change and development. We will explore key terms, concepts, frameworks, and models in urban ecology and the development of urban systems science. We will use recently extreme events in the Americas from Hurricane Sandy, Harvey and Maria to heat waves and other climate change related extreme events as a backdrop for examining what practices currently exist in planning and policy to adapt and build resilience to the rising social, ecological, and technological infrastructure impacts. This course will expose students to on-the-ground resilience challenges and opportunities in New York City through a series of field visits, place-based explorations and analyses, and guest speakers. Together, we will cover such key questions as: What are complex adaptive social -ecological-technological systems? What is resilience and how are cities vulnerable to disturbances disasters and changing climate regimes? Can cities be designed as sustainable and resilient systems?