Note: This is the 2022鈥�2023 eCalendar. Update the year in your browser's URL bar for the most recent version of this page, or .
Program Requirements
This concentration exposes students to various approaches to urban studies. Urban Studies is an interdisciplinary program that introduces students in the Faculty of Arts to the study of urban dynamics and the challenges facing contemporary cities around the world. Urban Studies prepares students for a variety of urban-related careers as well as for graduate study in disciplines and professional programs such as urban planning, architecture, and urban geography.
This Minor concentration may be expanded into the Major Concentration Geography (Urban Studies).
Complementary Courses (18 credits)
18 credits selected as follows:
Group A
9-12 credits selected from:
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GEOG 210 Global Places and Peoples (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : Introduction to key themes in human geography. Maps and the making, interpretation and contestation of landscapes, 'place', and territory. Investigation of globalization and the spatial organization of human geo-politics, and urban and rural environments.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Winter
3 hours
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GEOG 217 Cities in the Modern World (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : An introduction to urban geography. Uses a spatial/geographic perspective to understand cities and their social and cultural processes. Addresses two major areas. The development and social dynamics in North American and European cities. The urban transformations in Asian, African, and Latin American societies that were recently predominantly rural and agrarian.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Forest, Benjamin; Moser, Sarah (Winter)
Note: Winter
Note: 3 hours
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GEOG 303 Health Geography (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : Discussion of the research questions and methods of health geography. Particular emphasis on health inequalities at multiple geographic scales and the theoretical links between characteristics of places and the health of people.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Javaheri, Kiana (Winter)
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GEOG 311 Economic Geography (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : Different theories and approaches to understanding the spatial organization of economic activities. Regional case studies drawn from North America, Europe and Asia used to reinforce concepts. Emphasis also on city-regions and their interaction with the global economy.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Breau, S茅bastien (Winter)
Winter
3 hours
Prerequisite: GEOG 216 or permission of instructor
-
GEOG 314 Geospatial Analysis (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : Overview of both the theoretical and applied aspects of geographic information science and systems. Topics will include spatial analysis techniques, geographic models as abstractions of the real world, spatial data manipulation and management, and conceptual issues related to geographic data and technology. Introduction to a number of leading commercial software including ESRI鈥檚 ArcGIS Pro.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: McKenzie, Grant (Winter)
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GEOG 315 Urban Transportation Geography (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : Discusses the history and development of urban transportation systems, as well as problems and potential solutions from a geographic perspective. Specific topics include analysis of the social, economic, and environmental impacts; interaction of land use and transportation systems; the analysis of urban travel behaviour; and the implications of various policy alternatives.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Winter
3 hours
Prerequisite: GEOG 217 or permission of instructor
-
GEOG 316 Political Geography (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : The study of the spatial dimensions of political activities and developments at the regional, national and global levels in historical and contemporary perspective. Presentation of case studies relating to the theoretical framework of political geography.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Fall
3 hours
-
GEOG 325 New Master-Planned Cities (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : This course examines the origins, designs, motivations and cultural politics of planned cities, focusing primarily on those currently under construction in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. A variety of themes will be explored including design responses to urban pollution and over-crowding, 'new' cities from earlier decades, totalitarianism and the city, utopianism, 'green' cities, and 'creative' cities. The course examines the various motivations underlying the design and construction of planned cities and how they are shaped by power, religion, and political ideologies. There will be a focus on evolving concepts used in city design as well as the continuities and cultural revivalism expressed through urban design and architecture. Students interested in urban and cultural geography, cities, architecture and planning in different cultural contexts will enjoy this course.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Moser, Sarah (Winter)
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GEOG 331 Urban Social Geography (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : Social space and social time. The reflection of social structure in the spatial organization of the city. Historical perspective on changing personal mobility, life cycle, family structure and work organization. The appropriation and alienation of urban spaces.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Scott, Darius (Winter)
-
GEOG 414 Advanced Geospatial Analysis (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : Advanced techniques in geospatial analysis. Geospatial methods and using geospatial information systems. Topics: geodatabases, interpolation techniques, spatial classification methods, data mining and machine learning, including working with a number of leading commercial software including ESRI鈥檚 ArcGIS Desktop/Pro.
Terms: Fall 2022
Instructors: Sengupta, Raja (Fall)
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GEOG 417 Urban Geography (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : Classic and contemporary perspectives in urban geography. Range of topics including effects of capitalism, gender, suburbanism, segregation and inequality, property, urban landscapes, and urban space. Emphasizes theoretical issues but includes empirical and/or case studies.
Terms: Fall 2022
Instructors: Forest, Benjamin (Fall)
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GEOG 420 Memory, Place, and Power (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : This interdisciplinary class explores the relationships among memory, place, and political power. The course begins with an introduction to key classical, Enlightenment, and contemporary texts on memory and place-making. It then uses this foundation to examine the symbolic transformation of public space, in particular the construction, alteration, and destruction of monuments, memorials, and museums in postcommunist states and in North America. This approach emphasizes the social quality of memory, exploring the ways in which political interests, economic resources, and social practices can shape something as ostensibly personal and individual as memory.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Prerequisite(s): One of the following: GEOG 316, GEOG 325, or GEOG 331; or one 200- or 300-level course in Comparative Politics required; or permission of instructor.
Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken or are taking POLI 420, or who have taken POLI 432 when topic was "Memory, Place, and Power鈥�.
Group B
6-9 credits selected from:
Architecture
Although Architecture courses have prerequisites, they are waived for Urban Studies students, but the course may not be taken before U3.
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ARCH 515 Sustainable Design (3 credits)
Overview
Architecture : This course will address sustainable design theory and applications in the built environment with students from a variety of fields (architecture, urban planning, engineering, sociology, environmental studies, economics, international studies). Architecture will provide the focus for environmental, socio-cultural and economic issues.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
(3-0-6)
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ARCH 528 History of Housing (3 credits)
Overview
Architecture : Indigenous housing both transient and permanent, from the standpoint of individual structure and pattern of settlements. The principal historic examples of houses including housing in the age of industrial revolution and contemporary housing.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Sijpkes, Pieter (Winter)
(2-0-7)
Prerequisite: ARCH 251 or permission of instructor
Art History & Communication Studies
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COMS 425 Urban Culture and Everyday Life (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Explores how popular and artistic cultural texts interrogate the dimensions of urban culture that shape everyday life, such as transnationalization/ globalization; gentrification, migration and other displacements; the proliferation of mobile media and communication technologies; and the political mobilization of fear and anxiety about violence and terrorism.
Terms: Fall 2022
Instructors: Burman, Jennifer C (Fall)
Civil Engineering
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CIVE 540 Urban Transportation Planning (3 credits)
Overview
Civil Engineering : Process and techniques of urban transportation engineering and planning, including demand analysis framework, data collection procedures, travel demand modelling and forecasting, and cost-effectiveness framework for evaluation of project and system alternatives.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Miranda-Moreno, Luis (Winter)
(3-1-5)
Prerequisite: CIVE 319 or permission of instructor.
History
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HIST 353 History of Montreal (3 credits)
Overview
History : The history of Montreal from its beginnings to the present day. Montreal's economic, social, cultural and political role within the French and British empires, North America, Canada, and Quebec; the city's linguistic and ethnic diversity.
Terms: Summer 2023
Instructors: Mathieu, Jean-Philip (Summer)
-
HIST 397 Canada: Ethnicity, Migration (3 credits)
Overview
History : Immigration, ethnicity and race in Canada in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Topics will include the migration process, government policy and legislation, urban and rural migration, acculturation, nativism and multiculturalism.
Terms: Fall 2022
Instructors: Zucchi, John (Fall)
Political Science
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POLI 318 Comparative Local Government (3 credits)
Overview
Political Science : An examination of the organization and conduct of local government in Canada, the United States, and selected European countries. Attention to theories of local government, the criteria for comparative analysis, the provision of public goods and bads, urban political patterns and the constitution of new institutional arrangements to deal with "urban crises" in North America.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
-
POLI 321 Issues: Canadian Public Policy (3 credits)
Overview
Political Science : The Canadian political process through an analysis of critical policy issues in community development, welfare state, education, and institutional reforms in public service delivery systems. Diagnostic and prescriptive interpretations of public choices in a federal-parliamentary regime.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Ajadi, Ifeoluwatari (Winter)
Prerequisite: at least one other course in Canadian or Comparative Politics
Note: The field is Canadian Politics.
Sociology
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SOCI 222 Urban Sociology (3 credits)
Overview
Sociology (Arts) : Comparative analysis of the process of urbanization in Europe, North America and the Third World; effects of urbanization upon social institutions and individuals; theories of urbanization and urbanism; the Canadian urban system; urban problems in comparative view.
Terms: Fall 2022
Instructors: Filkobski, Ina (Fall)
-
SOCI 230 Sociology of Ethnic Relations (3 credits)
Overview
Sociology (Arts) : An introduction to the sociological study of minority groups in Canada. The course will explore the themes of racism, prejudice, and discrimination, ethnic and racial inequalities, cultural identities, multiculturalism, immigration. Theoretical, empirical, and policy issues will be discussed. While the focus will be primarily on Canada, comparisons will be made with the United States.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Vang, Zoua (Winter)
Prerequisite: SOCI 210 or permission of instructor
-
SOCI 333 Social Stratification (3 credits)
Overview
Sociology (Arts) : The pattern, causes and consequences of social inequality. Among the inequalities considered are those of economic class, sex (gender), race, ethnicity and age. Competing theories of the causes of social inequalities are compared and assessed.
Terms: Fall 2022
Instructors: Soehl, Thomas (Fall)
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SOCI 366 Neighborhoods and Inequality (3 credits)
Overview
Sociology (Arts) : The causes and consequences of neighbourhood-based social inequalities in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. Forms of inequality covered include poverty, segregation, ethnic enclaves, unemployment, educational attainment, crime, and health. Methodological issues and social policy will also be examined.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
-
SOCI 388 Crime (3 credits)
Overview
Sociology (Arts) : Introductory course on methods and theories in criminology. Exploration of the nature and distribution of crime; and critical evaluation of definitions and the measurement of crime; review of theoretical approaches used to understand such a phenomenon; a comparative overview of the criminal justice system.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Doering, Jan (Winter)
Urban Planning
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URBP 201 Planning the 21st Century City (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : The study of how urban planners respond to the challenges posed by contemporary cities world-wide. Urban problems related to the environment, shelter, transport, human health, livelihoods and governance are addressed; innovative plans to improve cities and city life are analyzed.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
(3-1-5)
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URBP 501 Principles and Practice 1 (2 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : This six-week intensive course exposes students to issues and techniques that are applicable in diverse professional planning contexts. The subject matter, geographic area, scale of intervention and institutional location of planning varies from semester to semester. The course focuses on a specific case study and is taught by a visiting lecturer with professional experience in the selected subject matter.
Terms: Winter 2023
Instructors: Bornstein, Lisa; Gold, Ian Jeffrey; Weinstock, Daniel; Shah, Jai (Winter)
(2-0-4)
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URBP 506 Environmental Policy and Planning (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Analytical and institutional approaches for understanding and addressing environmental issues at various scales; characteristics of environmental issues, science-policy-politics interactions relating to the environment, and implications for policy; sustainability, and the need for and challenges associated with interdisciplinary perspectives; externalities and their regulation; public goods; risk perception and implications; the political-institutional context and policy instruments; cost-benefit analysis; multiple-criteria decision-making approaches; multidimensional life-cycle analysis; policy implementation issues; conflict resolution; case studies.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
(3-0-6)
Restriction: This course is open to students in U3 and above
-
URBP 551 Urban Design and Planning (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Fundamentals of city-building in Canada relative to municipal, regional, and provincial actions used to guide urban growth and development. Contemporary urban design in major metropolitan centres as shaped by legal, political, and cultural realities. Current preoccupations in city-building: reurbanisation and adaptive reuse of infrastructure, collaborative multi-stakeholder projects, strategic initiatives, changing relationships between professional experts and grassroots actors. Introduction to specific aspects of practice: public participation and community engagement; land development and real estate; project feasibility and implementation; policy monitoring and evaluation; emergent city-building regimes.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
(3-0-6)
Restrictions: Not to be taken by undergraduates before U3. Not open to M.Arch. students.
-
URBP 556 Urban Economy: A Spatial Perspective (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Economic functions played by cities; economic processes governing city formation, city growth, and the internal spatial organization of cities. Describing and understanding how cities can be interpreted as economic phenomena. Economic origins of cities, the industrial revolution, city systems and networks, the role of mobility and telecommunications, innovation and creativity as urban phenomena, the internal spatial logic of metropolitan areas.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Faculty of Arts—2022-2023 (last updated Aug. 25, 2022) (disclaimer)
