Urban Studies

The Department of Geography offers two interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts programs in Urban Studies:

• The Major in Urban Studies is jointly offered by the Department of Geography in the Faculty of Arts and the School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) in the Faculty of Applied Science. This program provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary for future careers in urban-oriented professions.
• The Minor in Urban Studies is designed for students interested in cities and the way urbanization shapes historical and contemporary processes of social and environmental change. This program is an option for students majoring in other areas.

Major in Urban Studies

Admission to the program is by application. Students will normally apply at the end of Year 1 for Year 2 entry. The application will include overall GPA, grades from GEOG_V 250 and PLAN_V 211, and a one-page written statement indicating motivations for applying. Entry will be based upon application rankings. Please see Department’s website for application deadline.

Requirements prior to admission¹

6 credits:

• GEOG_V 250 / URST_V 200 (3) Cities
• PLAN_V 211 (3) City-making: A Global Perspective

¹Students may elect to also take GEOS_V 270 and PLAN_V 221, which would count for program credit if the student is admitted to the program. See approved list of focus area courses for more information about these two courses.

Requirements upon admission

12 credits:

• PLAN_V 231 (3) Methods of Urban Community Engagement
• GEOG_V 371 (3) Research Strategies in Geography
• GEOG_V 451 / URST_V 451 (3) Urban Studies Capstone I
• PLAN_V 452 / URST_V 452 (3) Urban Studies Capstone II

30 credits from list of Approved Courses for Focus Areas (choose at least 1 GEOG and 1 PLAN course from each Focus Area)

FA1. Indigenous Urban Life

• GEOG_V 395 (3) Culture, Nature, and Coloniality in Latin America
• GEOG_V 432 (3) Radical Traditions of Decolonization and Liberation
• GEOG_V 355 (3) Geographies of Urban Indigeneity
• PLAN_V 321 (3) Indigeneity and the City

FA2. The Nature of Cities

• GEOG_V 310 / ENST_V 310 (3) Environment and Sustainability
• GEOG_V 311 / ENST_V 311 (3) Urban Environments
• GEOG_V 313 / ENST_V 313 (3) Environmental Justice and Social Change (Prerequisite: GEOG_V 121)
• GEOG_V 351 / URST_V 351 (3) Urban Environmental Politics
• GEOG_V 423 (3) Development of Environmental Thought
• PLAN_V 351 (3) Green Cities

FA3. Globalizing Cities

• GEOG_V 352 / URST_V 352 (3) Urbanization in the Global South
• GEOG_V 353 (3) Geographies of Migration and Settlement
• GEOG_V 364 (3) Globalization, Cities, and Regions (Prerequisite: One of GEOG_V 121, 122)
• GEOG_V 391 (3) Cities, Places, and Borders in Europe
• PLAN_V 331 (3) The Just City in a Divided World

FA4. Technology and Cities

• GEOS_V 270 (3) Geographic Information Science
• GEOB_V / GEOS_V 370 (3) Advanced Geographic Information Science (Prerequisite: One of GEOB_V 270, GEOS_V 270. Or third-year standing in ENSC or GEOS (or GEOB) specializations, with introductory knowledge of GIS)
• PLAN_V 341 (3) Smart Cities: Concepts, Methods and Design
• PLAN_V 221 (3) City Visuals

FA5. Cities and Communities

• GEOG_V 350 (3) Urban Worlds
• GEOG_V 357 (3) Society, Culture & Space
• PLAN_V 361 (3) Community Planning in a World of Diversity
• PLAN_V 425 (3) Urban Planning Issues and Concepts

Interested students should visit the Urban Studies or contact undergraduate.program@geog.ubc.ca.

Minor in Urban Studies

The Minor in Urban Studies is designed for students interested in cities and the way urbanization shapes historical and contemporary processes of social and environmental change.

The minor consists of 30 credits, of which 18 credits must be at the 300-level or above.

Lower-level Requirements

12 credits, consisting of:

• URST_V 200/GEOG_V 250
• 9 credits from any of:
  • ANTH_V 202, 205
  • ECON_V 101, 102
  • ENDS_V 211 or DES_V 211
  • ENDS_V 220 or DES_V 220
  • ENDS_V 221 or DES_V 230
  • ENDS_V 231 or DES_V 200
  • FNIS_V 100
  • GEOG_V 121, 122, 290
  • PLAN_V 211, 221, 231
  • POLI_V 101, 260
  • SOCI_V 102 (or a maximum of 3 credits from SOCI_V 100)

Upper-level Requirements

18 credits, consisting of:

• URST_V 400 or GEOG_V/URST_V 450
• 15 credits selected from the following list and not more than 9 credits from any one discipline in this list:
  • ARTH_V 319, 331, 332, 445,
  • ASIA_V 325, 414,
  • CLST_V 331 or AMNE_V 376,
  • CLST_V 332 or AMNE_V 377,
  • ECON_V 310, 311, 374,
  • FNIS_V 455,
  • GEOB_V 401 or GEOS_V 401,
  • GEOG_V 311 or ENST_V 311,
  • GEOG_V 321, 328, 350, 351, 352, 353, 355, 357, 364, 391, 456, 457,
  • GEOG_V 351 or ENST_V 351,
  • GEOG_V 352 or URST_V 352,
  • GRSJ_V 306, 307,
  • HIST_V 302, 439, 480,
  • NEST_V 319 or AMNE_V 372,
  • NEST_V 402 or AMNE_V 471,
  • PLAN_V 321, 331, 341, 351, 425,
  • POLI_V 306,
  • SOCI_V 301, 354, 364, 425, 480,
  • UFOR_V 402, 403.

Some of these courses may have prerequisites; students should consult Departmental requirements before registering.

Interested students should visit the Urban Studies Minor website, or contact Geography Academic Advising or the Chair of the Urban Studies Committee, Dr. Elvin Wyly (Geography), 604.822.2020.