Cities: Geography, Planning, and Urban Life
one-way Exclusions
One 1.5 hour lecture & one 1.5 hour active learning tutorial per week
- Jonas, A. E.G., E. McCann and M. Thomas (2015) Urban Geography: a critical introduction. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
- Peer-reviewed journal articles
All materials are available for free via online access. If you prefer a paper copy of the textbook, it will be available via the campus bookstore.
Please note that course information listed in the Arts and Science Course Calendar supersedes any information listed on the Geography and Planning website.
For the most current course offerings, registered Queen鈥檚 students should consult .
Course Description
The city from a geographical and planning perspective. Topics include origins of urbanism; mega; migrant, and global cities; urban competitiveness; land use planning and design; suburbanization and sprawl; new urban identities and culture; retailing transport; public space; private and temporary cities; urban poverty; politics and governance; sustainable urban futures.
Course Overview
This course is an introduction to the city from a social science and humanities perspective, with particular insights from how urban geographers have approached the city. The majority of people around the world now live and work in cities and this course serves as an introductory class for how to understand the city and its place in the modern, globalizing world. GPHY 227 gives students the opportunity to learn about the city in the abstract, and apply concepts to specific case studies on topics such as gentrification, the digital city, urban natures, race and settler colonialism and urban economies. The course draws on examples from around the world, but with an emphasis on Canadian case studies.
The course is a required course for students in human geography and a foundation course for students pursuing a certificate in urban planning studies. The course is also designed as an elective course for students from a variety of backgrounds and programs, including General Arts and Science, Commerce and Engineering.
Course Topics
The course is an introduction to urban geography. It covers key concepts like urbanization, urbanism, planning, space, place, and scale. It draws on examples from North America and around the world. Themes covered include the process of urbanization; theories and approaches of urban geography; urban planning; race and colonialism; urban economies; the built environment; inequality; social identity and urban space; urban nature; the digital city; urban politics; and urban futures.
Learning Outcomes
- Articulate the rationale for several approaches to urban geography and how it is possible to gain urban insights from each.
- Define the concepts of space, place, scale, urbanization, urbanism, and planning and understand how they help us study cities from a geographical perspective.
- Describe current urbanization trends and projects for countries around the world, with a particular knowledge of the post WWII and contemporary Canadian urban context.
- Demonstrate the integral role that space plays in shaping how urban residents express their social and cultural values.
- Analyze how cities are governed and how they could be more sustainable in the future.
- Demonstrate active listening skills to consider peers' perspectives and to articulate effective communication with peers.
Assessments
Subject to Change
- Tutorial Assignments: 25%
- Paper Proposal: 5%
- Term Paper: 35%
- Final Take-Home Exam: 35%