Human Geography Month: What is Urban Worlds?

With over half of the world’s population living in urban spaces, cities matter.  They produce, reflect, and amplify most of the dynamics, potential, and problems of global society. With planetary pressures like population growth and climate change, urban spaces need to be more resilient and sustainable for society to thrive in a turbulent world. Do you want to shape cities and urban life for better?

Explore the world through Urban Worlds

A Bachelor of Arts majoring in Urban Worlds will have you analyzing the experience of city life in various global settings and learning about a range of topics such as gentrification, homelessness, and migration. You will learn how urban change influences social transformation forging for a positive future.

What are the TWO streams?

Urban Worlds is a collaboration between the Faculty of Environment and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. There are two streams:

Urban Change

This stream is hosted by the Department of Geography. Urban Change, as its name suggests, is focused on the geographic dimensions of urban change. Urban environments are constantly changing. Their dynamism is essential to our world as we become a global urban society. After completing the Urban Change stream, you will acquire a deep knowledge of how cities have come to be what they are, how urban change continues to shape social change, and how to shape cities and urban life for the better in the future.

Urban Studies

This stream is hosted by the Urban Studies Program. This stream explores the richness and diversity of human settlement in cities, focusing on historical, cultural, economic, and political dimensions. You learn the common factors of urban life that appeal people and highlights the culture, creativity, and communication that emerge when communities form and gain the tools to interpret these complex aspects.

Watch Professor Eugene McCann introduce GEOG 161 - Urban Change: An introduction to Dynamic Places.

This course is an introductory course in the Urban Worlds major. GEOG 161 explores how cities evolve, who does and doesn't benefit from these changes while focusing on the social, environmental, and political factors that shape urban life. Thinking critically through social science perspectives, you will examine the influence of globalization, urban economies, planning, social movements and the importance in shaping urban experiences. By understanding these dynamic places, you will gain understanding on how to change cities for the better.

GEOG 161 will next be offered in Spring 2025.

Careers in Urban Worlds

Career Pathways for Urban Worlds graduates are diverse. Career and Volunteer Services can help guide you in choosing a career with your Urban Worlds major. You can work as: