Urban Studies Program

SFU launches Urban Worlds major

November 12, 2024
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On October 24th, 2024, Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) and Faculty of Environment (FENV) celebrated the launch of SFU’s newest major, Urban Worlds, at the Metro Vancouver building. On that clear day from the 27th floor of the tower, attendees could truly see the urban landscape of Vancouver’s Lower Mainland.

City officials, SFU faculty, alumni, staff, and students in Urban Worlds’ very first classes, gathered to hear various speakers discuss the major and how it would prepare them to tackle the urban challenges of the future.

Professor Laurel Weldon, Dean of FASS, opened the event by speaking about some of these challenges, namely population growth and climate change.

“Urban spaces need to be resilient and sustainable for society to thrive in our turbulent world,” says Weldon. “The grand purpose of the Urban Worlds major is to advance an inclusive and sustainable future.”

Jonathan Coté

Other speakers at the launch also highlighted the importance of climate change. For example, SFU Urban Studies alumnus and former City of New Westminster mayor Jonathan Coté emphasized what a huge impact transportation and building design has on climate change.

He encouraged planners to ask themselves, “How do we build and incorporate resilience to climate change into our land use planning and thinking?”

He also noted that thinking about urban planning needs to evolve and change when it comes to building a new path forward with Indigenous nations and the land.

Courtenay Gibson and Christie Lee Charles
Professor Laurel Weldon, FASS Dean (left) and Professor Naomi Krogman, FENV Dean (right)

Representatives of the Musqueam Indian Band, Courtenay Gibson and Christie Lee Charles, honoured everyone by giving a territorial welcome and speaking at the launch. Gibson, who is also an SFU alumnus and teaching assistant, asked that SFU continue to create relationships with the Indigenous peoples whose lands its programs are on. Charles read her poem, “Since Time Immemorial,” which described the long relationship Indigenous peoples have had with these lands.

Professor Naomi Krogman, Dean of FENV, closed the event by discussing the possibilities the Urban Worlds major will open for students.

“The students in this program will thrive in the comparisons they can make across different cities, and they can dive deep into this incredible city of Vancouver,” she says. “They are going to learn about environmental threats, resources, governance, inequality, and technology. Our hope is that they will deepen their imagination of the possibilities of what cities can become.”

Group Photo at Urban Worlds Launch (from left to right) Professors Mei Fang, Laurel Weldon, Anthony Perl, Nick Blomley, Naomi Krogman, Aude-Claire Fourot, and Paul Kingsbury
Urban Studies Program Group Photo at Urban Worlds Launch (from left to right) Professors Karen Ferguson, Andy Yan, and Aude-Claire Fourot; Program Manager Brian Chand

Watch video clips from the Urban Worlds Launch event.

Learn more about SFU’s Urban Worlds’ major — visit our website and SFU Geography's website.