Geography and Planning


Geography and Planning: Introduction

Faculty Affiliation

Arts and Science

Degree Programs

Geography

MA, MSc, and PhD

  • Fields:
    • Environmental Geography and Resource Management;
    • Historical/Social/Cultural Geography;
    • Physical Geography and Natural Systems;
    • Spatial Information Systems;
    • Urban/Economic Geography.

Planning

MScPl

  • Concentrations:
    • Economic Development Planning;
    • Environmental Planning;
    • Social Planning and Policy;
    • Transportation Planning and Infrastructure;
    • Urban Design and Spatial Planning.

PhD

  • Fields:
    • Cities in Global Context: Economic Development and Social Planning;
    • Environmental and Sustainability Planning;
    • Urban Development, Design and the Built Environment.

Collaborative Specializations

The following collaborative specializations are available to students in participating degree programs as listed below:

Overview

The Department of Geography and Planning offers facilities for research leading to the degrees of Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MSc), Master of Science in Planning (MScPl), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in either Geography or Planning. The PhD program prepares students for academic careers in teaching and research. Some may also pursue an advanced career in the public or non-profit sectors, given the rising demand outside of academia for people with a PhD credential.

In Geography, faculty conduct research in the following areas: geomorphology, climatology, hydrology, biogeography, pedology, environmental assessment and sustainable natural resource management, international development, industrial innovation, urban and economic geography, cultural and historical geography, gender studies, social geography, regional analysis, the history and philosophy of geography, remote sensing, computer cartography, spatial statistics, topics in land/geographic information systems, and quantitative analysis. The territories of special concern are Canada, the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, Northwestern and Central Europe, East Asia, South Asia, and the former Soviet Union.

In Planning, faculty work involves social, economic, cultural, and other vital considerations. In spatial scale, it ranges from the design of individual communities to policy planning at the national level to international development. Planning specializations include land use, transportation, urban design, social policy, public health, economic development, international development, and the environment.

Contact and Address

Web: geography.utoronto.ca
Geography programs email: graduate.geography@utoronto.ca
MSc Planning program email: planning.geoplan@utoronto.ca
PhD Planning program email: graduate.planning@utoronto.ca
Geography and PhD programs telephone: (416) 978-3377
MSc Planning program telephone: (416) 946-0269
Fax: (416) 946-3886

Department of Geography and Planning
University of Toronto
Sidney Smith Hall
5th Floor, 100 St. George Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G3
Canada


Geography and Planning: Graduate Faculty


Geography and Planning: Geography MA, MSc, PhD Courses

The following graduate courses will be available on demand and subject to faculty resources. Not all courses are given every year, and some members of the graduate faculty are on research leave. Please consult the departmental graduate office. The 2000-level courses are normally open to PhD students only.

Core Courses

Course CodeCourse Title
Human Geography Core Course
GGR1110HGeographic Thought and Practice
Physical Geography Core Course

Research Methods Courses

Course CodeCourse Title
Social Research Methods
JPG1120HAdvanced Qualitative Research: Methodology and Epistemological Foundations for Planning and Geography
JPG1130HQualitative Data Analysis: Coding, Interpreting, and Writing Qualitative Research
JPG1170HStatistical Testing and Analysis
GGR1218HQuantitative, Open-Source Methods in Physical Geography Research
JPG1400HAdvanced Quantitative Methods

Individual Topics Courses

Course CodeCourse Title
Readings in Selected Topics
GGR1149YReadings in Selected Topics
Readings in Selected Topics
GGR2149YReadings in Selected Topics
Advanced Seminar in Selected Topics
GGR2150YAdvanced Seminar in Selected Topics
Advanced Seminars in Selected Topics
GGR2151HAdvanced Seminars in Selected Topics II
JPG2151HAdvanced Seminars in Selected Topics II

Environmental and Resource Geography

Course CodeCourse Title
GGR1404HGlobal Warming
JPG1404HIssues in Global Warming
Energy Efficiency and Beyond
Carbon-Free Energy
GGR1411HNature and Justice in the Anthropocene
GGR1422HThe Geography of Urban Air Pollution
Livelihoods, Poverty, and Environment in the Global South
Natural Resources, Difference, and Conflict
JPG1428HGreening the City: Urban Environmental Planning and Management
Political Ecology of Food and Agriculture
FOR1610HSustainable Forest Management and Certification

Geographical Information Analysis

Course CodeCourse Title
JPG1906HGeographic Information Systems
JPG1909HAdvanced Space-Time Data Analysis and Visualization
GGR1911HRemote Sensing
GGR1912HAdvanced Remote Sensing
JPG1914HGeographic Information Systems Research Project
GGR1916HRemote Sensing of Vegetation Traits and Function
GGR1921HLand/Geographic Information Systems

Historical, Social, and Cultural Geography

Course CodeCourse Title
Space, Time, Revolution
State/Space/Difference: Understanding the New Social Geography of the State
JPG1511HGoverning the Environmental Commons
Contested Geographies of Class-Race Formations
JPG1522HProduction of Space: Aesthetics, Technology, Politics
GGR1705HHistorical Geographies of Modernity
Violence and Security
Transnationalism, Diaspora, and Gender
GGR1807HGeographies of Postcoloniality and Development: Exploring the ‘Infrastructure Turn’
JPG1809HSpaces of Work: Value, Identity, Agency, Justice
JPG1812YPlanning for Change: Community Development in Practice
JPG1813HSocial Planning and Policy
Political Economy, the Body, and Health
JPG1816HGeographies of Secularism, and Islam and Gender
JPG1817HGeographies of Drug Use: History, Power, and Space
JPG1818HClimate Action and Activism
GGR1821HChina Development Seminar
GGR1822HQueer Geographies
JPG1825HBlack Geographies of the Atlantic
JPG1828HPlace and Indigenous Research
JPG1830HUtopia/Dystopia
GGR1832HGeographies of Decolonization and Liberation
JPG1835HAnti-Colonial Planning: Theory and Practice

Physical Geography

Course CodeCourse Title
GGR1215HAdvanced Watershed Hydroecology
GGR1216HAdvanced Biogeochemical Processes
GGR1217HThe Climate of the Arctic
GGR1302HAdvanced Hydrology and Water Quality
GGR1315HThe Cryosphere: Canada’s Frozen Environments

Urban and Economic Geography

Course CodeCourse Title
JPG1502HGlobal Urbanism and Cities of the Global South
JPG1504HInstitutionalism and Cities: Space, Governance, Property and Power
JPG1507HHousing Policy and Planning
JPG1512HPlace, Politics, and the Urban
JPG1513HToronto Urban Landscapes: Planning, Politics, and Development
JPG1516HUrban Problems
JPG1518HSustainability and Urban Communities
JPG1554HTransportation and Urban Form
JPG1558HThe History and Geography of Cycles and Cycling
JPG1605HThe Post-Industrial City
JGE1609HCities, Industry, and the Environment
GGR1610HGeography of Finance and Financial Crisis
JPG1615HPlanning and the Social Economy
JPG1616HThe Cultural Economy
JPG1617HOrganization of Economies and Cities
JPG1621HInnovation and Governance
JPG1660HRegional Dynamics
JPG1670HRegional Economic Analysis
JPG1814HCities and Immigrants
JPG1820HDisability, Ableism, and Place
GGR1825HBlack Economic Geographies


Geography and Planning: Planning MScPl, PhD Courses

All courses are not given every year; some faculty members may be on research leave. Please consult the departmental graduate office for details.

Core Courses for the MScPl

Course CodeCourse Title
Planning History, Thought, and Practice
Planning Decision Methods I
Legal Basis of Planning
Planning Decision Methods II
Workshop in Planning Practice
Current Issues Paper
Communication in the Face of Power

Core Courses for the PhD in Planning

Course CodeCourse Title
Advanced Qualitative Research: Methodology and Epistemological Foundations for Planning and Geography
Advanced Planning Theory
Planning Colloquium

Elective Courses

Course CodeCourse Title
Communication in the Face of Power
Advanced Qualitative Research: Methodology and Epistemological Foundations for Planning and Geography
JPG1130HQualitative Data Analysis: Coding, Interpreting, and Writing Qualitative Research
Statistical Testing and Analysis
Independent Study
PLA1150HPlanning Field Trip Course
Advanced Quantitative Methods
Environmental Consequences of Land Use Change
Rural Land Use Planning
Urban Waste Management: an International Perspective
Natural Resources, Difference, and Conflict
Greening the City: Urban Environmental Planning and Management
Political Ecology of Food and Agriculture
Global Urbanism and Cities of the Global South
Space, Time, Revolution
Institutionalism and Cities: Space, Governance, Property, and Power
State/Space/Difference: Understanding the New Social Geography of the State
Housing Policy and Planning
Special Topics in Planning
Governing the Environmental Commons
Place, Politics, and the Urban
JPG1513HToronto Urban Landscapes: Planning, Politics, and Development
Urban Problems
Special Topics in Planning II
Special Topics in Planning III
Sustainability and Urban Communities
City Building — Practice and Experience in Toronto and Other World Cities
JPG1520HContested Geographies of Class-Race Formations
Project Management and Conflict Resolution for Planners
JPG1522HProduction of Space: Aesthetics, Technology, Politics
PLA1525HUrban, Regional, and Community Economic Development
Policy Analysis
Leadership and Management for Planners
Transportation and Urban Form
The History and Geography of Cycles and Cycling
Environmental Planning in a Changing Climate
The Post-Industrial City
Planning and the Social Economy
The Cultural Economy
Organization of Economies and Cities
JPG1621HInnovation and Governance
Planning and Real Estate Development
Introductory Studio in Urban Design and Planning
Advanced Studio in Urban Design and Planning
Urban Design Research Methods
Urban Design and Development Controls
Land Use Planning: Principles and Practice
Regional Dynamics
Regional Economic Analysis
Pedestrians, Streets, and Public Space
Transportation Planning and Infrastructure
Violence and Security
PLA1751HPublic Finance for Planners
Transnationalism, Diaspora, and Gender
Geographies of Postcoloniality and Development: Exploring the ‘Infrastructure Turn’
Spaces of Work: Value, Identity, Agency, Justice
Globalization and Postmodernism
Planning for Change: Community Development in Practice
Social Planning and Policy
Cities and Immigrants
JPG1816HGeographies of Secularism, and Islam and Gender
JPG1817HGeographies of Drug Use: History, Power, and Space
JPG1818HClimate Action and Activism
JPG1820HDisability, Ableism, and Place
JPG1825HBlack Geographies of the Atlantic
JPG1828HPlace and Indigenous Research
JPG1830HUtopia/Dystopia
JPG1835HAnti-Colonial Planning: Theory and Practice
Geographic Information Systems
Advanced Space-Time Data Analysis and Visualization
Geographic Information Systems Research Project
Advanced Seminars in Selected Topics
Advanced Seminars in Selected Topics II
Internship
(Designates the internship to be undertaken by master’s students in the Planning program. It cannot be used to fulfil other course requirements for the degree.)