MSc and PhD direct-entry candidates register in a 60x1Y Research Course in their first year of graduate study.

MSc and PhD direct-entry candidates register in a 60x1Y Research Course in their first year of graduate study.

MSc and PhD direct-entry candidates register in a 60x1Y Research Course in their first year of graduate study.

MSc and PhD direct-entry candidates register in a 60x1Y Research Course in their first year of graduate study.

MSc and PhD direct-entry candidates register in a 60x1Y Research Course in their first year of graduate study.

MSc Option-II students enrol in the seminar course (PHY700xY) appropriate to their area of research. Students present and defend the results of their research project at an MSc Oral Examination.

MSc Option-II students enrol in the seminar course (PHY700xY) appropriate to their area of research. Students present and defend the results of their research project at an MSc Oral Examination.

MSc Option-II students enrol in the seminar course (PHY700xY) appropriate to their area of research. Students present and defend the results of their research project at an MSc Oral Examination.

MSc Option-II students enrol in the seminar course (PHY700xY) appropriate to their area of research. Students present and defend the results of their research project at an MSc Oral Examination.

MSc Option-II students enrol in the seminar course (PHY700xY) appropriate to their area of research. Students present and defend the results of their research project at an MSc Oral Examination.

MSc Option-II students enrol in the seminar course (PHY700xY) appropriate to their area of research. Students present and defend the results of their research project at an MSc Oral Examination.

This required course introduces master's students to key ideas in planning history, thought, and practice. Through a guided survey of key historical precedents, theoretical approaches, and contemporary planning practices across a range of sectors and geographic contexts, students will gain a critical understanding, and indeed appreciation, of a range of topics and issues in planning. The course traces the evolution of the discipline and profession in North America in the 20th century, discussing some key moments in planning history, the contentious and 'dark side' of the profession, the forces shaping planning and its outcomes, the dilemmas (political, ethical, moral, logistical, and other) and challenges that planners face in everyday practice, and the mechanisms through which they pursue and enact change towards different ends. Through course materials, in-class activities, and interactions with practitioners, we will consider longstanding debates in planning such as those around professional power, expertise, legitimacy, and hubris; planning's disciplinary niche; and how planners define and achieve the 'public interest' in their quest to build better cities and communities. In doing so, this course actively centers the aims of the Graduate Planning Program Mission. The course enables students to examine the tensions and synergies between theory and practice with a view towards bridging imagined gaps. Through examples, the course equips students to develop normative and practical frameworks for fostering "sustainable, accessible, beautiful, and just" places through planning.

This course exposes students to a number of analytical techniques, decision-making methods and ethical practices that are at the core of planning scholarship and professional practices, as well as applicable to the broader fields of policy analysis and social research. The course covers a number of data collection techniques and analysis methods that can be used to address contemporary problems in planning, including research design, survey methods, evaluation, and participation methods useful for the purpose of analysis and planning. It situates these methods within the context of planning practice, by examining who carries out planning and the situations in which decisions are made. The course advances the mission of the planning program by providing students with an interdisciplinary, engaged approach to planning that bridges theory and practice, and emphasizes social equity, sustainability and just city building.

This course examines the underlying source law and legal principles that govern land use planning in Ontario, including the relevant legislation, regulations, by-laws, and policy. You will learn about the role of the courts and administrative tribunals (with emphasis on the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal), how to distinguish between law and policy, and how to effectively read, understand and apply adjudicated decisions. Over the first half of the course, you will be introduced to the basic framework in which the province, municipalities, and other entities exercise their respective authority to create, interpret and enforce planning law and policy. While the primary focus will be on the Planning Act, we will also explore the scope of municipal powers and governance structures under the Municipal Act, 2001 and the City of Toronto Act, 2006. We will then work through the process, rights, and obligations underlying the development application and appeal process, first in the context of major policy and zoning amendments and plans of subdivision, and then in relation to minor variances and severances. You will be asked to apply some of the law and substantive information gleaned through these lectures in a mock Committee of Adjustment hearing setting. The second half of the course will feature more in-depth examinations of some of the interesting, complex, and significant planning issues facing industry stakeholders at this time. We will address the duty to consult with aboriginal communities and the framework for protecting cultural heritage resources, land expropriations, and the various charges and levies imposed as part of the development application process, the legal tools for securing affordable housing and the protection of employment lands. Some of the issues discussed in these lectures may generate ideas for your research paper due at the end of the term.

This class provides a hands-on introduction to the types of quantitative data/information that urban, regional/provincial, and community planners, policymakers, practitioners, and activists most often engage with when making decisions and taking action. Numbers are powerful, useful, and will likely be part of your career in some way. This course is designed to give you confidence working with them. This is not a lecture or discussion-based course with a long academic paper, formal exam, or lengthy discussions. This is not a theory or conceptual class, though we will be critical of the methods we use. This is a technical skills-building, action-based, lab course. We are not going to focus on "talking about" numbers, but actually working with them: we will primarily learn by doing. The class is organized into four distinct modules, effectively four miniature courses. Each three-week module covers a specific domain: GIS, finance/budgeting, economics and demographics, and statistics/data analytics.

Workshop in Planning Practice is designed to help students develop and exercise planning competencies by undertaking a planning project as part of a team. Students gain experience in project management while applying research and decision methods taught in previous courses in the core curriculum of the Master of Science in Planning program. Above all, students have the opportunity to cultivate skills and etiquette that will be expected of them should they pursue a career in planning or a related discipline. In this course, each student is assigned to a team and each team is assigned a unique planning question typical of those that planning practitioners face in this region at this time, which has been posed by a 'client' organization. At the end of term, each team presents an executive summary of their report with question-and-answer period to a semi-public audience of classmates, project clients, project stakeholders, course instructors, and invited guests. Reports must include research, analysis, recommendations, and conclusions that lay out solutions or a conceptual framework to address the research question. Recommendations may rely on regulatory, administrative, programmatic, or design approaches, taking into account available mechanisms for change, as well as the social, political, economic, and environmental context. By placing students in a simulated professional setting, this course provides hands-on experience working with the concepts, methods and theories taught in core courses and concentration gateway courses completed earlier in the program. In this way, it enables students to "bridge the imagined gap between theory and practice" along with other core aims of the Graduate Planning Program Mission Statement.

Workshop in Planning Practice is designed to help students develop and exercise planning competencies by undertaking a planning project as part of a team. Students gain experience in project management while applying research and decision methods taught in previous courses in the core curriculum of the Master of Science in Planning program. Above all, students have the opportunity to cultivate skills and etiquette that will be expected of them should they pursue a career in planning or a related discipline. In this course, each student is assigned to a team and each team is assigned a unique planning question typical of those that planning practitioners face in this region at this time, which has been posed by a 'client' organization. At the end of term, each team presents an executive summary of their report with question-and-answer period to a semi-public audience of classmates, project clients, project stakeholders, course instructors, and invited guests. Reports must include research, analysis, recommendations, and conclusions that lay out solutions or a conceptual framework to address the research question. Recommendations may rely on regulatory, administrative, programmatic, or design approaches, taking into account available mechanisms for change, as well as the social, political, economic, and environmental context. By placing students in a simulated professional setting, this course provides hands-on experience working with the concepts, methods, and theories taught in core courses and concentration gateway courses completed earlier in the program. In this way, it enables students to "bridge the imagined gap between theory and practice" along with other core aims of the Graduate Planning Program Mission Statement.

The Current Issues Paper (CIP) is intended to help you make the transition from the academic world to the professional world of planning. It should demonstrate that you understand and can explain the complexities of a specific planning issue; that you can identify, analyze, and present relevant context and facts; and that you can take a position on the issue and argue for it effectively. The CIP is also intended to help you bring together theories, ideas, and skills acquired over the course of the planning program. You are encouraged to apply them to real-world contexts for planning to bridge (imagined) gaps between theory and practice. Your project should also consider the key aims of the planning program which include a "commitment to humane city-regions, healthy environments, and social well-being for everyone (especially, for those who have been historically marginalized through traditional development practices)" as detailed in the program mission. In particular, the course emphasizes addressing issues of anti-BIPOC racism and is committed to pursuing equity and racial justice in planning.

This course explores a range of communication skills required for planners committed to the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion, and working to promote social justice in communities, cities, and regions. It responds to the Planning Program's mission, which includes a "commitment to humane city-regions, healthy environments, and social well-being for everyone (especially, for those who have been historically marginalized through traditional development practices)," by advocating for equitable and community driven transformations in both the planning profession and the spaces for which we plan.

The course will enable planning students to complement a theoretical and conceptual orientation to planning with a skills-oriented module, and in so doing will strengthen the University's recent commitment to making U of T a centre for research on cities. It is crucial to the Planning curriculum in that it presents students with an opportunity to learn specific planning skills from experienced and knowledgeable practicing professionals.

This is a Field Trip Course. The topics and location of the course varies annually. Consult the Department for information and enrolment procedures

The course will enable planning students to complement a theoretical and conceptual orientation to planning with a skills-oriented module, and in so doing will strengthen the University's recent commitment to making U of T a centre for research on cities. It is crucial to the Planning curriculum in that it presents students with an opportunity to learn specific planning skills from experienced and knowledgeable practicing professionals.

The course will enable planning students to complement a theoretical and conceptual orientation to planning with a skills-oriented module, and in so doing will strengthen the University's recent commitment to making U of T a centre for research on cities. It is crucial to the Planning curriculum in that it presents students with an opportunity to learn specific planning skills from experienced and knowledgeable practicing professionals.

The course will enable planning students to complement a theoretical and conceptual orientation to planning with a skills-oriented module, and in so doing will strengthen the University's recent commitment to making U of T a centre for research on cities. It is crucial to the Planning curriculum in that it presents students with an opportunity to learn specific planning skills from experienced and knowledgeable practicing professionals.

The course will examine the techniques available to cities to implement large-scale transformational initiatives, including financing techniques, organizational innovation, and political/community direction. It will examine the effectiveness of different strategies for advancing global city standing. It will explore what is the appropriate balance between investing in people and investing in projects and between local interests and the interests of the global city. It will look at the different political, economic, and cultural treatment of global cities by the nation states in which they are located. The course is intended to be primarily based in the practice of large-scale city building on how cities plan and implement large-scale transformational projects in real time. Examples will be taken from numerous world cities but with a focus on their relevance to Toronto.

This course provides a foundation in project management and conflict resolution with particular emphasis on the skills and tools associated with the projects planners often lead (e.g., planning studies, secondary plans, Official Plan reviews, zoning bylaw reviews, environmental/EA studies, cultural heritage studies, transportation studies, etc.).

Some city-regions attain seemingly high levels of economic development. Others appear "left behind." In both, certain groups remain excluded from full economic participation. How do we make sense of this? More importantly, what can planners, policymakers, and community advocates do in response? In this discussion-based graduate seminar which offers an overview of urban, regional, and community economic development, we will: a) Survey major theoretical paradigms of urban, regional, and community economic development, which draw on multiple social sciences including economics, political science, sociology, and geography, reflecting the realities of actual policymaking and planning in the COVID-19 era: remember, planning is not a sub-field of geography or any other discipline. b) Examine "traditional" economic development planning/policy tools, grouped by their focus on people, places, and/or institutions/networks. We hear from real-world practitioners and review real-life cases, in Canada, the U.S., and other comparable contexts, of tax incentives, cluster/sector strategies, innovation districts and improvement/opportunity zones, workforce development, creative class strategies, labour mobility vouchers/relocation incentives, and regional innovation ecosystems. We also consider how these efforts can be understood and evaluated using a range of qualitative and simple quantitative analytical techniques. c) Analyze heterodox alternatives, which centre equity and sustainability and are often collectively framed as "community economic development." These are also grouped by logic: enactive, localist, or democratic. Coverage includes living wages, community benefits agreements, anchor institutions, social/local procurement, worker cooperatives, and municipal/community ownership. Many of these strategies focus on including those who have historically been excluded from full participation in the economy, including BIPOC individuals, immigrants, women, and the 2SLGBTQIA+ population.

The purpose of this course is to serve as a gateway to social, economic, and urban policy in the planning program. The emphasis is on preparing those who seek a career that will involve the development and implementation of public sector policy or a career where they will seek to influence public policy. The focus will be on applying the concepts drawn from theoretical research to real life situations where the practical limitations of resources, time and data must be addressed. Also where the challenges of organizational structure, organizational culture and individual personality must be negotiated. Guest speakers from the Federal, Provincial, and Municipal governments will be invited to share their experiences and perspectives on policy making. They will also provide their perspective on how to build a successful career in different policy making fields.

This course is designed to introduce application of theoretical concepts and build the planners practical problem solving, communication, and implementation skills so that they are effective leaders and team members. Participants will explore the differences between providing leadership in the public and private sectors and the interplay between critical organizational processes. Classes will be seminars involving guided discussions based on readings on current theory and case studies of real situations taken from city government and planning practice. The case studies will involve students in role play designed to develop skills and allow for personal feedback. Guest speakers from Canada and via video link from overseas will join some classes. This is a highly interactive course that is designed to provide an opportunity for participants to apply organizational and management theory to real planning problems and by so doing develop their personal leadership, communication and problem-solving skills to a level that will make them effective in a work environment. Participants will achieve an understanding on how their professional planning knowledge can shape policy and be effectively implemented through organizations and established institutions. Participants will work on real cases and through interactive role play develop personal skills that can be applied in workplace situations. They will learn the importance of managing culture, communications, change, and motivation.

The scope of environmental planning has expanded significantly in recent decades beyond its initial focus on wilderness preservation or environmental impact management. It includes planning for climate change adaptation, resiliency, disaster recovery, and transitions to a just green economy. However, the profession grapples with enduring problems like planning for green spaces in marginalized communities, developing and retrofitting infrastructure for clean water provision, stormwater management, and waste disposal, addressing pollution and hazardous waste disposal and preventing sprawl. In addition, global interconnections have complicated the scope of problems that must be addressed and created opportunities for learning and cooperation across contexts. This course introduces students to key concepts, issues, tools, practices, and controversies in environmental planning in the North American context with examples, comparisons, and interconnections drawn from international cases in selected modules. Through course materials, students will confront planning's culpability in contributing to environmental racism and learn about radical alternatives that propose just and transformative change. The course largely focuses on urban regions, but we will critically approach issues and corresponding solutions to question their possibilities and limits in a global, interconnected world confronting the growing impacts of climate change. This course actively centers on the aims of the Graduate Planning Program Mission. It enables students to examine the tensions and synergies between theory and practice in the subfield of environmental planning. It also equips students to develop planning ideas that envision "sustainable, accessible, beautiful, and just" places.