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Photo credit: "Toronto rooftops" by mariusz kluzniak, licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.0
Environment’s new Urban Studies Minor will prepare students to shape tomorrow’s inclusive and vibrant societies
For the first time in history, more people in the world live in and around cities than in rural areas, and the United Nations predicts that this proportion will only continue to grow. The situation in Canada mirrors the global patterns: according to the latest national census, 81% of Canadians live in metropolitan areas.
A new minor offered at the University of Waterloo aims to educate students to lead this transition to an increasingly urbanized world.
Based in the Faculty of Environment, the Urban Studies Minor is open to all undergraduate students. Students pursuing the minor can select one of four themes:
"As city populations continue to grow in Canada and around the world, well-crafted policy and governance will be necessary to address the challenges of contemporary urban areas: poverty, inequality, environmental degradation and political unrest” says Jeff Casello, Associate Provost, Graduate Studies and Associate Professor, School of Planning and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “The Urban Studies Minor will provide the next generation of urban scholars, policymakers and professionals with the skills needed to shape effective policy, better manage natural and built environments, and create equitable, inclusive and vibrant societies.”
Students will learn to tackle complex urban issues by examining them from a variety of perspectives. Building on the Faculty of Environment’s strong interdisciplinary approach, and drawing from expertise across the campus, the Urban Studies Minor combines courses in planning, ecology, environmental studies, geography, sociology, political science, international development and more. The minor will prepare students to pursue careers in both the public and private sectors and increase their competitiveness for graduate programs in a variety of fields.
Learn more about the Urban Studies Minor.
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Office of Indigenous Relations.