Learn at the cutting edge of explorations into the spatiality of human activity and social inequalities. Youll get first-hand experience through fieldwork, and the strong foundational skills needed to both engage in empirical studies and examine the factors that shape societies, economies, regions and cities. We focus on investigating the spatial patterns of human activity and the character of regions and places, and youll explore the complex relationships between society and the natural environment, along with the social and economic problems of human land use and settlement.
In our major program youll choose courses in two concentrations and establish a solid foundation in GIS or qualitative research methods. Youll gain the skills to understand contemporary social science thought in the context of communities, societies and economies, and the ways location, landscape and spatial context shape (and are shaped by) social structures, functioning and behaviour. In our specialist program, youll gain experience in all three concentrations and both GIS and qualitative methods. This in-depth program is a richer, more intensive exploration of human geography, and youll gain the enhanced methods and skills training needed for graduate studies and to thrive in employment markets. The minor in GIS and the minor in City Studies are insightful pairs for this option.
The minor program is designed to give you a general introduction to human geography, and you can choose from our wide range of geography courses to explore the concepts that interest you most. The minor encourages you to focus on one area of concentration and doesnt require you to take courses on research methods.
In this area of concentration, students explore the urban dimensions of many of today's most pressing questions relating to environmental sustainability, economic stability, and social justice. From the global to the neighbourhood scale, students debate urban growth and decline, the challenges faced and posed by the world's megacities, and how globalization is reshaping urban life. Principal research topics in urban geography today include active living, cities and the creative class, crime and disorder, economic growth, energy use, gentrification, governance, health, institutions, land values and real estate, mobility, neighbourhood inequality, neoliberalism, pace of life, physical environment, schooling, social distance and integration, social networks, sustainability, transit, travel behaviour, and trust.
