Note: This is the 2016–2017 edition of the eCalendar. Update the year in your browser's URL bar for the most recent version of this page, or click here to jump to the newest eCalendar.
Program Requirements
The M.U.P. requires two years of study and research including a three-month summer internship in a professional setting. Upon completion of the progrm, graduates are expected to have acquired basic planning skills, a broad understand of urban issues, and specialized knowledge in a field of their own choice.
Research Project (15 credits)
-
URBP 630 Supervised Research Project 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : The Supervised Research Project is intended to focus a student's interests on a particular area of enquiry at the end of studies for a Master's Degree in Planning. It should ideally provide the transition into practice or more advanced studies. Joint research projects are allowed.
Terms: Fall 2016, Winter 2017, Summer 2017
Instructors: Shearmur, Richard George (Fall)
-
URBP 631 Supervised Research Project 2 (6 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Continuation of the requirements for the Supervised Research Project.
Terms: Fall 2016, Winter 2017, Summer 2017
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
-
URBP 632 Supervised Research Project 3 (6 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Continuation of the requirements for the Supervised Research Project.
Terms: Fall 2016, Winter 2017, Summer 2017
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Required Courses (27 credits)
-
URBP 609 Planning Graphics (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Designed to familiarize the student with graphic techniques used in professional planning work, as well as to heighten environmental perception. Weekly lecture which reviews theory and practice followed by a weekly studio assignment involving the application of practical skills.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
-
URBP 612 History and Theory of Planning (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : A review of planning history and theories of planning. These are examined under three categories: explanation of urban phenomena, substantive theory, and theories of process.
Terms: Winter 2017
Instructors: Fischler, Raphael; Gordon, David (Winter)
-
URBP 622 Planning Studio 1 (6 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Introduction to planning practice based on real-world urban research and planning at the neighbourhood level. Topics: problem definition, methods for data collection and analysis, goal setting, design and analysis of alternative plans, public policy, plan implementation, and professional presentation techniques. Students work in interdisciplinary teams on assessments of current living conditions and on plans to improve them, including policies and projects related to housing, public space, infrastructure and services, and community development. Research and recommendations are presented in oral presentations and written reports.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Bornstein, Lisa; Luka, Nicholas (Fall)
Research and design studio.
-
URBP 623 Planning Studio 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Research and planning techniques for land development. Students work in teams to do research on context, program and precedents and develop a detailed plan for a site that poses urban and/or environmental challenges. Topics: site analysis, market analysis, and financial analysis; land-use regulation, real-estate development, residential planning, and housing policy; data collection and analysis, design and evaluation of alternatives, and project implementation.
Terms: Winter 2017
Instructors: Charlebois, Cameron (Winter)
Prerequisite: URBP 622
-
URBP 624 Planning Studio 3 (6 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Exploration of complex planning problems at the local or regional scale, chosen depending on the experience and research interests of the participants, for the acquisition of research and planning skills in greater depth. Students work in teams to fulfill a mandate for a public, private or third-sector client. Substantive issues vary according to clients. Topics: project management, client-consultant interactions, and professional communication.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Shearmur, Richard George; Brown, David (Fall)
-
URBP 633 Research Methods for Planners (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : An introduction to methods commonly used in urban research and planning practice. Topics include municipal information systems, fieldwork techniques, survey design and analysis, analysis of spatial and temporal patterns, and the evaluation of policies and plans.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Wachsmuth, David; Brown, David; Elgeneidy, Ahmed (Fall)
Priority given to Urban Planning Students
-
URBP 635 Planning Law (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : A comparative study of private and public control of land use and development, including master plans, zoning bylaws, subdivision control, urban redevelopment, expropriation, regional planning, environmental protection, and heritage conservation.
Terms: Winter 2017
Instructors: Lechasseur, Marc-Andre (Winter)
Required Internship (6 credits)
-
URBP 628 Practical Experience (6 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : An internship related to the practice of urban planning is required. The practical experience must be of at least 3 months duration and be supervised by a professional in the planning field. An evaluation of the student's performance by the supervisor, as well as a short report by the student, forms the basis for assessment.
Terms: Fall 2016, Winter 2017, Summer 2017
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Complementary Courses (18 credits)
Revision, December 2016. Start of revision.
Students are encouraged to complete at least one course in each of the four areas of design, environment, housing, and transportation.
Group A
9-18 credits from the following:
-
ARCH 515 Sustainable Design (3 credits)
Overview
Architecture : This course will address sustainable design theory and applications in the built environment with students from a variety of fields (architecture, urban planning, engineering, sociology, environmental studies, economics, international studies). Architecture will provide the focus for environmental, socio-cultural and economic issues.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
(3-0-6)
Prerequisite: ARCH 377 or permission of instructor.
-
ARCH 517 Sustainable Residential Development (3 credits)
Overview
Architecture : Design strategies of sustainable residential environments at the community and the unit levels. Historic references, siting principles, high density, healthy developments, green homes, urban renewal, circulation and parking, open spaces and implementation approaches.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Friedman, Abraham (Fall)
(3-0-6)
Prerequisite: ARCH 377 or equivalent
-
ARCH 520 Montreal: Urban Morphology (3 credits)
Overview
Architecture : Historical, geographical, demographical, and regional evolution of the metropolis of Montreal. Topics include: important quartiers, the Montreal urban grid, industrialization, reform movements, geographical diversity, urban culture, local building techniques and materials. Basic concepts of urban morphology and their relationships to the contemporary urban context will be explored.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
-
ARCH 564 Design for Development (3 credits)
Overview
Architecture : Designing for sustainable development to meet the Millennium and its new environmental goals. Approaches, strategies and projects that meet these goals in areas of economic empowerment, food security, gender equity, health and sanitation, and shelter sectors.
Terms: Winter 2017
Instructors: Bhatt, Vikram (Winter)
(2-0-7)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
-
ARCH 566 Cultural Landscapes Seminar (3 credits)
Overview
Architecture : Overview of cultural landscapes studies, methodologies, and resources. Comparative studies of the connection between people, place, and artifact systems through a critical examination of architecture, regional context, and material culture. Examination of precedents for the interpretation of cultural landscapes by architects, ethnologists, anthropologists, folklorists, historians, writers, filmmakers, photographers, and artists.
Terms: Winter 2017
Instructors: Mellin, Robert (Winter)
(3-0-6)
-
CIVE 540 Urban Transportation Planning (3 credits)
Overview
Civil Engineering : Process and techniques of urban transportation engineering and planning, including demand analysis framework, data collection procedures, travel demand modelling and forecasting, and cost-effectiveness framework for evaluation of project and system alternatives.
Terms: Winter 2017
Instructors: Miranda-Moreno, Luis (Winter)
(3-1-5)
Prerequisite: CIVE 319 or permission of instructor.
-
CIVE 561 Urban Activity, Air Pollution, and Health (3 credits)
Overview
Civil Engineering : Urban transportation impacts on air pollution, monitoring urban air quality, mobile source emissions, dispersion and atmospheric processes specific to cities, exposure to air pollution and health effects.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
(3-0-6)
-
GEOG 504 Industrial Restructuring - Geographic Implications (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : The objective of this seminar course is to develop an understanding of the geographical consequences of a variety of new forms of economic and social organization that are emerging in the North American and Western European settings. Key themes: technological and managerial change, changing labour processes, industrial re-location.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Winter
Prerequisites: GEOG 311 or permission of instructor
-
GEOG 525 Asian Cities in the 21st Century (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : This course examines current themes relating to mass urbanization in Asia in a range of contexts and the forces that shape the built environment of Asian cities. Various approaches to understanding Asian cities and current theoretical debates will be investigated, including recent critiques of western-centric theorizations of urban change in the region. The course examines a variety of themes through which students will gain familiarity with some of the major strands relating to urban change in Asia: national identity, neoliberalism, social exclusions, migration, religion, ethnicity and sustainability.
Terms: Winter 2017
Instructors: Moser, Sarah (Winter)
Prerequisite(s): GEOG 325, or 9 credits of Geography courses in Urban Geography, or permission of the instructor.
Open to graduate students and final year undergraduates.
-
URBP 501 Principles and Practice 1 (2 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : This six-week intensive course exposes students to issues and techniques that are applicable in diverse professional planning contexts. The subject matter, geographic area, scale of intervention and institutional location of planning varies from semester to semester. The course focuses on a specific case study and is taught by a visiting lecturer with professional experience in the selected subject matter.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Badami, Madhav Govind (Fall)
(2-0-4)
-
URBP 504 Planning for Active Transportation (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : The importance of transit, walking, and cycling as modes of transportation in sustainable urban environments. Planning, design, and operation of mass transit systems, bikeways, and footpaths.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Elgeneidy, Ahmed (Fall)
(3-0-6)
-
URBP 505 Geographic Information Systems (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : An introduction to fundamental geographic information system (GIS) concepts and a range of GIS applications in urban and regional planning.
Terms: Winter 2017
Instructors: Wachsmuth, David (Winter)
(0-2-7)
-
URBP 506 Environmental Policy and Planning (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Analytical and institutional approaches for understanding and addressing urban and other environmental problems at various scales; characteristics of environmental problems and implications; political-institutional context and policy instruments; risk perception and implications; cost-benefit analysis, risk assessment, multiple-objectives approaches, life-cycle analysis; policy implementation issues; case studies.
Terms: Winter 2017
Instructors: Badami, Madhav Govind (Winter)
(3-0-6)
Restriction: This course is open to students in U3 and above
-
URBP 507 Planning and Infrastructure (3 credits) *
Overview
Urban Planning : An exploration of the interrelationship between land-use planning and infrastructure provision, especially water and sewerage. An examination of their policy and regulatory frameworks and other methodology of plan making and evaluation.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Bornstein, Lisa; Lecavalier, Paul; Valladares, Arturo (Fall)
(8-.5-.5)
Restriction: Must be enrolled in the Barbados Field study Semester.
-
URBP 519 Sustainable Development Plans (6 credits) *
Overview
Urban Planning : Geared for solving real-world environmental problems related to water at the local, regional and international scale in Barbados. Projects to be designed by instructors in consultation with university, government and NGO partners and to be conducted by teams of 2 to 4 students in collaboration with them.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Alli, Inteaz (Fall)
-
URBP 520 Globalization: Planning and Change (3 credits) *
Overview
Urban Planning : Economic and social issues related to planning for sustainable development, with a focus on water. Political and environmental determinants of resource use. Impact of global, regional and local institutions, programs and plans in Barbados and in the field locale in general.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Alli, Inteaz; Melgar-Quiñonez, Hugo (Fall)
(3-3-3)
Restriction: Must be enrolled in the Barbados Field Study Semester.
-
URBP 530 Urban Environmental Planning (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Urban environmental planning with a focus on sustainability and smart growth. Consideration is given to the tools, techniques and processes that planners use to promote sustainable urban development. Local applications and community initiatives are addressed.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Note: Not open to students who have taken URBP 614.
-
URBP 536 Current Issues in Transportation 1 (2 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Current transportation issues and topics are addressed from practitioner and academic perspectives.
Terms: Fall 2016, Winter 2017
Instructors: Elgeneidy, Ahmed; van Lierop, Dea; Boisjoly, Genevieve (Fall) Elgeneidy, Ahmed; Grise, Emily; Boisjoly, Genevieve (Winter)
(1-0-5)
-
URBP 537 Current Issues in Transportation 2 (2 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Current transportation issues and topics are addressed from the perspectives of both professional practitioners and academics.
Terms: Fall 2016, Winter 2017
Instructors: Elgeneidy, Ahmed; van Lierop, Dea; Boisjoly, Genevieve (Fall) Elgeneidy, Ahmed; Grise, Emily; Boisjoly, Genevieve (Winter)
(1-0-5)
Prerequisite: URBP 536
-
URBP 542 Selected Topics in Visual Analysis (1 credit)
Overview
Urban Planning : Methods and techniques of visual analysis pertinent to contemporary practice in urban planning.
Terms: Fall 2016, Winter 2017
Instructors: Espiau, Gorka; Gordon, David (Winter)
(1-0-2).
-
URBP 551 Contemporary Metropolitan Landscapes (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Transdisciplinary perspectives on understanding continuity and change in contemporary metropolitan areas with an emphasis on North America. Urban form, structure, growth, and development in urban, suburban, and periurban contexts; critical questions of social, economic, and ecological sustainability, including nature-culture tensions. Cultural landscapes, environment-behaviour studies, and critical regionalism. Implications for reflective practice in planning and urban design.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
(2-1-6)
-
URBP 556 Urban Economy: A Spatial Perspective (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Economic functions played by cities; economic processes governing city formation, city growth, and the internal spatial organization of cities. Describing and understanding how cities can be interpreted as economic phenomena. Economic origins of cities, the industrial revolution, city systems and networks, the role of mobility and telecommunications, innovation and creativity as urban phenomena, the internal spatial logic of metropolitan areas.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
-
URBP 604 Urban Design Seminar 2: Advanced Topics (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Advanced concepts and methods used in urban design and housing, focusing on epistemological debates, practical techniques, and philosophical concerns that shape contemporary theory and practice in the field.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
-
URBP 608 Advanced GIS Applications (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Introduces students to real-world geographic information systems (GIS) problems and enhances the mastering of the geographic information systems as a tool for solving complex urban planning problems. Students will analyze several planning research problems spatially and introduce solutions to these issues.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Prerequisite (s): URBP 505 or permission of the instructor
Restriction (s): Open to graduate students in Urban Planning, Urban Design, Civil Engineering, Geography (or permission of instructor)
-
URBP 619 Land Use and Transportation Planning (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Analysis of transportation and land use interactions in urban areas. Study of the impacts of transportation systems on travel behaviour, residential and work location decisions, and urban form; discussion of implications for planning practice.
Terms: Winter 2017
Instructors: Elgeneidy, Ahmed (Winter)
(2.5-0.5-6)
-
URBP 620 Transportation Economics (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Economic and financial aspects of urban transportation policies and planning. Introduction to impact assessment techniques for major transportation projects and policies; discussion of political debates concerning transportation financing.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Elgeneidy, Ahmed (Fall)
Prerequisite: An introductory course in microeconomics or permission of instructor.
-
URBP 625 Principles and Practice 2 (2 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : This six-week intensive course exposes students to issues and techniques which are applicable in diverse professional planning contexts that vary in terms of their subject matter, location, scale and the role played by planners. The course focuses on a specific case study and is taught by a visiting lecturer with experience in the selected subject area. Course topics are systematically varied over a two-year cycle.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Shearmur, Richard George (Fall)
-
URBP 626 Principles and Practice 3 (2 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : This six-week intensive course exposes students to issues and techniques that are applicable in diverse professional planning contexts. The subject matter, geographic area, scale of intervention and institutional location of planning vary from semester to semester. The course is taught by a visiting lecturer, adjunct professor or Ph.D. student.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
-
URBP 629 Cities in a Globalizing World (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Cities and planning in comparative perspective; focus on the developing world. Topics covered include: global and local processes shaping cities worldwide, urban problems in developed and developing regions, and the impacts of planning and governance on urban form, economic growth, and equity.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
(3-0-6)
Prerequisite: URBP 622 or permission of instructor.
-
URBP 634 Planning Water Resources in Barbados (3 credits) *
Overview
Urban Planning : Physical environment challenges faced by an island nation, with a focus on water resources. Private, government and NGO institutional context for conservation strategies. Water quantity and quality analyses for water management and planning specific to Barbados.
Terms: Fall 2016
Instructors: Gehr, Ronald; Gaskin, Susan J (Fall)
Restrictions: Must be enrolled in Barbados Field Study Semester. Only open to graduate students in architecture and urban planning.
-
URBP 651 Redesigning Suburban Space (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Planning and urban design strategies for transforming suburban and exurban settings in North America to meet contemporary needs. Critical approaches to responsible practice in existing cultural landscapes. Adaptive reuse of public space, intensification, densification, transit-oriented retrofit of urban form, community-based design development.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
-
URBP 656 Urban Innovation and Creativity (3 credits)
Overview
Urban Planning : Exploration of contemporary debates on creativity and innovation as inherently urban phenomena linked to interactions and 'buzz' that occur in urban contexts; discussion of policy impacts including how urban and metropolitan growth is premised upon the capacity to enhance creativity and innovation. Examination of what is meant by creativity and innovation, how they can be connected, and why they are seen as vital to economic development. Arguments for and critiques of 'creative cities' and 'innovative urban areas'. Creative class, geography of innovation, culture and urban development, metropolitan creative-city policies, geographic paradoxes that arise.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken URBP 618 in Winter 2014 (when topic was "Creative Cities: Creativity, Innovation and Urban Agglomerations".
* Courses open only to students enrolled in the Barbados Field Study Semester during the fall term of their second year in the program. With this option, URBP 519 is substituted for URBP 624. Coursework must include URBP 507, URBP 520, and URBP 634. All other requirements for the M.U.P. degree apply.
Revision, December 2016. End of revision.
Group B
0-9 credits from the following:
Students may take up to 9 credits of coursework offered at the 500 or 600 levels by any academic unit at McGill or at another Montreal university, with the approval of the School, if they help students to develop an in-depth knowledge of one or more subject areas in the field of planning, with the approval of the School. Choices usually include courses in real-estate analysis, urban geography, sociology, anthropology, law, politics, and environmental science. Students must confirm prior to registration that the selected course(s) can be counted toward the M.U.P. degree.
Faculty of Engineering—2016-2017 (last updated Aug. 26, 2016) (disclaimer)