Urban Planning (Non-Thesis): Urban Development and Urban Design (M.U.P.) (60 credits)
Offered by: Urban Planning (Faculty of Engineering)
Degree: Master of Urban Planning
Program credit weight: 60
Program Description
The concentration in Urban Development and Urban Design aims to produce graduates who are skilled in analysis and design for development in existing (sub)urban landscapes and urbanizing contexts, whether in North America or elsewhere. A series of courses on urban design, real estate, the politics of development, and urban governance enhance the core curriculum of the professionally-accredited M.U.P. program. Additional courses address innovative approaches to urban development, contemporary urban form, community-based design, globalization and development, and the adaptive redesign of suburban contexts, in addition to enduring topics such as housing, public space, cultural landscapes, and environmental planning. Students seeking to specialize in Urban Development and Urban Design apply at the end of their first year of study; admission into the concentration is based on performance in the first year of study and demonstration of spatial literacy, numeric competency, skills in graphic communication, and understanding of complex development processes.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Courses (45 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| URBP 553 | Urban Governance. | 3 |
Urban Governance. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Critical perspectives on the governance of contemporary cities and urban regions, with a focus on North America. The relationship between planners and other important local governance actors, including municipal governments, the realestate industry, and community groups. The role of planning and planners in challenging or perpetuating urban social, political, economic, and environmental inequities. | ||
| URBP 609 | Visual Communication 1. | 1 |
Visual Communication 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Techniques used for visual communication in planning practice, including a basic introduction to software. | ||
| URBP 610 | Visual Communication 2. | 1 |
Visual Communication 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Refinement of techniques used for visual communication in planning practice, including basic use of software. | ||
| URBP 611 | Data Visualization for Planning. | 1 |
Data Visualization for Planning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to data visualization for planning, using computer applications. | ||
| URBP 612 | History and Theory of Planning. | 3 |
History and Theory of Planning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| URBP 622 | Planning Studio 1. | 6 |
Planning Studio 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| URBP 623 | Planning Studio 2. | 6 |
Planning Studio 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| URBP 624 | Planning Studio 3. | 6 |
Planning Studio 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| URBP 628 | Practical Experience. | 0 |
Practical Experience. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An internship related to the practice of urban planning is required. The practical experience must be of at least 360 hours' 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. | ||
| URBP 630 | Supervised Research Project 1. | 3 |
Supervised Research Project 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Supervised research project, providing foundations to focus on a particular area of enquiry in planning. | ||
| URBP 631 | Supervised Research Project 2. | 3 |
Supervised Research Project 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Continuation of the requirements for the Supervised Research Project. | ||
| URBP 632 | Supervised Research Project 3. | 6 |
Supervised Research Project 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Continuation of the requirements for the Supervised Research Project. | ||
| URBP 635 | Planning Law. | 3 |
Planning Law. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| URBP 640 | Introduction to Planning Statistics. | 1 |
Introduction to Planning Statistics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics, focusing on building confidence and intuition in using and manipulating quantitative information. Correlation, t-tests, chi-squared tests, and bivariate regression. | ||
| URBP 641 | Reading the Urban Landscape . | 1 |
Reading the Urban Landscape . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An overview of selected passive techniques that may be used to assess the congruence between urban environments and people as they go about their daily activities. These techniques include: (1) observing physical traces, (2) observing behaviour, (3) cognitive mapping and wayfinding, and (4) the assessment of the overall quality of urban environments. | ||
| URBP 642 | Introduction to Planning Data. | 1 |
Introduction to Planning Data. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Techniques of exploratory data analysis. Data cleaning and transformation. Visualization techniques. Census data and the methods most commonly used to analyze them. Principles of reproducible research. | ||
Complementary Courses (15 credits)
Group A
9-15 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| URBP 505 | Geographic Information Systems. | 3 |
Geographic Information Systems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to fundamental geographic information system (GIS) concepts and a range of GIS applications in urban and regional planning. | ||
| URBP 555 | Real Estate and Planning. | 3 |
Real Estate and Planning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Basic concepts of real estate and property rights and how these are valued. The specificities of property markets and their segmentation. The paradox of realestate uniqueness. Actors and processes of realestate development and investment in practical terms (proforma analysis, investment analysis, leases and property management) and broader terms (institutional investors, financialization). Segmentation of development processes among local, supralocal and international actors, including consultants. Roles of the planner and planning regulations; how these affect property values and property development with specific reference to Québec planning legislation and powers. Market evaluation and analysis of the development potential of specific sites. | ||
| URBP 557 | Rethinking Zoning. | 3 |
Rethinking Zoning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Zoning and land use planning, and their evolution within social, legal, economic and environmental contexts. The legacy, limitations and potential of zoning. The competing interests in planning of preserving neighbourhood character and accommodating growth. Zoning as a strategic point of negotiation between real estate capital and public goods. The use of inclusionary zoning and the up-zoning of low-density residential neighbourhoods to address affordable housing crises in Canadian and American cities. The practice, politics and potential of zoning towards housing justice. | ||
| URBP 604 | Urban Design Seminar. | 3 |
Urban Design Seminar. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Concepts and methods used in contemporary urban design: historical influences, epistemological debates, practical techniques, and philosophical concerns. | ||
| URBP 620 | Transport Economics. | 4 |
Transport Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Economic and financial aspects of urban transport policies and planning. Introduction to impact assessment techniques for major transport projects and policies; discussion of political debates concerning transport financing. | ||
| URBP 629 | Planning Theory and Practice in a Globalizing World. | 3 |
Planning Theory and Practice in a Globalizing World. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Planning theory, urban policy and planning practices in comparative perspective Topics covered include: global and local processes shaping cities and urban challenges worldwide; contemporary planning theories, including those from the Global South; and the impacts of planning and governance on urban form, economic growth, ecological balance, and equity, among other urban challenges. | ||
| URBP 651 | Redesigning Suburban Space. | 3 |
Redesigning Suburban Space. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| URBP 656 | Urban Innovation and Creativity. | 3 |
Urban Innovation and Creativity. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
Group B (0-6 credits)
0-6 credits from the following or other 500 or 600 level courses (see note below):
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ARCH 515 | Sustainable Design. | 3 |
Sustainable Design. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| GEOG 525 | Asian Cities in the 21st Century. | 3 |
Asian Cities in the 21st Century. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| URBP 501 | Principles and Practice 1. | 2 |
Principles and Practice 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| URBP 503 | Public Transport: Planning and Operations. | 3 |
Public Transport: Planning and Operations. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Overview of topics in planning and operations for public transport with special emphasis on best-practice strategies of contemporary urban systems. | ||
| URBP 504 | Planning for Active Transportation. | 3 |
Planning for Active Transportation. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| URBP 506 | Environmental Policy and Planning. | 3 |
Environmental Policy and Planning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Analytical and institutional approaches for understanding and addressing environmental issues at various scales; characteristics of environmental issues, science-policy-politics interactions relating to the environment, and implications for policy; sustainability, and the need for and challenges associated with interdisciplinary perspectives; externalities and their regulation; public goods; risk perception and implications; the political-institutional context and policy instruments; cost-benefit analysis; multiple-criteria decision-making approaches; multidimensional life-cycle analysis; policy implementation issues; conflict resolution; case studies. | ||
| URBP 514 | Community Design Workshop. | 3 |
Community Design Workshop. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Context-focused community-based architectural projects undertaken in collaboration with external partners. Exploration of challenges, needs, and opportunities in architectural and urban-design interventions on real sites through interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration. | ||
| URBP 530 | Urban Infrastructure and Services in International Context . | 3 |
Urban Infrastructure and Services in International Context . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Issues of practical and theoretical importance in relation to urban infrastructure and services in the international context: science and technology, political economy, policy analysis, policy implementation, public finance, and institutions and governance. | ||
| URBP 541 | Selected Topics in Planning. | 1 |
Selected Topics in Planning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Methods and techniques pertinent to contemporary practice in urban planning. | ||
| URBP 542 | Selected Topics in Visual Analysis. | 1 |
Selected Topics in Visual Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Methods and techniques of visual analysis pertinent to contemporary practice in urban planning. | ||
| URBP 543 | Special Topics. | 3 |
Special Topics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Special topics related to Urban Planning will be presented by staff and visiting lecturers. | ||
| URBP 556 | Urban Economy: A Spatial Perspective. | 3 |
Urban Economy: A Spatial Perspective. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| URBP 607 | Reading Course: Urban Planning. | 3 |
Reading Course: Urban Planning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The Reading Course offers an opportunity to explore, under the supervision of a staff member, subject areas relevant to urban planning. | ||
| URBP 616 | Selected Topics 1. | 3 |
Selected Topics 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Special topics related to Urban Planning will be presented by staff and visiting lecturers. | ||
| URBP 617 | Selected Topics 2. | 3 |
Selected Topics 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Special topics related to Urban Planning will be presented by staff and visiting lecturers. | ||
| URBP 618 | Selected Topics 3. | 3 |
Selected Topics 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Special topics related to Urban Planning will be presented by staff and visiting lecturers. | ||
| URBP 619 | Land Use and Transport Planning. | 4 |
Land Use and Transport Planning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Analysis of transport and land use interactions in urban areas. Study of the impacts of transport systems on travel behaviour, residential and work location decisions, and urban form; discussion of implications for planning practice. | ||
| URBP 625 | Principles and Practice 2. | 2 |
Principles and Practice 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| URBP 626 | Principles and Practice 3. | 2 |
Principles and Practice 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| URBP 643 | Selected Geographic Information Systems Applications . | 1 |
Selected Geographic Information Systems Applications . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected applications in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) related to urban planning. | ||
| URBP 644 | Multivariate Statistics. | 1 |
Multivariate Statistics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Methods in multivariate analysis, with an emphasis on multiple linear regression models. ANOVA (analysis of variance). Reading and analyzing multiple linear regression analysis results. Designing and running multiple linear regression models for hypothesis testing. Diagnostic tests and data clean up. | ||
| URBP 645 | Social Research Methods 1. | 1 |
Social Research Methods 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected social research techniques as applied in urban planning, including: the art and craft of interviewing; surveys and questionnaires; ethnography, participant observation and narrative analysis; participatory techniques. | ||
| URBP 646 | Social Research Methods 2. | 1 |
Social Research Methods 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected social research techniques as applied in urban planning, including: the art and craft of interviewing; surveys and questionnaires; ethnography, participant observation and narrative analysis; participatory techniques. | ||
| URBP 647 | Selected Methods in Planning 1. | 1 |
Selected Methods in Planning 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Special topics related to urban planning methods will be presented by staff and visiting lecturers. | ||
| URBP 648 | Selected Methods in Planning 2 . | 1 |
Selected Methods in Planning 2 . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Special topics related to urban planning methods will be presented by staff and visiting lecturers. | ||
| URBP 649 | Visual and Spatial Methods . | 1 |
Visual and Spatial Methods . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Topics related to visual and spatial methods in urban planning will be presented by staff and visiting lecturers. | ||
Students may also take courses at the 500 or 600 level in any academic unit at McGill or at another Montreal university, subject to the approval of the School.