Learn about the landscapes, places, and regions in which we live: our ‘human world’. Through an integrated study of human-nature interactions and major demographic, cultural, socio-economic, political, and technological developments, students will learn about the spatial processes shaping the human geography of the world today. In doing so, they will investigate a variety of current issues on topics like globalization, migration, climate change, environmental sustainability, economic development, and geopolitics. Students will also learn and apply a variety of foundational cartographic, qualitative, and quantitative techniques commonly used in human geography.

Level: UG

Attribute: ASTR

Discover the dynamic forces that continually shape our planet through an integrated study of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. Students will explore internal and external processes that influence Earth’s weather and climate patterns, landforms, and ecosystems. Emphasis is placed on understanding Earth as an interconnected system, shaped by both natural forces and human activity. In doing so, they will investigate a variety of current issues on topics like climate change, environmental sustainability, natural resources, and natural disasters. Students will also learn and apply a variety of foundational cartographic, qualitative, and quantitative techniques commonly used in physical geography.

Level: UG

Credit Exclusion: GEOG 1110,GEOG 1120

Attributes: ASTR, QUAN

Explore the borderland region of British Columbia: where North America meets the Pacific Rim, where land meets the sea, where the colonial past meets the post-colonial present, and where a history of resource extraction meets a high tech and service industry future. In this course students will learn about British Columbia’s natural and human landscapes, examining how environmental, cultural, socio-economic, and political processes have shaped the characteristics of this region. In doing so, they will investigate a variety of current issues on topics such as resource management, climate change and environmental sustainability, urban and rural development, and Indigenization. Note: This is a Pathway Level 3 course option.

Level: UG

Attribute: ASTR

Climate change strategies arguably involve the most pressing socio-economic, techno-scientific, and geo-political challenges of our times. Climate change strategies often include mitigation (greenhouse gas reduction) and adaptation (climate impacts planning) approaches. In this course, students will critically evaluate and devise case studies, policy reviews, projects or labs focused on climate-related strategies employed by communities — including urban, rural, and Indigenous. How climate strategies are unfolding in diverse communities in Canada and beyond will be explored through in-class or desktop research and local fieldwork.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): One of GEOG 1101 or GEOG 1102 or ARTS 1150.

Attribute: ASTR

From volcanic and mountainous landscapes, through coasts and wetlands, to the subterranean realm of caves, the Earth’s natural environments are constantly changing. Building on foundational Earth science concepts, students will explore the dynamic processes shaping these diverse and wondrous landscapes. They will also investigate a variety of human interactions with these landscapes, with particular attention to environmental issues such as climate change and resource depletion. Students will learn through classroom lessons, hands-on labs, and field trips, and apply a variety of cartographic, qualitative, and quantitative techniques commonly used in physical geography. Special emphasis will be placed on collecting and analyzing environmental data from various local landscapes.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 9 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher, including GEOG 1102 or any course in BIOL, CHEM, HORT, MATH, PHYS, or STAT

Attributes: ASTR, QUAN

Enhance your understanding of the country of Canada, a dynamic place made, and remade, by successive layers of development over the sweep of natural and human history. In this course students will learn about Canada’s natural and human environments, examining how environmental, cultural, socio-economic, and political processes have shaped the characteristics of Canada as a whole, and of distinctive regions within it. In doing so, they will investigate a variety of current issues on topics such as natural hazards, climate change and environmental sustainability, Indigenization, and Canada’s place in a changing world.

Level: UG

Attribute: ASTR

The reemergence of East Asia as a powerful region on the world stage has been one of the most significant developments of our time. Yet this region also faces new challenges that threaten to disrupt its future progress. In this course students will learn about the natural and human environments of East Asia, with particular attention to China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and Taiwan. They will examine how environmental, cultural, socio-economic, and political processes have shaped the characteristics of East Asia as a whole, and of distinctive regions within it. In doing so, they will investigate a variety of current issues on topics such as climate change and environmental sustainability, resource conflicts, nationalism, globalization, demographics, and urbanization in city-regions such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, and Taipei.

Level: UG

Attribute: ASTR

Undergoing rapid transformation, the fascinating South Asia region is distinguished by its remarkable natural and human diversity. In this course, students will learn about the natural and human environments of South Asia, with particular attention to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. They will examine how environmental, cultural, socio-economic, and political processes have shaped the characteristics of South Asia as a whole, and of distinctive regions within it. In doing so, they will investigate a variety of current issues on topics such as climate changes and environmental sustainability, resource conflicts, nationalism, globalization, gender relations, and urban development.

Level: UG

Attribute: ASTR

In the late-2000s the global population passed a significant milestone: the point where most people live in cities rather than rural settlements. In this course, students will learn how this happened, investigating the process of urbanization as it has unfolded around the world over the course of human history. They will examine changing relationships between cities and their natural environmental settings, and how the characteristics of cities have been influenced by technological innovations, economic transformations, demographic trends, and political institutions. They will consider emerging global developments and their implications for the cities of the future. Students will apply the concepts of urban geography to understand the features of city-regions around the world and of metropolitan Vancouver in particular.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 9 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher

Attribute: ASTR

Maps powerfully shape the way we see and navigate the world, be they traditional paper maps or those produced using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Integrating computer hardware and software systems, GIS store, manage, analyze, generate, and display spatial and their associated non-spatial data. Employing a GIS, students will learn essential cartographic skills, including map making, and map presentation, interpretation and evaluation. Students will also explore how these skills are applied in various research and employment contexts such as land use planning, natural resource and hazard management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, demographic analysis, law enforcement, design, and marketing.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 9 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher

Attributes: ASTR, QUAN

In doing field research we move beyond the classroom, lab, or archive to directly collect primary data in the outside world. These skills are integral to geographic research, engaged citizenship, and employment in a wide variety of careers. In this course, students will learn how to use their own senses and specialized technology to ethically and effectively collect qualitative, quantitative, and spatial data about natural and human environments. Students will also learn how to document, organize, and summarize the primary data they have collected. While the course has an in-class instructional component, the curriculum emphasizes hands-on, applied fieldwork at various places on or near the KPU campuses. Note: Students will need a mobile device for field photography and online geovisualization/geolocation applications.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 9 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher

Attributes: ASTR, QUAN

Data does not ‘speak for itself’: it is only through analysis, interpretation, and communication that pieces of data become useful information. In this course, students will learn these critical data translation skills, especially important in an age of data proliferation, use, and abuse. Such skills are essential to geographic research, engaged citizenship, and employment in a wide variety of careers. Students will learn how to ethically and effectively locate, select, access, and use relevant secondary data on natural and human environments. While doing so, they will learn how to apply foundational methods and specialized technology to analyze and interpret qualitative and quantitative geographic data. Students will also learn how to effectively communicate their findings in a variety of textual, oral, visual, numerical, and graphical formats.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 9 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher

Attributes: ASTR, QUAN

To engage with the Earth’s natural environment in an informed way we must understand the complex interactions among land, air, water, and life. In this advanced study of natural environments, students will examine these relationships, focusing on how Earth processes come together in distinctive biogeoclimatic zones. In doing so, students will explore the often-dramatic ways in which the natural environment is shaped by disturbances, such as fires, soil erosion, climate change, and floods, generated by natural processes as well as by human activities. Students will consider how this knowledge is applied in various fields such as resource management and environmental protection. They will learn through classroom lessons, hands-on labs, and field trips, and apply a variety of intensive cartographic, qualitative, and quantitative techniques commonly used in physical geography.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 18 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher, including GEOG 2102 or any course in BIOL, CHEM, HORT, MATH, PHYS, or STAT at the 2000 level or higher

Attribute: QUAN

Globalization, the increasing interconnectedness among people and places around the world, has had a profound impact on human society. In this course, students will critically examine the location and distribution of economic activities in the context of globalization, with particular emphasis on economic patterns, processes, and issues at the urban scale. They will survey the distribution of economic activities around the world and examine processes of globalization and uneven economic development. They will analyze how these economic processes are rooted in social, cultural and political realities, and shaped by local, national, regional and global level institutions. Students will critically evaluate relationships among urban economic development and urban land use, transportation infrastructure, climate change, and environmental sustainability.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 18 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher

With their high population size, density, and diversity, cities are living laboratories of social interaction, conflict, negotiation, and cooperation. In this course students will study the social geography of cities, exploring the connections between urban spaces and various facets of social identity. They will examine how and why particular phenomena become defined as urban problems and evaluate proposed solutions to them. In doing so, students will engage with a range of perspectives on contemporary urban issues such as accessibility and mobility, housing affordability, gentrification, residential segregation, crime, and terrorism. They will conduct research that addresses the social geography of metropolitan Vancouver.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 18 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher

Canadian communities are diverse, and their spatial planning involves understanding the past and present to envision and shape possible futures. In this course students will learn about community planning and governance, with particular attention to Canadian urban and regional planning, including that with Indigenous communities. Students will critically assess contemporary planning theory and practice as applied to areas such as public participation, land use, mobility, the environment and climate change, culture and society, economic development, and infrastructure provisions. They will conduct in-depth research of a planning/governance issue or development initiative in the local region.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 18 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher

Some natural environmental processes, such as earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, and forest fires can become dangerous for humans and human infrastructure if they happen in populated areas. We define them as hazards only when they pose a threat to human interests and disasters when their impact is significant in either casualties, economic impacts, or both. Climate change has led to a significant increase in some of these events, such as wildfires, hurricanes, or floods. Students will examine the natural environmental processes behind these hazards, their potential impacts on human interests, and their management and mitigation. They will look at historical and recent events and contrast their impacts between rich and poor countries and regions.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 18 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher

Given climate change and other pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges, using environmental resources responsibly is of the utmost importance. In this course, students will examine the principles and practices of environmental resource management. They will explore how resources are conceptualized and assess the effectiveness of resource management systems in addressing environmental issues, preserving ecological capital and biodiversity, and achieving sustainability and socioeconomic goals. They will critically analyze the character, roles and interactions among various actors involved in environmental resource management. Students will, in examining these issues, pay particular attention to urban-scale environmental and resource management systems and conduct research focused on the metropolitan Vancouver region.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 18 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher

Data gathering, processing, analysis and evaluation remain critical skills for studying and understanding the important socioeconomic, environmental, and technological issues and problems facing humanity. This course will equip students with the tools and techniques to formulate and evaluate geographical and environmental research. Students will learn how to devise a clear research question or line of inquiry; undertake a social science or scientific literature review; propose an ethical research study design/plan; and design and present a research proposal for peer review and constructive critique/evaluation.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 45 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher

Planning for the future requires us to be forward thinking: to take stock of current conditions, identify trends, project future directions, and develop scenarios and strategies to achieve our goals. In this course, students will explore significant political, cultural, socioeconomic, technological, and environmental developments shaping places and communities at varying scales, from the local to the global. They will critically examine a variety of place- and community-oriented future scenarios and consider how these are deployed for diverse planning and sociopolitical purposes. Students will learn a variety of forecasting and scenario-building methods, apply these to simulate possible futures for a select place/community, and formulate plans based on these projections.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 45 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher

We hear about climate change everywhere these days, and yet the term and the wide-reaching impacts of climate change are often not fully understood and appreciated by the general public. This course aims to change this by exploring the science of climate change, by investigating the impacts of climate change, and by examining ways to mitigate and adapt to these impacts. Climate change is a global and local concern, and students will look at examples from around the world, but also at examples from around Canada, British Columbia, and metropolitan Vancouver.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 45 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology is a powerful analytical tool used in a variety of fields to research and solve problems. In this course, students will further their knowledge of GIS by analyzing data and case studies in fields such as environmental science, resource management, urban planning, social science, criminology and medicine. In doing so, students will explore the techniques, methods and processes involved in the use and management of GIS technology in research applications.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 45 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher, including GEOG 2400 or CRIM 3115

We live in an ever-changing world that is being constantly shaped by new environmental, cultural, socioeconomic, and political developments. In this course, students will explore a unique, cutting-edge, geographic topic selected and taught by the instructor based on their professional expertise and interest. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of this topic through a variety of activities such as field trips, guest lectures, literature reviews, and in-class discussions. Students will also conduct research on this topic and present their findings in forms such as written reports, posters, and oral presentations. Note: The topic of study will be established in advance by the department. Please check with the department for proposed offerings. Students may take this course multiple times for further credit on different topics.

Level: UG

Prerequisite(s): 45 credits from courses at the 1100 level or higher