Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change
Cities, Regions, Planning
BESAt a Glance
Offered by
Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change
Offered at
Keele Campus
Degrees offered
BES
Ways to study
Full-Time, Part-Time
Entry
- Fall - Yes (first and upper year)
- Winter - Yes (first and upper year)
- Summer - Yes (first and upper year)
Applied Learning Opportunities
- Co-op
- Internship
- Placement
- Project-based learning
OUAC Code
- YHV (BES)
About the Program
We live in an urban world. Cities and city-regions around the globe face pressing social and environmental challenges linked to climate change, emerging infectious disease, global migration, and deepening social inequalities and racial divides. But cities are also the places where collective solutions to these problems can be found and new ways of life are initiated. In Cities, Regions, Planning, you learn to apply inclusive and sustainable planning interventions, consulting skills, governance procedures and activist tools to manage urban growth (and decline), provide infrastructure, integrate newcomers, and mitigate environmental impacts.
The Cities, Regions, Planning program examines how cities and regions may be planned in more just and sustainable ways through three thematic concentrations:
- Urban Worlds - engages with different ways of being in cities around the planet to consider how urban residents live, work and play in a rapidly changing global geography of interconnected urban places.
- Urban Planning and Politics - deals with the institutions, actors, struggles and processes that help create and govern communities, cities, regions, and urban networks.
- Urban Political Ecology - focuses on the role of nature and environment in the process of urbanization, urban form and urban life.
The Cities, Regions, Planning program examines how cities and regions may be planned and governed in more just and sustainable ways through three thematic concentrations:
- Urban Worlds - engages with different ways of being in cities around the planet to consider how urban residents live, work and play in a rapidly changing global geography of interconnected urban places.
- Urban Planning and Politics - deals with the institutions, actors, struggles and processes that help create and govern communities, cities, regions, and urban networks.
- Urban Political Ecology - focuses on the role of nature and environment in the process of urbanization, urban form and urban life.
Taught by internationally recognized urban scholars and planning practitioners, students acquire the foundational knowledge, critical thinking and technical skills to create tangible change in urban, suburban and regional environments. Students engage with communities in Toronto, across Canada and abroad gaining hands-on experiences of processes of urban transformations, community-based initiatives and design and policy challenges.
Topics of study include:
- Processes of urbanization and city life
- The regional composition of the global economy
- Planning theory and practice
- Urban and regional planning
- Urban infrastructures and mobility
- Urban health and pandemic preparedness
- Suburbanization, growth control and conservation
- Urban analytics and geomatics
- Urban wildlife and habitats
- Urban risk and resilience
- Public participation in planning and governance
- Urban inequalities, gentrification and segregation
- Urban ecologies
- Communities and urban life
This program is supported by the at York University, a leading interdisciplinary centre that facilitates critical and collaborative research and provides new knowledge and innovative approaches to understanding and addressing the complexity of the urban arena.
Requirements
BES
Requirements for admission:
To gain admission to this program, your academic average should be in the low-to-mid 70s.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of 68%.
BES
Requirements for admission:
To gain admission to this program, your academic average should be in the low-to-mid 70s.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of 68%.
BES
Requirements for admission:
- A maximum of 30 possible transferable credits may be granted for successful completion of the Baccalauréat Général. Please click , then click “Transfer Credit Requirements” for details.
BES
Requirements for admission:
- Minimum overall result of “Bien/Buena/Bueno/Good” on all academic courses.
- Some programs require a higher GPA.
BES
Requirements for admission:
- CAPE 2-unit courses, with results of 3 or better, are eligible for transfer credit, up to a maximum of 18 credits. Please click , then click “Transfer Credit Requirements” for details.
BES
Requirements for admission:
- Extra courses will be assessed for transfer credit. Applicants with the DEC may be awarded up to one full year of transfer credit.
To gain admission to this program, your academic average should be in the low-to-mid 70s.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of 68%.
BES
Requirements for admission:
BES
Requirements for admission:
BES
Requirements for admission:
- GCE A2 examinations with results of "C" or better, are eligible for transfer credit, up to a maximum of 18 credits. Please click , then click “Transfer Credit Requirements” for details.
To gain admission to this program, minimum average of C is required.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of C.
The overall average required for admission is determined each year on a program specific basis. Some programs have limited enrolment. Admission is not guaranteed, and all requirements are subject to change.
BES
Requirements for admission:
BES
Requirements for admission:
- IB Diploma with passes in six subjects: three passes at the Standard-level and three passes at the Higher-level, or two passes at the Standard-level and four passes at the Higher-level
- Transfer credit is granted for IB courses with Higher-level final grades of 5 or better, to a maximum of 30 credits. Please click , then click “Transfer Credit Requirements” for details.
To gain admission to this program, minimum IB diploma point scores of 28 is required.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires minimum IB diploma point scores of 28.
The overall average required for admission is determined each year on a program specific basis. Some programs have limited enrolment. Admission is not guaranteed, and all requirements are subject to change.
BES
Requirements for admission:
- All-India Senior School Certificate (AISSCE)
- Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC)
- Indian School Certificate (ISC)
- Intermediate Examination Certificate
- Pre-University Examination Certificate
BES
Requirements for admission:
To gain admission to this program, your academic average should be in the low-to-mid 70s.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of 68%.
BES
Requirements for admission:
To gain admission to this program, your academic average should be in the low-to-mid 70s.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of 68%.
BES
Requirements for admission:
To gain admission to this program, your academic average should be in the low-to-mid 70s.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of 68%.
BES
Requirements for admission:
To gain admission to this program, your academic average should be in the low-to-mid 70s.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of 68%.
BES
Requirements for admission:
To gain admission to this program, your academic average should be in the low-to-mid 70s.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of 68%.
BES
Requirements for admission:
To gain admission to this program, your academic average should be in the low-to-mid 70s.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of 68%.
BES
Requirements for admission:
To gain admission to this program, your academic average should be in the low-to-mid 70s.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of 68%.
OUAC code YHV
BES
Requirements for admission:
BES
To be considered a mature student, you must:
be at least 21 years old by the end of the calendar year of admission to the University;
have been out of full-time high school studies for at least two years; and
have attempted less than one full year of studies at an accredited college or university.
BES
Requirements for admission:
BES
Requirements for admission:
To gain admission to this program, your academic average should be in the low-to-mid 70s.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of 68%.
BES
Requirements for admission:
To gain admission to this program, your academic average should be in the low-to-mid 70s.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of 68%.
BES
Requirements for admission:
To gain admission to this program, your academic average should be in the low-to-mid 70s.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of 68%.
BES
Requirements for admission:
BES
Requirements for admission:
- AP College Board examinations are eligible for transfer credit, for results of 4 or 5, up to a maximum of 30 credits. Please click , then click “Transfer Credit Requirements” for details.
BES
Requirements for admission:
BES
Requirements for admission:
To gain admission to this program, your academic average should be in the low-to-mid 70s.Maintaining your offer of admission to this program requires a final academic average of 68%.
Start Your Application
- Winter 2027 (January) entry - November 18, 2026
- Summer 2027 (May) entry - April 1, 2027
- Fall 2027 (September) entry - January 15, 2027
- Winter 2027 (January) entry - November 18, 2026
- Summer 2027 (May) entry - April 1, 2027
- Fall 2027 (September) entry - March 24, 2027
- Winter 2027 (January) entry - November 18, 2026
- Summer 2027 (May) entry - April 1, 2027
- Fall 2027 (September) entry - March 24, 2027
- Winter 2027 (January) entry - November 18, 2026
- Summer 2027 (May) entry - April 1, 2027
- Fall 2027 (September) entry - March 24, 2027
Applied Learning Opportunities
Immersive fieldtrips in Canada for first-hand analysis of historic, current, and future city development projects. These on-location courses expand students classroom learning into real world challenges - bringing theory into practice.
Career exploration through work placements and networking opportunities with current professionals and partner organizations.
Co-op and work placements for degree credit.
Capstone courses and senior honours thesis available in this program.
Study Abroad at Las Nubes EcoCampus in Costa Rica.
Recent grad Nawshin chats with us about her experience with the Career Centre and how she secured a full-time role within two months of graduating.
Potential Career Paths
- Urban, Social, Economic, Cultural or Transportation Planner
- Policy Advisor and Consultant
- LEED Technical Coordinator
- Transit Supervisor or Manager
- Permits and Approvals Coordinator
- Environmental Manager
- Planning and Space Assessor
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