For Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science

The minor in urban wellness provides students with the knowledge and skills to understand the different social and economic realities of urban settings, identify the contemporary challenges and opportunities urban residents face, and reflect on policy and governance interventions to manage these issues. The minor in urban wellness is a multi- and interdisciplinary program that includes courses in urban wellness, political science, anthropology, and economics, as well as interdisciplinary courses. It offers a systemic perspective on how to analyze compound urban crises and other urban issues and examine collective ways to improve the well-being of urban dwellers. By challenging traditional dichotomies that oppose urban settings to rural areas, nature to the built environment, and seeing cities as a key point where these worlds meet, the minor will provide a unique perspective on urban issues compared to other academic programs and disciplines.

The Urban Wellness Minor requires 18 senior-level credits with a minimum of six credits at the 300 or 400 level. To ensure the interdisciplinarity of the program, students can take a maximum of two courses from within one discipline, one COSL, or three URBW courses. 

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Minor Requirements
URBW 289	Urban Crises and Wellness	3
URBW 490	Urban Wellness: A Capstone Seminar	3
Choose 3 credits from the following:		3
ANTH 210	Gender, Age and Culture
ANTH 250	Introduction to Indigenous Peoples in Canada
ANTH 251	Race, Ethnicity, and Identity in the Modern World
ECON 220	The Economics of Gender
Choose 9 credits from the following:		9
ANTH 322	Plagues, Pandemics, and People
ANTH 340	Indigeneity in Canada
ANTH 370	The Anthropology of Space and Place
ANTH 393	Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Health and Healing
ANTH 410	Humans, Climate and Culture
COSL 300	Community Service Learning: Building Local Community
COSL 302	Community Service Learning: Serving Local Community
ECON 335	Urban Economics
ECON 350	Economics of Public Expenditure
ECON 355	Economics of Project Evaluation
ECON 369	Economics of the Environment
INTD 205	Introduction to the Social Determinants of Health
INTD 215	Climate Change and Health
INTD 220	Wicked Problems in Health: Developing Healthy Communities
POLS 321	Introduction to Public Administration
POLS 343	Environmental Policy and Politics
POLS 344	Fundamentals of Policy Analysis
POLS 351	Municipal Politics and Local Governance
SOCI 261	Social Inequality
URBW 497	Topics in Urban Wellness
Total Credits		18

Urban Wellness Program Learning Outcomes

1. Describe the functions and services of contemporary cities.
2. Discuss the interconnectedness and simultaneity of urban crises and their consequences.
3. Identify how actors’ biases and positions shape understandings of and experiences within systems and institutions.
4. Debate over different frameworks and approaches to improving urban wellness and reflect on their strengths and limitations.
5. Examine and strengthen the skills they might mobilize to improve urban wellness in their communities.
6. Assess the political, institutional, and social barriers and opportunities to change in municipal and urban settings.