Urban Wellness Minor
Overview
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 is available to students in eligible degree programs and requires 18 senior-level credits, including a minimum of 6 credits at the 300- or 400-level. To maintain the interdisciplinary nature of the minor, no more than 2 courses from a single discipline, 1 COSL course, and 3 URBW courses may be applied toward the minor.
| 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 | |
| Gender, Age and Culture | ||
| Introduction to Indigenous Peoples in Canada | ||
or INDG 250 | Introduction to Indigenous Peoples in Canada | |
| Race, Ethnicity, and Identity in the Modern World | ||
| The Economics of Gender | ||
| Choose 9 credits from the following: | 9 | |
| Plagues, Pandemics, and People | ||
| Indigeneity in Canada | ||
| The Anthropology of Space and Place | ||
| Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Health and Healing | ||
| Humans, Climate and Culture | ||
| Community Service Learning: Community Engagement in Practice | ||
| Community Service Learning: Serving Local Community | ||
| Urban Economics | ||
| Economics of Public Expenditure | ||
| Economics of Project Evaluation | ||
| Economics of the Environment | ||
| Introduction to the Social Determinants of Health | ||
| Climate Change and Health | ||
| Wicked Problems in Health: Developing Healthy Communities | ||
| Introduction to Public Administration | ||
| Environmental Policy and Politics | ||
| Fundamentals of Policy Analysis | ||
| Municipal Politics and Local Governance | ||
| Social Inequality | ||
| Topics in Urban Wellness | ||
| Total Credits | 18 | |
Program Learning Outcomes
- Describe the functions and services of contemporary cities.
- Discuss the interconnectedness and simultaneity of urban crises and their consequences.
- Identify how actors’ biases and positions shape understandings of and experiences within systems and institutions.
- Debate over different frameworks and approaches to improving urban wellness and reflect on their strengths and limitations.
- Examine and strengthen the skills they might mobilize to improve urban wellness in their communities.
- Assess the political, institutional, and social barriers and opportunities to change in municipal and urban settings.