Urban Environments

While many in the city-build­ing pro­fes­sions often focus on the phys­i­cal form of urban areas, the built envi­ron­ment can be seen as a phys­i­cal man­i­fes­ta­tion of a vari­ety of inter­con­nect­ed sys­tems. A range of sys­tems that influ­ence how cities devel­op, includ­ing the nat­ur­al, polit­i­cal, eco­nom­ic and social sys­tems will be dis­cussed. Over time, these sys­tems have had vary­ing lev­els of influ­ence on the built form of the city. These inter­con­nec­tions and ebbs and flows of influ­ence will be inves­ti­gat­ed using a com­bi­na­tion of the­o­ry, his­to­ry and case study analy­sis. A walk­ing site tour in Edmon­ton will be includ­ed to ana­lyze how these inter­re­lat­ed sys­tems have influ­enced, and were influ­enced by the phys­i­cal form of that urban area. Par­tic­i­pants will walk away with a more com­pre­hen­sive under­stand­ing of city devel­op­ment and a new under­stand­ing of the inter­con­nec­tions of sys­tems in Cana­di­an cities today.