Modeling the city

Currently enrolling for May 2026. Please email [email protected] if interested.

!!UPDATE March 12th: Now offered as in person & virtual options and for credit

Are you curious about how modelling can help improve quality of life for city residents? In Summer 2026, the Modelling the City (PLAN 146/606) course will explore the use of models to understand urban processes and their impacts on cities. In this 12-week course, students will use open-source modelling tools in a hands-on learning environment to gain familiarity with spatial (GIS) modelling approaches, critically assess existing models, and draw practical insights out of model results.

SMART is partnering with the University of Waterloo (UW) to offer Modelling the City. UW will host an in-person class for local students, and the SMART Training Platform will offer an online version for students across Canada (including UW students on co-op/internship). Non-UW students in Ontario can enrol through the University’s consortium agreements for credit, and postsecondary, post-doc, or other students across Canada can take the online course as a non-credit option. The in-person course includes a two-hour lecture and one-hour lab. The online course includes weekly asynchronous lectures along with synchronous online learning

For non-degree or consortium options, please email [email protected].

Course Description:

Cities are complex, with interacting housing, transportation, ecological, and health systems, and models help researchers make sense of data and plan for desired systems change. Modelling the City explores how urban analysts and forecasters use abstract and applied modelling and simulation to understand economic, environmental, and social processes in cities.

The course covers the drivers and consequences of urban land-use change, the roles/limits of models, an overview of current methodological approaches, and an examination of urban simulation models as used in research contexts. Students will use open-source modelling tools in a hands-on learning environment to gain familiarity with spatial (GIS) modeling approaches, critically assess existing models, and draw practical insights out of model results. C

Credit and Certificate options are available. Open to undergraduates, masters, PhD, and post-doctoral students.

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites other than upper-division or graduate standing. However, students are expected to have a facility with basic mathematics and introductory statistics. No programming background is required.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have demonstrated the ability to:

• Critically review and interpret an urban simulation model, whether presented in a report or scholarly article.
• Demonstrate understanding of a model’s input data requirements; how model outputs can support planning and policy analysis; the model’s spatial, temporal, and human scales of operation; the disciplinary scope of the model; and the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of the modelling technique used.
• Analyze applications of urban simulation models for particular urban case studies.
• Demonstrate an understanding of what empirical modeling techniques can be applied to agiven data set.
• Identify appropriate urban simulation techniques for particular research questions and policy analysis scenarios..

How to Register:

To register for the Modeling the City course please email [email protected] before April 16th 2026 and include the following:

• Please include “Modeling the City course registration” in the subject header.
• Please include your supervisor or advisor in your email.