Urban Geography (GEOG2104)

Course overview

This course provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary cities. Beginning with the origins and foundations of cities, the course proceeds to cover spatial structure, location theory, and economic and cultural geographies within cities. The course is taught from a global perspective, drawing examples from Australia in complement to international cities. A variety of processes are introduced, including urbanisation, suburbanisation, counterurbanisation, industrialisation, deindustrialisation, clustering, agglomeration, and more. Students from all backgrounds welcome, though foundational coursework in Geography, Planning, or Sociology is helpful.

For the first time in human history, the proportion of the Earth’s population living in cities has surpassed 50%. The implications of this ‘global urbanisation’ are manifold: increased reliance on distant sources of energy and raw materials, profound changes in livelihoods and ways of life, the evolution of Megacities previously unfathomable in population size and spatial extent and increasing social friction between the global ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’, to name a few.ﾠ

This course provides a basic overview and understanding of cities from a geographical perspective. We will focus on the historical and contemporary dynamics of cities around the world, with foci on economic activities, urban culture, property and land, governance, and more. Students will be exposed to classic theories on urban land use and development, as well as some more contemporary approaches to this dynamic sub-discipline.

Course requirements

Assumed background

Students are presumed to have at least a basic understanding of Geography as a discipline and rudimentary geographic concepts. The course is designed to appeal to students with an interest in contemporary urbanisation and its implications.ﾠ

Recommended prerequisites

We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:

Any 2 units from: GEOG1000, GEOS1100, PLAN1000 or PLAN1001

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Course Field Trip:ﾠ There is a Saturday field trip on 9 August for students enrolled in the course. The cost is the price of one off-peak goCard fare in zone one (50c).

Course Software: Students will be required to use the following software packages/platforms in practical exercises: Google Maps, ArcGIS Online, Google Earth, NodeXL.

Aims and outcomes

Urban Geography focuses on understanding how cities are structured, and the patterns and processes that shape them.ﾠ This is addressed through creating an understanding of the following themes:

-the growth and development of cities

-classical and contemporary approaches to theorising cities

-the spatial dimensions of inequality and uneven development at the urban scale

-cities both as sites of human activity and as nodes within a global network

-meeting the infrastructural and metabolic needs of contemporary cities

-the implications of widespread urbanisation in the context of ‘sustainable development’ discourses

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Practical Exercises 1-10

• Hurdle

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Practical/ Demonstration

Weight

50% 5% each

Due date

1) Practical Exercise 1: 20/08/2025 8:00 am

2) Practical Exercise 2: 20/08/2025 8:00 am

3) Practical Exercise 3: 27/08/2025 8:00 am

4) Practical Exercise 4: 3/09/2025 8:00 am

5) Practical Exercise 5: 10/09/2025 8:00 am

6) Practical Exercise 6: 17/09/2025 8:00 am

7) Practical Exercise 7: 24/09/2025 8:00 am

8) Practical Exercise 8: 8/10/2025 8:00 am

9) Practical Exercise 9: 29/10/2025 8:00 am

10) Practical Exercise 10: 31/10/2025 8:00 am

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Online submission by Blackboard only by the due date and time. No hard copy or assignment cover sheets are required. Submission via email is not accepted.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

See the Additional assessment information section below for information relating to extension applications.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (the assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date.

For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period). 

End of Semester Examination

• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

50%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

8/11/2025 - 22/11/2025

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

Assessment Hurdle

In order to pass this course, you must meet the following requirements (if you do not meet these requirements, the maximum grade you will receive will be a 3):

You must obtain 45% or more on Practical Exercises 1-10.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment. Refer to the UQ website for information on supplementary assessment and how to apply.

Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.

If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met.

Supplementary assessment can take any form (such as a written report, oral presentation, examination or other appropriate assessment) and may test specific learning outcomes tailored to the individual student, or all learning outcomes.

To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment.

Additional assessment information

Applications for Extensions to Assessment Due Dates

• Read the information contained in the following links carefully before submitting an application for extension to assessment due date.
• For guidance on applying for an extension, information is available here: https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/exams-and-assessment/applying-assessment-extension
• For the policy relating to extensions, information is available here (Part D): https://policies.uq.edu.au/document/view-current.php?id=184
• Please note the University's requirements for medical certificates here: https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/uq-policies-and-rules/requirements-medical-certificates

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.

A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Turnitin

By submitting work through Turnitin you are deemed to have accepted the following declaration “I certify that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted, either previously or concurrently, in whole or in part, to this University or any other educational institution, for marking or assessment.”

All students must ensure they receive their Turnitin receipt on submission of any assessments. A valid Turnitin receipt will be the only evidence accepted if assessments are missing. Without evidence, the assessment will receive the standard late penalty, or after seven days, will receive zero.

In the case of a Blackboard outage, please contact the Course Coordinator as soon as possible to confirm the outage with ITS.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

Students are strongly encouraged to consult supplementary materials including books, newspapers, magazines, government reports, professional journals, and other academic texts.ﾠ These are widely available from a variety of sources, including (but not limited to):

• UQ Libraries: https://www.library.uq.edu.au/
• The State Library of Queensland: http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/
• Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com.au/

In addition, a variety of web-based resources may be helpful. These include (but are not limited to):

• United Nations, Dept of Economic and Social Affairs https://population.un.org/wup/
• Bloomberg CityLab https://www.bloomberg.com/citylab
• Planetizen http://www.planetizen.com/
• Globalization and World Cities Research Network http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/
• Lincoln Institute of Land Policy http://www.lincolninst.edu/
• Population Reference Bureau http://www.prb.org
• World Resources Institute http://www.wri.org/

Additional costs

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.