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 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 31 August for students enrolled in the course. The cost is the price of one off-peak concessionary goCard fare in zone one.

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

Exercises 1-8

• Hurdle

Mode

Written

Category

Practical/ Demonstration

Weight

40% 5% each

Due date

6/08/2024 12:00 pm

13/08/2024 12:00 pm

20/08/2024 12:00 pm

3/09/2024 12:00 pm

17/09/2024 12:00 pm

8/10/2024 12:00 pm

15/10/2024 12:00 pm

22/10/2024 12:00 pm

Pracs must be submitted via Blackboard prior to the lecture that occurs the week following your prac.

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Submit via Blackboard by the due date.

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

Quiz #1

• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz

Weight

20%

Due date

23/08/2024 2:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05

Task description

Submission guidelines

Submit via Blackboard by the due date.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Late submission

Late submissions will be penalised 10% per hour.

Quiz #2

• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz

Weight

20%

Due date

20/09/2024 2:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05

Task description

Submission guidelines

Submit via Blackboard on the due date.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Late submission

Late submissions will be penalised 10% per hour.

Quiz #3

• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz

Weight

20%

Due date

25/10/2024 2:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05

Task description

Submission guidelines

Submit via Blackboard on the due date.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Late submission

Late submissions will be penalised 10% per hour.

Course grading

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

Additional course grading information

The final grade for the course will typically fall within the ranges mentioned above.

The Faculty of Science imposes a hurdle for students to pass a course. Consequently, there is a hurdle on course exercises.

Students must achieve at least 16 of 40 marks (40%) on the practicalﾠ component of the assessment to pass the course.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Supplementary assessment is available

Courses graded 1-7

Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment. Refer to my.UQ 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

Information on applying for an extension can be found here - my.UQ Applying for an extension

Extension applications must be received by the assessment due date and time.

If you are unable to provide documentation to support your application by the due date and time you must still submit your application on time and attach a Word document outlining why you cannot provide the documentation and upload the documentation to the portal within 24 hours.

Please note: While your extension request is being considered, you should work towards completing and submitting your assessment as soon as possible.

If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 4 weeks in a semester, we advise you to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses. You might need to consider applying for removal of course. We strongly recommend you seek advice from the Faculty that administers your program.

Extensions with Student Access Plans (SAP)

For extensions up to 7 days, your SAP is all that is required as documentation to support your application. However, extension requests longer than 7 days (for any one assessment item) will require the submission of additional supporting documentation e.g., a medical certificate. A maximum of two applications may be submitted for any one assessment item, unless exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated. All extension requests must be received by the assessment due date and time. 

If you are having difficulties (whether related to your studies, personal life, or otherwise) that are adversely affecting your attendance, performance, or ability to study and participate in class, you are strongly advised to see your instructor before an assignment is due.ﾠ There are many resources on the UQ campus to help you, but you should not wait until after an assignment has been submitted to explain your difficulties, as it is very difficult to assist you at that point.ﾠ

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The assessment tasks in this course evaluate students’ abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited (unless prompted) and may constitute 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 five 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

Find the required and recommended resources for this course 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 - Students Policy and Procedure

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