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PLAN 416Modelling the City

Units
0.50
Faculty
Environment
Subject
Planning

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

This course will focus on understanding, interpreting, and designing computational models of urban systems. Topics include urban land-use change, transportation, public health, and environmental health. Students will learn how to critically review and interpret urban simulation models and discuss their applications of urban simulation models to planning case studies. Students will also learn how to develop an urban modelling research question, identify needed inputs, and identify output knowledge and how it can be used. Students will develop/enhance their analytical and communication skills.

Prerequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Must have completed the following:
      • ENVS278 - Applied Statistics for Environmental Research (0.50)
    • Complete 1 of the following
      • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
        • GDS281 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) (0.50)
        • PLAN281 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) (0.50)
      • Must have completed the following:

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Reviewed on UW Flow

100% liked it58% easy67% useful

From 3 ratings and 2 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Reading heavy, lots of concepts to wrap your head around. Course content could use an update. Alex was great and tas marked fairly though. You will WORK for those marks however.

    Aug 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I really liked this class and the professor as well, even though he was a stand-in (Alex Petric). The content was generally interesting and easy to follow. The labs were also generally easy and provided further explanations to the lectures. However, sometimes the grading points on labs are a bit confusing (for example, one question would be 50 points but only require a concise answer that isn't the length of your usual 50-point question). But, overall, this course was nice :) The take-home exam was a nice addition !!

    Aug 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

One post or comment in 1 thread mentions PLAN 416, February 2012 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Winter 2012

Has anybody taken GEOG/PLAN 281? 3 points, 6 comments

“I'm looking for interesting general education courses, and came accross this one which seems pretty interesting. How accessible is GEOG 281 for somebody outside of the geography department? …”

u/chefboyohboy: “PLAN 281 was an interesting course. It's a good into into GIS analysis and the relevant software. Once you've taken that, I highly recommend PLAN 416 (modeling the city). Deals with programming computer models to simulate land-use change and impacts of change.”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar