The field of urban planning and design have been of interest to me ever since taking a Human Geography Intro to Urban Planning class towards the end of my undergrad. Previous to this, I had never even considered the realm of planning and design and in fact overlooked the field entirely. Since taking several planning related classes over the years I have begun to see urban and suburban areas in different ways. I now know why that plot of land on Whyte Avenue has sat idle for so many years (greyfield), and why there are so many 4 story walk up apartments in Edmonton (can build them out of wood up to 4 floors). All this information, along with my classes in social and cultural geography have added to my catalogue of random facts, which, I'm sure some of my friends and strangers can appreciate.
While this course has no direct relation to my immediate research interests, it is a fascinating area of research and offers a lot of knowledge and information I can apply to my everyday interaction and immersion with the built environment. Having an understanding of the foundations and concepts behind everyday structures and landscapes within the city and suburban area makes things a little more fun. Fun might be an odd choice of words, but that "ah-ha!" moment when you look at something and know why on earth it's there or why it was built that way is pretty cool.
I look forward to spending the next two weeks learning about planning and design more in depth and seeing physical examples of these concepts with my own eyes.
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