Celebrating Urban Studies students' first community-engaged capstones

October 3, 2025

This Spring, as the academic year drew to a close, UBC’s Department of Geography and UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning were excited to gather and witness the showcase of our Urban Studies students’ first-ever capstone presentations.

For UBC’s Department of Geography and UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning this was a day years in the making, and we couldn’t be more excited for our students and for what they now bring to the bigger world.

About the major in Urban Studies
and what it's already meaning for students and BC

The Major in Urban studies is jointly taught by the Faculty of Arts’ Department of Geography and the Faculty of Applied Science’s School of Community & Regional Planning. Still new but now thriving, we have now seen our first capstone presentations and our first graduates.

The Major in Urban Studies was built in consultation with industry professionals, government ministries, transport authorities, engineering and design firms, to guide students to tackle tomorrow’s most compelling urban questions.

Now, the Urban Studies Capstone (GEOG_V 451/PLAN 451, co-instructed this time by Dr. Priti Narayan and Dr. Andi Binet) final presentations are the culmination of students’ professional growth, with student teams being assigned community-engaged projects with 2025’s partners (The City of Vancouver and CityHive). Here is where students truly “use Vancouver as a living lab”.

Hyperlinked picture inviting you to learn more about the Urban Studies program

What is Urban Studies all about?

For the first time in human history, more than 50% of the world’s population live in urban areas, and it’s become clear many of the biggest questions about the world’s future are questions about how cities work – and how they can work.

Urban Studies is all about how people in cities live, and whether they’re accessible to
everyone. It also studies how art, literature, technology, architecture, and engineering
become legacies that shape culture and future generations.

The field benefits from expertise and lenses from innumerable fields, to give a holistic understanding of what it is for a city to thrive.

As Urban Studies graduating student Ben Torry reflected about his coursework before majoring:

Student reflections on the Urban Studies capstone experience

Anusheh Ayyaz

Ben Torry

Urban Studies student Ben Torry shared his reflections on what being part of the Urban Studies capstone and engaging in real-world partnerships meant for him.

Ben’s team partnered with CityHive Vancouver to develop a teaching toolkit to improve voting literacy and civic engagement for students in grades 10-12.

Student showing map-viewing machine to fellow student — Ben, demonstrating UBC Geography's map-examining equipment

"We had a lot of autonomy… I learned a lot about balancing the interests of all those involved in the process. We had to work to meet the expectations of the community partners while ideating with them throughout the project. We also had to balance the interests and strengths of our own group members to meet our own expectations and present a result we are all proud of.

Not only are we getting a taste of what to expect going into the job market, but we are building connections with new people outside of academia. Even for those not going directly into city planning can benefit from the networking skills it presents."

Take a closer look at our first Capstone presentations

Five student teams partnered in the community, and shared their final insights as part of their Capstone.

Presenting:

Active Civic Teens: Youth Advocacy and Sustainable Transportation

Elections & You: Workshop Toolkit

Public Transportation Networks: A Youth Development Toolkit

Mapping Colonial Artifacts

Mapping Colonial Narratives in Mount Pleasant

Learn more about the Urban Studies Capstone program

Congratulations to all our presenting students!

As you enter a larger world with your expertise in Urban Studies, we can't wait to see what you'll accomplish next!

Research and projects