Facilities
- The University library system
- Toronto's library system
- Centre for International Studies
- The Centre for Urban and Community Studies
- The Cities Centre
- The Cartography Office
- The Centre for Environment
- The Map Library
- The Geographical Computing Laboratory
- Study Space
The Program in Planning is located in Sidney Smith Hall, 100 St. George Street, Toronto. The following facilities and activities are of particular interest to planning students.
The University library system
The Robarts Library holds the bulk of the University’s research holdings in the Social Sciences, while the Science and Medicine Library includes materials relevant to physical geography and environmental planning. There are specialized libraries in Engineering, Architecture, and other disciplines. A special collection of planning materials is being maintained in conjunction with the Public Documents collection in the Robarts Library. Students obtain a library card after they register, and should make an effort to become acquainted with the full scope of the library facilities. Tours, short courses, and handbooks are available.
Toronto’s library system
The Toronto metropolitan area includes several supplementary research facilities. The City of Toronto’s Municipal Reference Library specializes in urban planning materials, as does its Urban Affairs Library . The City of Toronto Archives, the Provincial Legislative Library, and the Provincial Archives contain much of the primary material for research into historical and policy issues. The resources of many departments of the Government of Ontario are frequently consulted by students and staff in the course of their research.
The Centre for International Studies (CIS)
This is an interdisciplinary research centre located in the Munk Centre Building. Programs and projects associated with the Centre include conflict mediation, global health, G7/G8 research, innovation and the global economy, Asia Pacific cooperation, environment and trade, environment and NAFTA, Latin America, and globalisation and social cohesion. The Centre offers a wide range of programs, events and publications.
The Centre for Urban and Community Studies
(CUCS)
CUCS, with which several planning faculty are associated, is located in the former Tip Top building at 455 Spadina Avenue. It is an interdisciplinary research centre specializing in a broad range of urban issues. Current projects, include studies of housing markets and policy, urban environmental management, governance in Third World cities, demographic change, social networks and support systems, neighbourhood change and urban sprawl. Its extensive list of publications indicates an even wider range of interests. Information on the Centre is available on request.
The Cities Centre
The University of Toronto has formally recognized urban research as one of the University’s five major priorities for interdisciplinary research and training. The new Cities Centre links diverse departments and faculties and provides a single portal for accessing the substantial resources of the institution in urban research. The vision of the new Centre is to create a first-class facility that serves as its flagship for urban research, teaching and out-reach, and provides an exciting environment both for students and faculty.
The Cartography Office
The Cartography Office provides mapping and GIS support for teaching and research in the Department of Geography and the Program in Planning. The Cartography Office has produced 15 atlases and hundreds of other mapping projects and pioneered interactive mapping projects on the Internet. The office has licenses to use ESRI GIS (ArcGIS) products, as well as for software such as Mapinfo, Autocad, and GRASS.
The Centre for Environment
The Centre for Environment combines a teaching and research role. It, too, is interdisciplinary, including participation from most Social Sciences, Life Sciences, Engineering, Law and Planning. Research in progress includes studies of the impact of urbanization on the environment, the rehabilitation of the Great Lakes ecosystem, the long distance transport of air pollutants, and risk assessment.
The Map Library
This library contains a large research collection of air photos, maps and atlases, and is located within the Robarts Library.
The Geographical Computing Laboratory
This is located in Sidney Smith Hall and provides a wide variety of facilities for work in computer cartography, geographic information systems, word-processing, statistical analysis, graphic design, spreadsheets, and other applications within the Department. This system is fully supported by two full-time technical staff, and is continually being expanded and upgraded.
Study Space
Individual desks and a common room have been set aside for the use of planning students, who also have priority access to workshop/ seminar rooms equipped with microcomputers and printers, and an urban design studio.
