Announcing the University of Toronto School of Cities (PDAD&C #89)

The University of Toronto has established a new School of Cities, effective July 1, 2018. The School of Cities is an interdivisional entity that will work across institutional and disciplinary boundaries to coordinate, aggregate, and amplify the University’s expertise in cities research, education, and partnerships, locally and globally. Its purpose is to address the complex challenges facing the world’s urban areas, with the aim of making cities and urban regions more sustainable, prosperous, inclusive, and just.

The new School will serve as a key institutional vehicle for addressing one of the University’s top strategic priorities: to take better advantage of our location in one of the world’s most vibrant, culturally diverse, and economically dynamic regions, with the aim of benefiting both the University and the city region of which it is a part. The School will be a research-driven enterprise, focused around team-based “urban challenge” projects, with significant and integrated co-curricular, outreach/partnership and public engagement mandates. It will build connections within and outside the University, establish a strong interdisciplinary research foundation, and offer undergraduate and graduate courses that will complement and augment existing programs, as well as offering experiential learning opportunities and public educational activities.

U of T is uniquely positioned to launch such a School, with a breadth of urban-related expertise collectively representing a leading global hub of talent. More than 230 faculty members across U of T’s three campuses conduct urban-focused research, representing disciplines ranging from engineering and architecture to urban studies and public health.

The establishment of the School of Cities was approved by the Faculty of Arts & Science Council on March 21, 2018, and will begin operations on July 1, 2018. It followed three years of extensive consultations and input from a steering committee and working group made up of faculty members from all three campuses. A search for the School’s Interim Director is underway and will be followed by an international search for a permanent Director.

Read the U of T News Story:
U of T’s New School of Cities to Bring Wide-Ranging Experts Together to Address Urban Challenges