In June graduate students from Urban Planning and Design visited Québec City, Montréal and Ottawa to study the similarities and differences between U.S. and Canadian cities as well as investigate current urban issues confronting communities in French speaking Québec and Ottawa.
Students studied the physical layout of cities, urban design, urban growth, central neighborhood revitalization projects, local governance, and historic preservation. The field course was led by Dr. Fritz Wagner from UW’s Department of Urban Design and Planning, and Dr. Régent Cabana, with École supérieure d’aménagement du territoire et de développement regional at the l’Université Laval. At each city a number of professors, government officials and other urban experts provided lectures and tours.
The course was a marked success in terms of introducing students to Québec and its distinct history and culture. In the words of a UW Master’s student in Architecture, “The trip exceeded all of my expectations, both personal and academic and will leave a lasting impact in how I approach issues of Urban Design. I had a fantastic learning experience and I would encourage more American students to visit the region and to study the things that make Québec what it is today.”
This course was made possible, in part, by a Québec Unit grant from the Government of Québec.