This guide is designed to introduce undergraduate students to "starting point" in all aspects of urban studies.
- Tips for Choosing an essay topic
- Writing the Research Paper video
- Brainstorm for the essay (Purdue OWL)
- Key reference sources for urban studies:
- Building smart cities
- Cycle cities: supporting cycling in Canadian cities
- Encyclopedia of the city
- International encyclopedia of human geography
- Inventing Future cities
- Key concepts in community studies
- Key concepts in urban studies
- Megacities and our global urban future
- Theme Cities; solutions for urban problems
- Urban Development for the 21st century
Search Omni, the library's main search box to easily find peer-reviewed journal articles on any topic.
Remember to refine your search by selecting the following options:
- Peer-Review journals
- Articles
You can also limit your search to many other sources such as books/e-books, newspapers, magazines, trade publications, videos, dissertations or conference proceedings. While many sources are published in different formats and written for specific audiences, they do not have solid authority as with the scholarly, peer reviewed literature.
You can also search subject-specific databases to find journal articles. They offer many advanced search features, only contain scholarly literature and search results are more precise.
Key databases:
- GEOBASE
- SAGE Journals Online
- Academic Onefile
- CPI.Q
- Canadian Business and Current Affairs
- Scopus
- TRID
- Environment Index
- Web of Science
Key Journals:
- Annals of the American Association of Geographers
- Applied Geography
- Canadian Geographer
- City
- City, culture and society
- Environment and Planning B: planning and design
- International Journal of urban and regional research
- Plan Canada
- Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers
- Urban Geography
- Urban Studies
Recommended books:
- Canadian Urban Regions
- Cities for people, not for profit: critical urban theory and the right to the city
- Cities going green: a handbook of best practices
- Critical Urban Studies: new directions
- The New Blackwell Companion to the City
- Urban Canada
- Urban Policy: a time for a paradigm shift
Recommended videos:
Websites:
Canadian
- Canadian Institute of Planners
- Canadian Urban Transit Association
- Centre for Human Settlements (University of British Columbia)
- Federation of Canadian Municipalities
- Institute of Urban Studies (University of Winnipeg)
International
- American Planning Association
- Commonwealth Association of Planners
- Lewis Mumford Center
- Urban Institute
Social scientists most often use APA citation style. Link to APA Citation Style web guide for basic instructions.
Referencing your sources is an important part of academic writing. Why?
- it lets you acknowledge the ideas or words of others if you use them in your work
- it helps you to avoid plagiarism
- it demonstrates that you are using the scholarly record and that you can provide authority for statements you make in your term paper
- it enables readers to find the source information
Alternate Citation Guides:
Writing Guides:
- Communicating in geography and environmental sciences (print only)
- Making Sense; a student's guide to research and writing: geography and environmental sciences (print only)
- Writing an annotated bibliography: link to the Youtube video or web page for instructions.
- Writing Services - located on the 4th floor of the library:
- offers students help with learning the mechanics of academic writing
