Graduate Students Invited to Explore Community-Engaged Urban Design in Winter 2027

The University of Guelph's Landscape Architecture program and Community Engaged Scholarship Institute (CESI), in collaboration with the City of Guelph and the Guelph Lab, are inviting graduate students from across disciplines to participate in Experiencing the City: Interdisciplinary, Community-Engaged Inquiry in Winter 2027. The course provides an opportunity for students to gain practical experience in community engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and urban design while contributing to a real-world municipal challenge.

This year's project focuses on improving road safety in Guelph's Onward Willow neighbourhood, including exploring safer routes to schools. Working alongside community members and City staff, students will examine how residents experience and move through neighbourhood spaces and develop design ideas that respond to community priorities. Building on proposals developed during Fall 2026, students in the winter course will organize and facilitate community engagement activities, including events and workshops. They will work with residents to develop design concepts aimed at improving road safety, refining their ideas through community feedback before producing an interdisciplinary report that synthesizes findings and outlines potential pathways for action.

The course welcomes graduate students from all University of Guelph programs, including landscape architecture, sociology and anthropology, public health, engineering, political science, geography, and other disciplines. Students do not need to have completed the Fall 2026 course to enrol in the winter offering. By bringing together students, municipal staff, and community members, the course aims to connect academic learning with community priorities while creating opportunities for meaningful collaboration and applied research.

Course Details

Course: Experiencing the City: Interdisciplinary, Community-Engaged Inquiry (LARC6710*03)

Winter 2027 Focus: Community Engagement & Design

Credits: 0.5

Schedule: Tuesdays, 2:30–5:20 p.m.

Location: In person, off campus in downtown Guelph. All locations will be accessible by bus, and students are responsible for their own transportation.

Eligibility: Graduate students from any University of Guelph program. No prior enrolment in the fall course is required.

Interested in Participating?

Registration is by permission, and interested students will be asked to complete a short application form.

Graduate students interested in community-engaged research, neighbourhood well-being, mobility, urban design, and interdisciplinary collaboration are encouraged to express their interest.

Complete the course interest form to learn more and access the application.

For additional information, contact Dr. Kearney Coupland, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, at kearney@uoguelph.ca.