Urban and Economic Geography

In this Urban and Economic Geography program at Utrecht University (previously known as Human Geography and Planning), you will gain a broad theoretical and methodological background that will allow you to become an academic or professional researcher of ongoing social, spatial, and economic developments in cities and regions.

Globalisation is subjecting cities and regions to continuous challenges such as increasing urbanisation and growing economic and social interdependences. Complex and dynamic relationships have developed between inhabitants, migrants, businesses, and institutions, and these relationships can foster innovation, creativity, and economic growth.

Key facts

• However, increasing urbanisation can also lead to social and economic inequalities, tensions between groups with different lifestyles, and threats to health and well-being. In addition, globalisationcan reinforce economic disparities within regions and cities in both developed and developing countries.
• Environmental changes can also generate unhealthy living conditions and lead to a displacement of people and businesses. In general, regional and urban areas worldwide experience disparate development due to differences in their position in globalised systems; their location in a developed or developing country or region; and specific cultural, social, political, and economic characteristics.
• As a student in the Urban and Economic Geography program at Utrecht University , you will focus on research questions such as:

• Why do regions and cities differ in terms of economic and innovative performance, creativity, and quality of life?

• How do social and economic inequality and tensions arise within and between cities and regions?

• How do individuals and businesses experience changes in their urban and regional conditions, and how do they respond to these changes?

• Which governance systems and policies are most effective in addressing the social, economic, cultural, and mobility issues of the globalised and urbanised world?

• How can we use and develop scientific theories and methodologies to investigate these issues?
• Careers
• This program will equip you with the ability to critically assess research designs and results and policy implications. This will give you an excellent basis for either a PhD research position at a university or a senior position in national or international companies and research institutions.
• As a graduate, you will be eligible for PhD research or senior research and other positions in organisations such as government ministries, regional and local authorities, urban and country planning consultancies, and private research institutes.
• Excellent basis for PhD
• This Master’s program provides you with an excellent basis for state-of-the-art PhD research in human geography and urban and regional planning. The program ties in particularly well with PhD programs at the NETHUR (Netherlands Graduate School of Urban and Regional Research) institutes.
• Generally, MSc graduates in Urban and Economic Geography do not have to fulfil any additional requirements before starting their PhD, which means they can usually complete their PhD in three years.

Accredited by the NVAO - Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders.

Courses include:

• The New Science of Cities

• Quantitative Urban & Economic Analytics

• Urban Social Dynamics

• Doing Qualitative Research in Dynamic Urban Settings

• Urban Resilience

• Writing Competences