CRP 5150

Economic Geography: Theory and Applications to Urban Planning

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2026-2027 Catalog.

This course provides an introduction to economic geography—a branch of human geography concerned with economic development and explicitly spatial aspects of economic activity. It does this by integrating theoretical and empirical analysis in a manner that is directly relevant to the practice of city and regional planning. Among other things, it covers location theory, the spatial equilibrium concept, human and social capital, interregional migration, socioeconomic inequality, and various models of urban and regional development. Technical material is supported by ancillary readings focused on current events, meaning that the course’s theoretical dimensions are tied directly to problems faced by society—and practitioners of planning and policy. The course emphasizes the complementarity of positive analysis and normative thinking toward the objective of delivering evidence-based plans and policies.

Last 4 Terms Offered (None)

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the interface between economic activity and geographic space.
• Knowledge of specific spatial-economic theory including the location of economic activity, spatial equilibrium within and across cities, human and social capital, urban and regional development, and more.
• Understand how to derive empirical models from the theoretical foundations it teaches.
• Understand how the theoretical and empirical tools of economic geography inform the practice of city and regional planning.

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