Future Cities: Get started

This guide is designed with you in mind, with a focus to help you find the material for your area of expertise. 

Find articles lists databases on topics, such as:

• climate change
• sustainability
• modelling
• team cohesion
• governance 
• societal change

A brief overview on:

• peer-reviewed articles
• grey literature
• databases

Find books has information on:

• direct link to search the library catalogue
• how can I get my books during COVID-19?
• how can I find my books?
• library catalogue search function
• placing holds and recalls
• not in the catalogue?
• should we order a copy?
• on-campus book return bins locations
• new books
• core texts for the discipline
• eReference material
• eBooks and eBook collections
• questions? Contact me

The Research toolkit provides an overview of the research process and tips to help with:

• academic writing, essays and research papers
• help with references, citing your work
• bibliometric tools
• more than technical skills, soft skills
• the research process
• time management tips
• saving your search strategy
• setting up alerts
• publishing your work?
• need funding?

More resources:

• library guides
  • essential
  • subject specific
  • topic specific
  • for advanced library users
• unique collections
  • data; statistics
  • films
  • Geospatial Centre
  • Special Collections & Archives (SC&A)
    • Digital library
    • Special Collections / Rare books
• publications of selected centres and institutes
  • Heritage Resources Centre
  • Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change (IC3)
  • Southwestern Ontario Research Data Centre (SWORDC)
  • Water Institute
  • Waterloo Institute for Complexity & Innovation (WICI)
  • Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation (WISIR)
  • Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE)

Library services for Winter 2022

Access to the electronic resources requires your WatIAM credentials. You can login before you start your search from the library's homepage using the 'Get access from anywhere' link, located in the left navigation, or when the system prompts you to enter your credentials. If, for any reason, you encounter any difficulties with gaining access, please contact me directly or library staff through our Ask us service to resolve the issue. 

The 2021 Environmental Sustainability Report, prepared by the President's Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability

Omni: your library catalogue

The library catalogue, Omni, is a dynamic platform that provides more functionality, more options, and additional academic library catalogues to browse and search for information. The redesign makes navigation more intuitive, detailed descriptions provide more context, all of which makes for a more rewarding experience. Searching in the advanced search option is recommended for optimum results.

Future Cities objectives and goals is designed with a focus on these main themes:

• urban phenomena
• social justice and the city
• the economic and political context in which urban decisions are made
• planning and engineering dimensions of sustainability
• the interface between nature and the city
• healthy cities and how to plan for future trends

An overarching framework to consider entails the following:

• systems-thinking (perceived connections between different objects of study)
• synergy (mutually favourable interactions between different bodies of knowledge and their practical effects on city planning, akin to the intersection between human behaviour, economic activities, and public policies)
• scenarios (case studies that illustrate best practices on a world scale and how these ideas can be applied individually or jointly in different contexts)
• simulation (the mapping out the overall effects and conceptualizing the relationships)
• statecraft (an umbrella term for the range of resources and restrictions in an institutional context)

Subject areas include:

• Accessibility
• Architecture
• Brownstones
• City planning
• Cybernetics
• Cycling
• Design
• Energy
• Future cities
• Gentrification
• Governance
• Greenspace
• Growth / Sprawl
• Health
• Placemaking
• Policies
• Pollution
• Regulations
• Safety
• Security
• Shrinking cities
• Superblocks
• Technology
• Theory
• Transportation
• Urbanization
• Walking

I can help you: 

• navigate and find select pieces of information that support your research
• navigate various aspects of the library website: the library catalogue, databases, library services, and sorting out how these pieces fit together

Once you learn about the options and the potential of what these resources can yield, you can be strategic and deliberate in your actions. We can have a personalized consultation. You can schedule a meeting with me by clicking on the link "Schedule online" located under my email link in the contact information.

I love being a librarian and helping people discover the information they need.

Committed to my profession I listen, ask questions, and investigate a range of resources. Thorough in my approach, yet selective in my strategy, my goal is to help you succeed.

Consider booking a consultation and learn how to be strategic in your decisions when searching for information.