The University of Waterloo’s Future Cities Institute (FCI) founded by CAIVAN advances pragmatic, data-driven solutions with cities and communities by incubating interdisciplinary talent and tools. We are evidence-based, politically agnostic, and measured by what we do, not what we say.
Help shape the Vision 1 Million Scorecard
We’re working to make the BestWR Vision 1 Million Scorecard a powerful tool for understanding how ready our region is for a population of one million. We need your insights on critical areas like housing, transportation, health, employment, and livability; where are we prepared, and where do we need to improve?
Your feedback is confidential and will directly inform updates to the scorecard. Thank you for helping us build a better, more resilient future.
Fostering – We promote the integration of research, teaching, and knowledge mobilization to drive innovative city and community solutions.
Healthy – We embrace a One Health approach, recognizing the interconnectedness of human, environmental, and planetary well-being.
Prosperous – We create the conditions for communities to thrive socially and economically by fostering employment, innovation, education, and inclusive growth that benefits citizens.
Future – We explore multiple plausible futures, not just preferred ones, ensuring adaptable and resilient city and community strategies.
Cities and Communities – We engage with municipalities and Indigenous communities to collaboratively shape sustainable development.
News
Innovation Challenge Empowers Students to Build Real-World Housing Solutions
The Future Cities Institute founded by CAIVAN partnered with Velocity to host the Future Cities Innovation Challenge. The high-intensity, two-week sprint brought interdisciplinary student teams together to build data-backed business concepts targeting the Canadian housing crisis, modern infrastructure demands, and municipal service systems.
MFC Graduate Students Explore Singapore
Graduate students from the Master of Future Cities (MFC) program recently returned from an intensive, two-week field course in Singapore. Organized by the Future Cities Institute founded by CAIVAN, this experiential learning trip allowed students to step out of the classroom and see how long-term foresight, multi-purpose infrastructure, and high-density housing strategies are deployed in the real world.
Planning Expert Clarence Woudsma Joins FCI
The Future Cities Institute founded by CAIVAN has appointed veteran planner and transportation researcher Clarence Woudsma as Co-Director, Academic. Bringing three decades of applied expertise in logistics and mobility policy to the leadership team, Woudsma will steer the institute's academic direction and oversee the Master of Future Cities (MFC) graduate program, where students learn to develop data-backed approaches for building resilient communities.
