Our Members

Ph.D. Geography, McMaster University, Canada, 1995

M.A Geography, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada, 1990

B.A. (Hons.) Geography, Laurentian University, Canada, 1987

Contact information

Research interests

My research program is primarily focused on issues related to freight transportation and logistics although I have a broad interest in transportation at all levels and geographies. I’m really intrigued by the flows of people and goods that underpin social and economic interactions and the complex impacts of those flows. Recent projects include: 

1. Analyzing Ontario’s transportation sector and climate change impacts and adaptation
2. Exploring Freight Land Use – from “freight sprawl” to delivery hubs and fulfillment spaces of last mile logistics. 
3. Gig economy and freight – the work of last mile delivery and the urban implications – City Logistics 
4. Autonomous mobility

I have an ongoing interest in a range of transportation policy issues and have previously published on subjects including emissions forecasting, impacts of climate change adaptations on freight, regulatory policy, urban freight planning, freight and land use, autonomous vehicles and retail transitions and freight.  

My graduate students have a diverse range of research topics that involve various elements of transportation, spatial analysis, regional and urban economics, and sustainability.Recent examples include 

• Autonomous vehicle adoption potential in Canadian cities Factors influencing regional rail ridership

• A model to understand the ION LRT impact on commuting mode choice

• Co-modality – moving people and goods together

• GHG Emissions Inventory and the potential of electrification 

Contact Clarence Woudsma for more information on research opportunities.

Graduate student supervision

Recent/key publications

(*Co-authored with student)

• Woudsma C., (2020), Gig Workers in Canada’s Courier Industry, report prepared for Employment and Social Development Canada, p. 1-42, Ottawa 

• Woudsma C., (2020), Disrupting Stuff: Material Flows in the Platform City, In Zwick A, and Spicer Z., (eds), The Platform Economy and the City: Urban Peril and Promise in the New Digital Economy,  Forthcoming 

• *Woudsma, C.G., Jakubicek, P., (2020) Logistics land use patterns in metropolitan Canada, Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 88, p 1 - 10 

• Woudsma C. (2019) Freight Transportation: The Evolving Landscape of Matters and Models. In: Briassoulis H., Kavroudakis D., Soulakellis N. (eds) The Practice of Spatial Analysis. Springer 

• *Woudsma, C., and Towns, W. (2017). Ontario. In K. Palko and D.S. Lemmen (Eds.), Climate risks and adaptation practices for the Canadian transportation sector 2016 (pp. 139-179). Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada. 

• *Woudsma, C.G., and Braun, L. (2017), Tomorrow Has Arrived: Cities and Autonomous Vehicles, Pragma Council Discussion Paper, School of Planning Working Paper Series, Waterloo, Ontario,pp1-32 

• *Woudsma, C.G., Jakubicek, P., and Dablanc, L. (2016), Logistics Sprawl In North America: Methodological Issues And A Case Study In Toronto; Transportation Research Procedia (2016), pp. 474-488 DOI information: 10.1016/j.trpro.2016.02.081 

Courses taught

• PLAN 105:Introduction to planning analysis
• PLAN 203: Transportation planning and analysis
• PLAN 320: Regional economic analysis
• PLAN 477: Freight transportation planning and policy
• ENVS 278: Advanced research methods

Contact Information
j2thistl@uwaterloo.ca
519-888-4567 x49102
EV3 4267

Personal Page
@jasonthistle

Jason Thistlethwaite is a Professor for the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development. His research focuses on innovative strategies designed to reduce the economic impacts of extreme weather and climate change. He explores the role of insurance and government risk-transfer in promoting climate change adaptation and reducing economic vulnerability. To inform this work, he has worked directly with business and government leaders in the insurance, banking, real estate, building, and investment industries. Jason is also a frequent speaker, media contributor on Canadas growing vulnerability to extreme weather, and a self-described weather geek. Jasons research interests are focused on assessing the economic effects of climate change, natural disasters and extreme weather. With a specific interest in measuring local costs of extreme weather, and the viability of property insurance and disaster assistance as a means of reducing vulnerability in the era of climate change.

Courses Taught

• ENBUS 408: Best Practices in Environmental Regulation
• ENBUS 410: Introduction to Sustainability Management
• SUSM 601: Stakeholder Engagement

Selected Publications

• Thistlethwaite Jason (forthcoming). “Professional Accounting and Environmental Governance” in Lasse Folk Henriksen and Leonard Seabrooke, eds. Professional Networks in Transnational Governance. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Forthcoming 2016).
• Thistlethwaite, Jason and Paterson, Matthew. 2015. Private governance and accounting for sustainability networks. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 0 (0) 1-25.
• Thistlethwaite, Jason. 2015. The Politics of Sustainability Accounting (CDSB). Environmental Politics 24 (6): 970-991.
• Thistlethwaite, Jason. The Challenges of Counting Climate Change Risks in Financial Markets. CIGI Policy Brief No. 62. June 2015
• Thistlethwaite, Jason. Canada’s Coming Property Insurance Crisis. CIGI Policy Brief No. 57. March 2015

Degrees

• Ph.D. - Global Governance, University of Waterloo
• M.A. Political Science, Western Univeristy
• B.A. - Political Science, Western University

Ph.D. Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, United States, 2003

M.Sc. Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, United States, 2000

M.Sc. Transportation Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, United States, 1996

B.SE. Civil Engineering Systems, University of Pennsylvania, United States, 1992

Contact information

Curriculum Vitae

Academic honours

• 2015 - Outstanding Performance Award, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo
• 2013 - Distinguished Teaching Award, University of Waterloo
• 1999-2001 - George Krambles Transit Foundation Scholarship
• 1999-2000 - Penn Prize for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching
• 1999 - Richard K. Dentel Memorial Award
• 1995 - University Transportation Centers Program (UTCP) Region II Outstanding Student
• 1993, 1996 - New York State Department of Transportation Engineering Excellence Award

Research interests

• Urban transportation systems
• Public transport system planning, design and operation
• Multimodal transportation modeling
• Transportation and land use impacts
• Urban spatial analysis
• Geographic Information Systems applications

Research grants/projects

• Exploring the impacts of transit passes on students' behaviour

  • Funded by: City of Kingston

  • The goal of the research is to understand how the provision of transit passes to high school students influences their travel, and the travel dynamics for the households in which they live. Of particular interest are questions:

    • Does the provision of transit passes provide increased access to recreation, employment and other opportunities?
    • Do students with transit passes experience greater travel independence and, as a result, rely less on chauffeuring by parents and others?
    • If the above holds true, do households experience travel cost savings in terms of both time and money?
• Application of smart-phones to gather travel behavior in the City of Edmonton
  • Funded by: The City of Edmonton in partnership with R.A. Malatest
  • This research project presents the opportunity to commercialize Ph.D. research conducted at the University of Waterloo.
  • Data – origin, destination, mode, and path – were gathered for a large sample of households and travelers in Edmonton to inform the development of a travel forecasting model.
  • The passively collected smart-phone data were used to calibrate and validate information gathered through traditional travel diaries.
• iCity Urban Informatics for Sustainable Metropolitan Growth
  • Funded by: Ontario Research Foundation (ORF).
  • Grant led by the University of Toronto (Eric Miller)
  • Research aimed at understanding how innovations in travel data collection (both methods and specific information) can better inform decision-making to advance sustainable transportation and cities.Specific questions to be addressed in Waterloo include:
    • How will the investment in Light Rail Transit (LRT) change overall Regional travel patterns?
    • How important will the Region’s Central Transit Corridor (CTC) become for attracting trips?
    • How will travel within the CTC, especially tours, evolve over time as the density and diversity of land uses change?
• Light Rail and Core Area Intensification – Unpacking Causal Relationships
  • Funded by: SSHRC (Partnership Development Grant)
  • PI is Dawn Parker, School of Planning
  • Much research has been conducted on the relationship between land use and transportation, particularly the influence of land use investments on density.This research explores these relationships in the Region of Waterloo as a result of the LRT project.This research takes a combined approach to try and demonstrate causality of land use impacts by:
    • Using hedonic pricing techniques to isolate the impacts of proximity to the LRT on land / home values;
    • Interview developers to understand (quantitatively and qualitatively) their perceptions of LRT on market dynamics;
    • Interview home buyers, home sellers, and renters to determine the perceived value of access resulting from LRT.
• Sustainable Transportation Modeling
  • Funded by: NSERC (Discovery Grant)
  • Research supported significant development of novel data collection and analysis techniques, particularly related to sustain transportation modes – walking, cycling and transit.

• Improving transit representation in travel forecasting models

  • Funded by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
  • The research program develops mathematical methods to represent the dynamic relationship among transit frequency, ridership, and fiscal constraints. The models generated can be used as part of, or in conjunction with, traditional travel forecasting models. The research developed leads to much more robust transit modeling capabilities for regions, cities and transit agencies, allowing governments to invest scarce resources in order to achieve the economic, social and environmental goals associated with greater transit ridership.

Contact Jeff Casello for more information on research opportunities.

Graduate student supervision

Recent/key publications

• Nour, A., B. Hellinga and J. Casello. 2016 Transportation Mode Classification Based on Smart-Phone data:  Enhancing Accuracy Using Spatial Statistics and GIS.  Journal of Transportation Geography Vol. 51, pp. 36-44. 
• Casello J. 2015. Assessment of Climate Risks and Adaptation Practices for the Canadian Transportation Sector – Urban Regions, Natural Resources Canada, in press.
• Casello, J., W. Towns, J. Belangér, and S. Kassiedass. Public Engagement in Public Transportation Projects. 2015. Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No.2537 pp. 88-95.
• Casello, J., G. Lewis, D. Santiago, and K. Yeung. 2014. A Transit Technology Selection Model. Journal of Public Transportation, Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 50-75.
• Casello, J. and V. Usyukov. 2014. Modeling Cyclists' Route Choice Based on GPS Data.  Journal of the Transportation Research Board No. 2430 pp. 155-161.
• Lopez, A., J. Casello, A. Molinero and D. Cotera. 2013. Evaluating Private Bus Operators’ Willingness to Participate in Transit Improvements in Mexico.  Journal of the Transportation Research Board No. 2394, pp. 119-127.
• Lopez, A., J. Casello, A. Molinero, and D. Rodriguez Santiago. 2012. The Influence of Ownership and Business Models on Achieving Transit Improvements, accepted, Journal of the Transportation Research Board.
• Lewis, J.L., M. Groulx and J. Casello. 2012. Effective Environmental Visualization for Urban Planning and Design: Interdisciplinary Reflections on a Rapidly Evolving Technology, accepted, Journal of Urban Technology
• Casello, J., K. Rewa, A. Nour. 2012. An Analysis of Empirical Evidence of Cyclists' Route Choice and their Implications for Planning.  91st Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington DC
• Casello, J., A. Nour, K. Rewa, and J. Hill. 2011. An Analysis of Stated Preference and GPS Data for Bicycle Travel Forecasting. 90th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington DC
• Simard, S., E. Springate and J. Casello. 2011. The Development and Deployment of GIS Tools to Facilitate Transit Network Design and Operational Evaluation, Journal of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association Vol. 23, No.1 pp. 41-51.
• Finkleman, J., J. Casello and L. Fu. 2011. Empirical Evidence from the Greater Toronto Area on the Acceptability and Impacts of HOT Lanes, Transport Policy Vol. 18, Issue 6, pp. 814-824.
• Lopez, A., J. Casello and A. Molinero. 2011. Private Bus Operators' Objectives in the Evaluation for Transit Investments in Developing Countries: A Conceptual Framework, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2239, pp. 1-8.
• Salek, S., R. Noorozi, J. Casello and B. Hellinga. 2011. A Method for Predicting the Mean and Variance of Transit Segment and Route Travel Times, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2217, pp. 30-37.
• Saavedra, M., B. Hellinga, and J. Casello. 2011. An Automated Quality Assurance Methodology for Archived Transit Data from AVL-APC Systems.  In press, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Washington DC
• The economic impacts of transit investment: A national survey (PDF)
• Nour, A., J. Casello and B. Hellinga (2010). An Anxiety-Based Formulation to Estimate the Generalized Cost of Transit Travel Time, 89th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington DC.
• Casello, J. and Vuchic, V.R. (2009) Urban Transit, Chapter 16 in Meyer, M. ed. Transportation Planning Handbook 3rd Edition, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Washington, DC.
• Casello, J., A. Nour and B. Hellinga (2009). Quantifying the Impact of Transit Reliability on User Costs, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2112, pp. 136-141.
• Casello, J. and B. Hellinga (2008) Impacts of Express Bus Service on Passenger Demand, Journal of Public Transportation, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 1-23.
• Casello, J. (2007) Transit Competitiveness in a Polycentric Metropolitan Region, Transportation Research Part A, Vol. 41 No.1 pp.19-40.

Courses taught

• PLAN 203: Transportation planning
• PLAN 480: Theory and practice of planning in the United Kingdom (exchange to Oxford, UK)
• PLAN 478 / CIVE 440: Transit planning and operations
• PLAN 484: Physical infrastructure and planning
• PLAN 678: Infrastructure planning
• CIVE 240: Engineering and sustainable development
• CIVE 641: Transportation systems analysis

Ph.D. Ecology and Resource Conservation, Wageningen University, Netherlands, 2003

MSc Ecology, Utrecht University, Netherlands, 1998

Affiliated Faculty of the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis
 

Academic honours

• Affiliated Faculty at Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, 2014 Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
• Dissertation Fellowship, NOW-WOTRO, 2003 Netherlands
• Marie Curie Graduate Fellowship of the European Union, 2003 European Union
• Erasmus Scholarship of the European Union, 1994-1995 European Union

Research interests

• Environmental conservation and natural resource use
  • Social psychology of private landowner conservation behaviours
  • Socio-economic dynamics as drivers of land use change
  • Adoption of environmental best management practices
  • Natural and cultural heritage landscape planning
• (Near-)urban ecosystem services planning and management
  • Environmental justice and equity
  • Institutional analysis of green-blue infrastructure approaches
  • Climate change mitigation and adaptation
  • Urban ecology
• Forest and grassland ecosystems
  • Climate change effects on ecosystem dynamics
  • Land use impacts on ecosystem dynamics
  • Urban forest restoration ecology
  • Methods and applications of alternative knowledges (epistemology)

Research grants/projects

• Residential Development Impact Scorecard for the Environment (RISE)
  (Project Director and Lead Principal Investigator)
• Overcoming barriers to adoption of environmental best management practices in the Ontario farm sector during times of structural change.
  (Principal Investigator, Funded by: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs)
• Data fusion and analysis to predict overland flow flood risk: establishing a proof of concept.
  (Co-Applicant, Funded by: UW Water Institute)
• Townships of Wilmot and North Dumfries cultural heritage study.
  (Principal Investigator, Funded by: Region of Waterloo)
• Building resiliency in the face of climate change: a workshop for Ontario land trusts and conservation practitioners.
  (Principal Investigator, Funded by: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council)
• Advancing municipal natural asset management through monitoring and engagement.
  (Principal Investigator, Funded by: Mitacs Accelerate)
• Memories of the future: Using participatory scenarios of environmental threats to turn conservation from intent into action.
  (Principal Investigator, Funded by: UW and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council)
• Evaluating community engagement strategies effectiveness to influence attitudes on green stormwater infrastructure.
  (Principal Investigator, Funded by: UW Partners for Action, Reep Green Solutions and City of Cambridge)
• An exploratory study into effects of urban environments on recreational travel route choices of pedestrians: facilitators and impediments to physical activity.
  (Principal Investigator, Funded by: UW Propel Centre for Population Health Impact)
• What motivates private landowners to conservation? A study of the effects of 'connectedness with nature' on conservation behaviour.
  (Principal Investigator, Funded by: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council)

Contact Michael Drescher for more information on research opportunities for students.

Graduate student supervision

Recent/key publications

[* = student co-authors]

• Drescher, M. and Sinasac, S.* 2021. Social-psychological determinants of the implementation of green infrastructure for residential stormwater management. Environmental Management 67: 308–322.
• Dean, J., Biglieri, S.*, Drescher, M., Garnett, A., Glover, T. and Casello, J. 2020. Thinking relationally about built environments and walkability: A study of adult walking behavior in Waterloo, Ontario. Health and Place 64: 102352.
• Drescher, M. 2019. Urban heating and canopy cover need to be considered as matters of environmental justice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 116(52): 26153-26154.
• Drescher, M., Epstein, G., Warriner, K. and Rooney, R. 2019. An Investigation of the effects of conservation incentive programs on management of invasive species by private landowners. Conservation Science and Practice 1: e56.
• Drescher, M. and Edwards, R.C.* 2019. A systematic review of transparency in the methods of expert knowledge use. Journal of Applied Ecology 56(2), 436-449.
• Elton, K.* and Drescher, M. 2018. Implementing wildlife-management strategies into road infrastructure in southern Ontario: a critical success factors approach. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 62(5): 862-880
• Drescher, M. and Brenner, J.C. 2018. The practice and promise of private land conservation. Ecology and Society 23(2):3.
• Endicott, S*., Drescher, M. and Brenning, A. 2017. Modelling the Spread of European Buckthorn in the Region of Waterloo. Biological Invasions 19(10): 2993–3011.
• Drescher, M., Warriner, G.K., Farmer, J.R., and Larson, B.M.H. 2017. Private landowners and environmental conservation: a case study of social-psychological determinants of conservation program participation in Ontario. Ecology and Society 22(1):44. doi.org/10.5751/ES-09118-220144
• Farmer, J.R., Ma, Z., Drescher, M., Knackmuhs, E.G. and Dickinson, S. L. 2017. Private Landowners, Voluntary Conservation Programs, and Implementation of Conservation Friendly Land Management Practices. Conservation Letters 10: 58–66. doi:10.1111/conl.12241
• Huang, D., and Drescher, M. 2015. Urban crops and livestock: The experiences, challenges, and opportunities of planning for urban agriculture in two Canadian provinces. Land Use Policy 43: 1-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2014.10.011
• Drescher, M. 2014. Snow cover manipulations and passive warming affect post-winter seed germination: a case study of three cold-temperate tree species. Climate Research 60(3): 175-186. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.3354/cr01237
• Drescher, M. 2014. What is it like to take care of the land? Toward an understanding of private land conservation. Rural Society 23(2): 117–132. http://dx.doi.org/10.5172/rsj.2014.23.2.117
• Drescher, M., Perera, A.H., Johnson, C.J., Buse, L.J., Drew, C.A., and Burgman, M.A. 2013. Toward rigorous use of expert knowledge in ecological research. Ecosphere 4(7): art83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES12-00415.1
• Drescher, M. and Perera, A.H. 2010. Comparing two sets of forest cover change knowledge used in forest landscape management planning. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 53: 591-613. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09640561003727110
• Drescher, M., Heitkönig, I.M.A., Brink, P.J. van den, and Prins, H.H.T. 2006. Effects of sward structure on herbivore foraging behaviour in a South African savannah: an investigation of the forage maturation hypothesis. Austral Ecology 31: 76-87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01552.x

Courses taught

• ENVS 469 - Landscape Ecology, Restoration, and Rehabilitation
• PLAN 340 - Canadian Environmental Policy and Politics
• PLAN 452 - Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation
• PLAN 474 - Rural Resilience, Development and Planning
• PLAN 704 - Methods of Planning Analysis

EV1-226, ext. 41734
peter.crank@uwaterloo.ca

Peter J. Crank joined the Department in 2023 as an Assistant Professor. As an urban geographer and climatologist who received his PhD in Geography from Arizona State University (ASU), he studies urban climate and impacts of neighborhood scale urban design on microclimates and human health. His work has centered in hot cities, including Singapore and Phoenix as well as mid-sized cities of the US Southern Plains. In Singapore, he worked with the Cooling Singapore 2.0 project with SEC-ETH and Singapore Management University. At ASU, Peter worked in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, the Urban Climate Research Center, the Design School, and the Health Urban Environments Initiative on various projects in the U.S. examining extreme heat and air quality impacts on the elderly, neighborhood planning and design, city park designs, and school renovations through field measurements, remotely sensed measurement via helicopter, and numerical modeling. Peter has a B.S. degree in broadcast meteorology (television) from Mississippi State University (MSU) before pursuing degrees in applied climate and geography at MSU (M.S.) and Ph.D. (ASU).

Peter’s research seeks to address questions of modelling urban spaces to understand the impact urban climate mitigation strategies have on the thermal environment as well as on all facets of human health (from physical heat stress to psychological disorders). His work has spanned across several U.S. cities in the Sunbelt, including Jackson (MS), Houston (TX), Phoenix (AZ), and Los Angeles (CA) in addition to work in Singapore. His team focuses on the impacts of a changing climate for individuals and the local environment. Strong physical and applied climatology skills in addition to data analytics, computer science, and instrumentation are key to this group.

For more information or if you are interested in joining Peter's group, please reach out to him: peter.crank@uwaterloo.ca

Key Areas of Graduate Supervision

• Urban climate; urban overheating; urban environmental health; microclimate modeling

Recent Courses Taught

• Advanced Environmental Research Methods (ENV 278 - Fall 2023)
• Climate Services (GEOG 314 - Winter 2024)
• Energy Balance Climatology (GEOG 409- Winter 2024)

Cross appointment with Systems Design Engineering

Assistant Professor (status only), Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto

Research Scientist, Centre for Global eHealth Innovation, Techna Institute, University Health Network

Research Scientist, Research Institute for Aging

Contact information

Office: TJB-2266 (Toby Jenkins Building, North Campus)

Phone: 519-888-4567, ext. 41372

Email: plinio.morita@uwaterloo.ca

Website: Ubiquitous Health Technology Lab (UbiLab)

Director of the Healthy Communities Research Network