News

Waterloo Region has seen a rise in serious pedestrian injuries from being struck by cars in comparison to this time last year. There have been 38 incidents, many involving multiple injuries, in the past 67 days between November 1 and January 7, with 10 of those incidents resulting in serious injury to 16 pedestrians.

Waterloo students mobilize to save 15-minute evening service on the Ion light rail and win

The School of Planning's Director Dr. Mark Seasons recently spoke with CTV News about the potential benefits that mobile/modular housing could provide for addressing housing affordability.

The School of Planning is proud to announce that School of Planning graduate students Emma Borho and Michael Ricci have each received the OPPI Southwest District Planning Student Scholarship!

The Southwest District Planning Student Scholarships promote excellence in planning education, community service and personal achievement among OPPI members that are enrolled full-time in accredited undergraduate and graduate planning programs in Southwestern Ontario.

Emma is a second-year graduate student in the MES Planning program. Her research, with Dr. Leia Minaker, focuses on rural children’s perceptions of impacts of the built environment to their health. Her interests are in healthy communities and better understanding how planning can serve children’s needs. The SWO OPPI District was interested in her research as it is directly applicable to the challenges faced by many rural communities in the district.

Michael is a second-year graduate student in the MA Planning program. His research, with Dr. Martine August and Dr. Katherine Perrott, proposes tools for increasing 2SLGBTQ+ representation through urban design, participatory placemaking, and policy in public spaces in Kitchener-Waterloo. His interests in geography, social planning and urban design have shaped his research and professional goals. The SWO OPPI District expressed interest in his passions and research as it aligns with their commitment to fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion within Ontario.

The School of Planning is proud to announce that UWaterloo’ s Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism has awarded School of Planning PhD student Barnabas Addi with the Black Graduate Award!

Barnabas comes to the School of Planning with a BSc. In Development Planning from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, and an MSc. In Urban Planning and Policy Design from Politecnico di Milano, Italy.

Barbaras’ PhD research “Understanding the Housing Pathways and Residential Geographies of Young Adults in Ghanaian Cities” aims to address housing concerns for young adults in Ghana’s fast-urbanizing cities, which have been impacted by economic hardship, neoliberal policies, and an increasingly inaccessible housing market. Ghana’s young adults face high levels of unemployment and low incomes, while their needs remain largely unaddressed in local urban and housing policies. Barnabas hopes to bring the housing experiences of young Ghanaian’s to planning research and policy discourse to progressively shape urban housing policies and ensure housing justice.

The School of Planning is proud to announce that School of Planning PhD Candidate Khairunnabila Prayitno has been awarded a 2023 Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Toronto Chapter Scholarship!

The WTS International aims to attract and advance women and other unrepresented groups in the transportation industry through professional development, gender equity advocacy, legislative advocacy and the scholarship and training opportunities provided by the WTS Foundation. The WTS Toronto Chapter Scholarship supports women enrolled in post-secondary programs with the intention of pursuing a career in transportation complete their educational journey and enter the transportation industry.

Nabila is a 5^th Year PhD Student whose dissertation centres ‘care’ and ‘justice’ in expanding the future of urban mobility to include marginal voices. Her work is guided by aspirations of a society that allows for self-reflection, and thus self-determination. She strives to contribute to a planning community that is more just and caring, that illuminates the human aspects of daily life and provides people with agency in shaping policy based on their values.

Congratulations from all of us at the School of Planning!

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) recently held rallies across several Canadian cities regarding tenants' experiences of higher rents and poorer maintenance in units owned by real estate investment trusts.

The School of Planning's Dr. Brian Doucet spoke about these concerns, stating that Canada has focused largely on building new housing stock, while "losing sight of the housing that is already affordable."

This housing is often lost through demolition, or through the process of "renoviction", where tenants are evicted, so units can be renovated and rented at higher rates. 

The School of Planning's Dr. Martine August's 2022 report on TheFinancialization of Housing in Canada states that the largest financial firms in Canada hold an estimated 20-30 per cent of multifamily rental units, with that number increasing each year. 

More information on this issue and ACORNS concerns can be found in the original article, featured on CTV News. 

To learn more about affordable housing models and how Canada can apply them, please refer to Dr. Brian Doucet's August 2023 research report with the Canada Research Chairs. 

Chen Yang will be receiving his Doctor of Philosphy (PhD) in Planning at convocation this weekend. 

On September 30^th, 2023, the School of Planning hosted its Welcome to Planning ceremony. This event provided an opportunity for our incoming students and their supporters to connect with the School of Planning community and engage with issues relevant to the Planning community that will shape their educational journey going forward.

School of Planning Alum Samantha Biglieri (PhD, 2019), in collaboration with the School of Planning’s Dr. Jennifer Dean, has been awarded the 2023 PlanON Award for Innovation in Research at this year’s OPPI Annual Conference.