On September 30th, 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.
The School of Planning's PhD Candidate, Cloé St-Hilaire, has been award the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship for her research proposal into the effects of financialization and digital technologies on the Canadian rental housing market.
Professor Moos from the School of Planning collaborated with Skye Collishaw and Professor Tara Vinodrai from the University of Toronto on new research that shows people living in subsidized housing having more sustainable commutes (defined as the shorter distance travelled and lower car use) than otherwise similar renters. The findings have important planning and policy implications for the role of subsidized housing in terms of meeting housing affordability and climate change goals. The findings provide support for policies that promote investment in subsidized and affordable housing near transit as a housing affordability and sustainability strategy, particularly benefiting lower-income earners.
The research relies on Statistics Canada census data and is published in Housing Policy Debate.
For those of you who were unable to attend this year's Futures Forum 2023 event, or would like to see it again, a recording of Bianca Wylie's keynote presentation "Public Engagement, Technology and the Art of Living Well Together" is now available on Youtube at the link below.
The School of Planning's Dr. Leia Minaker has recently published a report in partnership with Heart & Stroke which details how food and beverage companies employ dozens of tactics to market their products directly to children at point-of-sale locations across Canada, such as grocery stores and restaurants.
Moving to Canada comes with challenges, such as not being able to find work. On Tuesday July 26, Dr. Jennifer Dean, Associate Professor in the School of Planning, was featured in a brief clip on CTV news, and says this is common for newcomers due to lack of recognition of foreign credentials. She mentions that Canadian businesses prefer experiences in the workforce in Canada and this of course, is a challenge for newcomers to the country who do not have this experience.
On Wednesday, June 22nd, Dr. Dawn Parker, Professor in the School of Planning, was featured in Kitchener City News: “UW researchers received funding to investigate lack of family-sized apartment housing in region.”
On Wednesday, June 22nd, Dr. Jeremy Pittman, Associate Professor in the School of Planning, was appointed as a member of new federal Nature Advisory Committee (NAC), created by Environment and Climate Change Canada to foster ways for Canadians to engage positively with our natural environment.
The School of Planning has recently adopted a value statement on anti-racism, equity, diversity, inclusion that acts as a principled guide for the activities of the School and its members. The statement was produced in a collaborative effort, and our students played a leading role and integral part in its formulation over the past year and a half.