News related to School of Environmental Design and Rural Development

As a way of ensuring their long-term viability, Ontario’s rural communities should do more to attract and keep newcomers in their municipalities – and a University of Guelph professor has developed some recommendations on how to best do that.

Changing demographics are leaving many rural areas struggling with declining populations, and although immigration is a key solution, most of the province’s immigrants prefer to settle in large urban centres like Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton or London.

Professor Sean Kelly has been appointed as the new director of the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development (SEDRD) effective January 1, 2017.

We are pleased to announce with Libro Credit Union (Libro) the appointment of Prof. Ryan Gibson to the Libro Professorship of Regional Economic Development for southwestern Ontario. The professorship is focused on building economic development and innovation across the region, through world-class research, teaching, outreach and collaboration.
 

The School of Environmental Design and Rural Development (SEDRD) is pleased to welcome Dr. Sheri Longboat as an assistant professor in rural planning and development. Longboat joined the school on July 1, 2016.

Longboat’s research focuses on water security and governance. Much of her work connects with First Nations and looks to traditional customs and knowledge to redefine our relationship with water.

For Alex Waffle, the practice of landscape architecture is about more than just functionality. By enrolling in the MLA program he has been able to combine art and science on practical and theoretical levels to design spaces and the experiences these spaces offer. Alex’s current MLA research investigates the potential of growing specialty and ethnic foods locally in the hot microclimates of Toronto.

Rural communities are experiencing a drastic shift in their populations as more and more people choose to move to urban areas in search of employment. This shift presents significant challenges to the survival of those rural communities. However, the development of an Ontario hazelnut industry could help these communities to survive.