SEDRD Welcomes Four New Faculty Members
We are thrilled to welcome four new faculty members as Assistant Professors in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development who started July 1, 2025!
News
plazaPOPS: Paradise in a Parking Lot — Exhibition
The plazaPOPS: Paradise in a Parking Lot invites visitors to celebrate the significant role that strip malls play in the social, cultural, and economic life of Toronto’s inner suburbs and the public health of local communities.
Conversations and Connections: Exploring Planning Through a Student’s Lens
This summer, I had the privilege of attending the 2025 Canadian Institute of Planners and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute (CIP-OPPI) National Planning conference, held at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto from July 8–10, as a recipient of a student CIP-PSTF bursary, alongside fellow planning students from undergraduate and graduate programs across the country. It was also a pleasure meeting them and forming new friendships throughout the conference.
New Research Funding Supports Rural Ontario’s Readiness for Major Manufacturing Investments
How can rural communities be ready to seize the opportunities—and avoid the pitfalls—of large-scale manufacturing investments? A new research initiative led by Dr. Ryan Gibson, titled Blueprints for Prosperity: Examining Rural Strategies for Mega-Manufacturing Investments, has been awarded funding through the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance to help answer this vital question.
SEDRD Research Shared at European Society of Rural Sociology Conference
Researchers recently made two outstanding contributions at the recent European Society for Rural Sociology (ESRS) Conference held in Riga, Latvia. This international gathering brought together scholars from across the globe to explore pressing issues shaping rural life today.
Lucas Berek Awarded CIP-PSTF Outstanding Graduating Student Award
Congratulations to Lucas Berek, Master of Science (Planning) graduate, for receiving the Canadian Institute of Planners Planning Student Trust Fund's (CIP-PSTF) Outstanding Graduating Student Award. The CIP-PSTF Outstanding Graduating Student Award is bestowed upon one graduating student from each accredited planning program in Canada, who has demonstrated an outstanding contribution to their future profession. This contribution is assessed through a wide range of contributing factors, including academic and extracurricular contributions.
MLA Students Capture Environmental Design Competition Prize
On April 5, 2025, Master of Landscape Architecture students in the first-year Studio II – Site Design course presented their projects at Fanshawe College's Environmental Design Competition in London, Ontario.