News

RPD students in the Advanced Planning Practice class visited the Muskoka District from February 27 to March 1. They met with planners from the District and local planners in Gravenhurst and Port Carling (Township of Muskoka Lakes). They also attended an LPAT hearing over a contested severance application.  They met with planning consultants concerning an area development and went out to dinner with RPD alumni.  Of course, there was also a site visit to Sawdust Brewery to study the positive impacts of development on downtown Gravenhurst!

Dr. Ryan Gibson and Ashleigh Weeden (PhD student, School of Environmental Design & Rural Development) hosted a workshop at the Ontario Good Roads Association’s 2019 Conference in Toronto on February 26, 2019 to launch the “Building the Future: Rural Infrastructure & Regional Economic Development” research initiative.

Prof. Nadia Amoroso’s publication on visual communication in landscape architecture was recently published by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group). Representing Landscapes: Analogue is the latest book of the Representing Landscapes Series. This publication focuses on hand graphics and the analogue medium.

Communities across rural Ontario are exploring new strategies for economic development opportunities. In partnership with the Ontario Good Roads Association, rural planning and development students in the economic development course discussed the future of rural economic development with over 150 municipal leaders from across Ontario.

A new research initiative aimed at investigating the influence of rural communities’ capacity to respond to infrastructure challenges on their immediate and long-term economic development potential is underway. Dr. Ryan Gibson is the lead investigator of the project, which includes researchers and policy experts from across Canada, including University of Guelph Rural Studies PhD student Ashleigh Weeden.

On January 14, 2019, the federal government announced a new Minister of Rural Economic Development. Dr. Ryan Gibson was recently interviewed by the Manitoba Co-operator newspaper for reaction to the new announcement and the implications for rural Canada. You can read the news article: “Rural Canada has a new voice, say rural advocates”.

As part of a weekly Radio Canada spotlight on research in Ontario, Dr Nic Brunet talks about his career path and new and emerging aspects of his research program in remote communities in Canada and Ontario.

Profs. Brendan Stewart and Karen Landman are working alongside landscape architecture alumnus Daniel Rotsztain, (MLA 2018),  and current landscape architecture students to create simple, yet impactful, "pop up" public gathering spaces. They’ve coined their project “plazaPOPS”, part of Park People's Public Space Incubator funded by Ken and Eti Greenberg and the Balsam Foundation.  

On January 15, 2019, the federal government announced the creation of a new minister of rural economic development. Bernadette Jordan, Member of Parliament for South Shore-St Margarets in Nova Scotia, takes on the new minister role. What does it mean for rural Canada? What should the priorities be for moving forward? Dr. Gibson joined eleven CBC Radio station morning programs to discuss the recent announcement, potential strategies for focus, and why urban Canadians should care about a minister of rural economic development.

RPD grad Erin O’Neil was recently profiled by the University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College.  Erin, a 2007 graduate of the Rural Planning and Development program played a major leadership role when Fort McMurray, Alberta, was devastated by wildfires that forced more than 80,000 people from their homes in 2016.