The 2025 Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) Symposium: 'Integrated Planning' was held Thursday, September 18 and Friday, September 19, 2025. Thursday was filled with informative panel discussions, with an optional guided excursion scheduled on Friday. The Symposium was attended by rural planning and development students from the University of Guelph, both virtually and in person at the Walper Hotel in Kitchener, Ontario.
On September 11, 2025, the Facultad de Economía at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México hosted an engaging academic exchange highlighting migration, labour, and economic dynamics between Canada and Mexico.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.