Scroll down for current highlights on the range of work and interests of featured faculty and students at SFU Resource and Environmental Planning Program. For more information on SFU, its planning program, students & faculty, visit: http://www.sfu.ca/rem/planning.html.
What makes you passionate about planning?
Ultimately planning is meant to make communities better places for the people who live there, and I am always excited about that. I would say that every few years there is a different facet of planning that I become passionate about, and right now I am especially excited about the connection between urban design and people’s well-being, including their mental wellness, sense of belonging, and ability to navigate through the city. I am also always interested in ways that we can practically retain and enhance trees and vegetation in urban areas. This is something that is getting more challenging with climate change—trees that once did well in our communities are not guaranteed to do so as our summers get drier and winters wetter.
Tell us about a project you are working on and why it excites you.
At the moment, I am preparing for a field school in Tanzania that will happen in late June/ early July of 2025. I am trying to educate myself more on African senses of place, and the development history of a few settlements in Tanzania. Really looking forward to learning more and to introducing our students to some amazing places.
What do you think the most important challenge will be for planners in the future?
I am by no means anti-regulation. Still, the sum total of all the regulations we have in place now is starting to become overwhelming, making it harder for people to solve problems and live their lives. In response, we all need to think about how to ensure livability and ecological health while also making it easier for folks to do the right thing. Often we create these regulations in isolation, and we need to do more to think holistically about how they impact people in combination with other regulations. At the same time, we are facing a lot of polarization, which creates a very challenging context for making any kind of change, so grappling with this is also crucial.
What are you most excited about at your planning school?
Our students. No question. I am so impressed with how thoughtful they all are, and how many interesting experiences they are already bringing into the program. I also love the culture at SFU, where students and my fellow instructors alike genuinely care about making the world a better place.
Please tell us about a place or plan that has been influential to you.
I worked at the City of Richmond at an early stage in my planning career and was deeply influenced by the amazing colleagues I had, especially those who thought systematically about growth management and urban design. I see good things continuing to happen there even today, which makes me happy. I have never worked in Squamish, but I see some amazing work happening in promoting affordable housing, and there are some very appealing new multi-family buildings now in the community. Outside of British Columbia, I have spent a fair bit of time in California, including the Central Coast which is a very livable region with some beautiful landscapes and appealing townscapes in places like San Luis Obispo. In addition, I had been quite impressed with the work that Los Angeles had been doing to add affordable housing. It really crushes me now to see the terrible wildfires of early 2025—and these are a cautionary tale for us up here in British Columbia. That was more than one place—but as a typical planner, I am very passionate about places!
What makes you passionate about planning?
My passion for planning lies in its potential to create the conditions, either directly or indirectly, that help to protect and improve environmental health and the socio-economic wellbeing of all people. As a planner, I am in a privileged position to collaborate with the public, local government, researchers, and other members of the community to develop plans, policies, and projects that are (ideally) grounded in principles of sustainability, resilience, and equity, and are those that (ideally) work to bring about a more just future.
Tell us about a project you are working on and why it excites you.
As a transportation planning consultant turned PhD student, I have worked on many projects I’ve been fond of. Overarchingly, I prefer working on projects that have a strong social engagement component and a centering of equity in their evaluation / prioritization / implementation frameworks. In terms of contract work, I am happy to be currently working with an organization in British Columbia to help develop their micromobility equity program. In terms of research, I am pivoting away from transportation planning and towards food and housing. More specifically, how the integration of food (e.g. production and programming) into housing could help to bring about a more just future, and tackle what has been described as the “food-housing insecurity nexus”.
What do you think the most important challenge will be for planners in the future?
Delivering on socio-environmental sustainability, equity and justice goals (where they exist) under the umbrella of capitalism; Minimizing historical planning “silos” and working in a strategic, integrated fashion to help build more resilient, just places; Engaging meaningfully and continuously with members of the public on the design of plans and projects – from the outset!
Please tell us about a place or plan that has been influential to you.
A fan of the old mixed with the new, where cities maintain integrated sustainable transportation, land use, and diverse housing types, as well as preserve and promote history, art, and culture, I have been inspired by the following places: Belgium (suggestion: arrive in Brussels. Visit. Then take the train to Bruges); The Netherlands (suggestion: do yourself a favour and take the train to Rotterdam and the Hague, not just Amsterdam!); Galway, Ireland (suggestion: take the train from any city in the Republic. Trust me, it’s better than Dublin 😉), Paris (Suggestion: walk, everywhere. So many fabulous arrondissements to choose from. Quartier Latin, Place de la Contrescarpe will always be a favourite), and New York City (Suggestion: leave Midtown - although not before stopping at the NY Public Library - I recommend heading south to Greenwich Village. Walk the Highline. Pop into Tavern on Jane if you’re thirsty.). I feel it is important to acknowledge that while I, like many people, are fond of and have been inspired by these cities, they, for many reasons, suffer from some of the highest rates of unaffordability, displacement and homelessness, of which is being addressed to varying degrees.
