School of Urban and Regional Planning

Biography:

Research Interests

Urban sustainability, environmental design, environmental planning, urban governance, public engagement and progressive pedagogy.

Teaching Interests

land use planning, environmental design, planners' relationship with the public, community-based learning

Philosophy of Teaching

To engage students in efforts to bridge the gaps between planning theory and practice; to encourage students to broaden their perspectives on the boundaries of planning with the goal of enriching how our cities look, feel and operate.

Biography

I am an Associate Professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada;  a Registered Professional Planner (Ontario) and a Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners. Prior to joining the faculty at Ryerson, I was a lecturer in the Urban and Environmental Studies programs at Innis College, University of Toronto.

In 2004 I received the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Award for Teaching Excellence for my teaching in urban sustainability. In 1996 I received an OPPI Award for Planning Excellence for my work on a public consultation strategy in Kingston ON. 

I was a founding partner in Harper Longino Robinson, Community Planning and Development, a Kingston and Toronto based urban planning firm and I worked previously as a municipal planner.

I am currently a partner of Robinson & Gore Policy and Planning with Dr. Christopher Gore (Politics and Public Administration, Ryerson). My most recent clients include the Caucus of Senior Policy Officials (C-SPO) Climate Change Working Group (CC-WG), Canadian provinces and territories; the World Bank, the Town of Markham; WATERFRONToronto, and the City of Toronto. 

My research explores the role of design, governance and civic engagement in advancing urban sustainability.

For the last 10 years, I have been conducting research on Canadian municipal response to climate change. This research is now being funded by SSHRC (2009-2012). With funding from Canada’s GEOIDE Network and Ontario Centres for Excellence, I am currently evaluating the potential of Web 2.0 tools to engage citizens in their understanding of environmental change. And, I am the past Coordinator of the Ryerson Faculty of Community Services Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. With an active interest in planning pedagogy, I continue to explore new pedagogic approaches to advance planners’ capacity to respond to urban sustainability challenges.

I am the author of numerous articles and book chapters on Canadian municipal response to climate change. I am the co-editor with Ann Dale and Bill Dushenko of a recently accepted edited volume about third-generation urban sustainability responses. I am also the  "Green Space" columnist for Spacing Magazine (www.spacing.ca)



I am the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation (www.greenbelt.ca), a board member of the George Cedric Metcalf Foundation (www.metcalffoundation.org/) and recently served as the Vice Chair of the Metrolinx Community Advisory Committee for the Electrification Study (www.metrolinx.com). I am in my second term as a board member of the UN-Habitat Research Advisory Service (http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?typeid=19&catid=496&cid=3225). In the spring of 2011, I was invited to participate in the Council of Canadian Academies Expert Panel on Women in University Research (http://www.scienceadvice.ca/en/assessments/in-progress/women-researchers.aspx).

KEY TO MEMBERSHIPS:

MCIP Member, Canadian Institute of Planners
RPP Registered Professional Planner
AICP American Institute of Certified Planners
OAA Ontario Associtation of Architects
MRAIC Member of Royal Architectural Institute of Canada