Rural development practitioners are at the front line of facilitating prosperous rural communities, places, and environments across Ontario. Ensuring rural development practitioners have access to the most up to date knowledge it critical to facilitating decision-making on the future of rural places.
Leading rural development organizations, community innovators, elected officials, students, and researchers gathered at the North Atlantic Forum in Letterfra
Rural Ontario research was on full display at the recent North Atlantic Forum in Letterfrack, Co. Galway, Ireland. Graduate students and faculty from the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development at the University of Guelph showcased new and emerging rural development knowledge related to agri-food systems, housing, work force development, economic development, and rural transit:
Sara Epp & Regan Zink - Rural Communities, Agri
Congratulations to Josh Barrett (PhD candidate in Rural Studies, University of Guelph) who received the Best Student Paper Award at the 2024 American Association of Geographers in April 2024 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The manuscript, co-authored by Kelly Vodden, focuses on how rural local governments in Newfoundland and Labrador are using entrepreneurial approaches and partnerships to achieve local development. The article, titled "Partnerships in Plac
The School of Environmental Design and Rural Development at the University of Guelph, in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), hosted a one-day symposium to showcase rural research being conducted at the University of Guelph. The Rural Symposium is an opportunity for graduate students to share their research with researchers, policy analysts and program staff with the OMAFRA, and rural organizations.
Rural research from the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development was on display at the recent Liminal Spaces: Two Days of Rural Canada conference. The interdisciplinary conference examined the world between the cities and the wilderness. The following students and alumni presented rural research at the conference:
Danika Hammond (MSc Planning graduate): Defining rural: Advancing a place-based rural criteria matrix
John Dale (Rural Studie...
From March 13th to 15th, Heather Graham (MSc Rural Planning and Development student) and Dr. Ryan Gibson attended the 26th Annual Metropolis Canada Conference in Montréal, Québec. They had the opportunity to present their poster, titled, "Innovative Workforce Strategies for Engaging Newcomers in Rural Ontario." The poster highlights the results of a survey they had completed in Fall 2023, which asked workforce planning boards and Community Futures Developm
On 27 November 2023, Ryan Gibson share research on embedding wealth in rural Canadian communities at the International Association of Community Development's Researcher Forum. The presentation explored how rural and small communities can benefit from existing wealth to build their futures. Insights from community wealth building experiences from rural Canada were be shared, focusing on lessons learned, impacts, and transferability. A copy of the presentati...
During Day 3 of the Rural Policy Twitter Conference three contributions were shared from researchers focused on the digital divide (Ashleigh Weeden and Wayne Kelly), barriers for newcomers to access recreation services for children (Niva Shrestha), and the role of rural community leaders (Norm Ragetlie and Lissel Hernandez Gongora). Check out the Twitter presentations below:
https://twitter.com/ashleighweeden/status/1405510790996578312?s=20
During Day 2 of the Rural Policy Twitter Conference two contributions were shared from researchers on workforce development and housing (Victoria Agyepong) and community investment programs (Alex Petric and Ryan Gibson). Check out the Twitter presentations below:
https://twitter.com/VicInnovates/status/1405202528048975879?s=20
https://twitter.com/alectric91/status/1405158640764473346?s=20
The Rural Policy Twitter conference continues unt
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for significant change at a rapid pace. Rural communities across the world have pivoted to address both the short-term and long-term implications for rural people, rural economies, and rural landscapes. Prof. Ryan Gibson joined a panel discussion hosted by the International Comparative Rural Policy Consortium examining three rural regions and their responses to COVID-19. The webinar share experiences of how rural
