November 8 is World Town Planning Day! Planners and communities all over the world come together to celebrate how good planning improves the lives of people and benefits society at large, creating places to live, work, and play together. World Town Planning Day serves as a call to action to create inclusive, resilient spaces that meet the diverse needs of present and future generations. World Town Planning Day is celebrated in 30 countries on four continen
We are excited to announce a new funded project titled "Bridging Rural Insights: Integrating Research, Policy, and Development". The funding will support knowledge translation through the 2025 Rural Symposium and the Rural Review: Ontario Rural Planning, Development, and Policy.
The Rural Symposium is an opportunity for University of Guelph graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to showcase their rural research to Government of Ontario staff, rural co
Check out Kalind Patel's major research paper titled "Rural Broadband in Northern Ontario: Investigating the Status of Connectivity and the Role of Planners". A brief outline of Kalind's research can be found below:
This research investigates the current state of broadband internet access in Northern Ontario and explores the role of planners in facilitating its development. The motivation behind this study stems from the critical need for reliable internet
The November 2024 newsletter contains updates to graduate students working with me and recent alumni. The newsletter contains information for graduate students working with me and recent alumni. This newsletter shares information about our academic programs, celebrate receive achievements, profiles an RPD graduate, and share insights on upcoming events. If you have information to share in the monthly update do not hesitate to let Ryan know via email.
The School of Environmental Design and Rural Development renewed its partnership with the Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health on October 30, 2024. The new five year memorandum of understanding continues to promote opportunities for research, evaluation, and knowledge mobilization among students and faculty members in the School and across the university.
The Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health is an organization focused on improving he...
Economic development practitioners, health practitioners, and researchers shared their insights and experience on twelve critical topics to the future of rural communities and regions at the Rural Talks to Rural Conference last week. The interactive session allowed conference participants to learn more about current best practices, learn about existing programming, and to hear about current research. Participants had the opportunities to migrate between ...
Throughout the week, the Rural Planning and Development social media accounts (Facebook, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter) are sharing reflections and contributions from the 2024 Rural Symposium. Presentation and poster contributions from the 2024 Rural Symposium can be found online - https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/ruralReview.
Details about the 2025 Rural Symposium are forthcoming - stayed tuned.
Congratulations to everyone who graduated in today's fall 2024 convocation ceremonies. Many wonderful achievements were celebrated! Congratulations to:
Jennifer Aikman, Master of Planning
Joshua Barrett, PhD in Rural Studies
Ken Chew, Master of Science (Planning)
Mohammed Jalabi, Master of Science (Planning)
Niju Mathew, Master of Science (Planning)
Kalind Patel, Master of Planning
Geetanjali Rana, Master of Planning
Olassayil Sancy Sebast...
How are rural and northern Ontario businesses attracting and retaining workers? Ryan Gibson, Heather Graham, Paul Sitsofe, Niju Mathew, and Sarah-Patricia Breen share insights on this question in a recent publication in the Y Magazine of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute. The article, titled "Help Wanted: Innovative Approaches to Workforce Development in Rural and Northern Ontario", identifies challenges rural and northern businesses face in work
Welcome to October! I hope the first month of the fall semester went well for everyone. This emails contains updates to graduate students working with me and recent alumni. The October 2024 newsletter contains information for graduate students working with me and recent alumni. This newsletter shares information about our academic programs, celebrate receive achievements, and share insights on upcoming events. If you have information to share in the monthl
