The future of rural businesses and communities is dependent on appropriate and effective workforce development strategies. Rural businesses and communities are confronted with challenges in accessing relevant human capital to support, maintain, and grow their operations. Without deliberate and place-based strategies, rural businesses and rural economies will be negatively impacted.
Researchers at the University of Guelph and Selkirk College are interested
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 Jay Maloney, Sean Markey, Ryan Gibson, and Ashleigh Weeden for their recent peer reviewed journal publication titled "Advancing Green Infrastructure Solutions in Rural Regions: Economic Impacts and Capacity Challenges in Southwest Ontario, Canada". The abstract for the article published in Rural and Regional Development is listed below:
Green infrastructure (GI) is a growing topic in urban planning, asset management, and clima
Congratulations to Damilola Oyewale for receiving the Wayne J. Caldwell Prize for Service in Rural Planning during the June 2024 convocation. Caldwell Prize for Service in Rural Planning recognizes excellence in students who have made significant contributions to the Rural Planning and Development Program through their work in student organizations, their role with the Ontario Professional Planners Institute, the Canadian Institute of Planners, o
The Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation and Yukon University recently co-hosted the Northern Dialogues: Remoteness and Sustainable Livelihoods in Rural and Northern Canada Conference in Whitehorse, Yukon. The conference addressed the intersection of remoteness and sustainable livelihoods framed across three interrelated themes: (i) innovation and community development, (ii) education, health, and social systems, and (iii) culture, heritage, and wellb...
Congratulations to Chris Van Dyke who successfully completed his Master of Planning Major Research Paper titled "Home on Borrowed Land: Geographies of Land Leasing and the Impacts of Colonial Land Policy on Housing in the Northwest Territories". Chris' research can be accessed as a one page summary or the entire Major Research Paper.
Shanley Weston's MSc (Planning) thesis is now available in the University of Guelph’s Atrium. Shanley's thesis is titled "Darkest Days: A Scoping Review of Violent Crime in Rural Canada".
Congratulations to Shanley for successfully completing the MSc (Planning) thesis!
Damilola Oyewale's MSc (Planning) thesis is now available in the University of Guelph's Atrium. Damilola's thesis is titled "Evaluation of the Impact of the Provincial Policy Statement on International Agricultural Workers’ Housing in Ontario".
Congratulations to Damilola for successfully completing the MSc (Planning) thesis!
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
