Department of Geography and Planning Graduate Projects
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Item Urban Renewal as Conservative Surgery: The Role of Urban Renewal in the Development of Rideau Heights between 1952-1973(2025-04) Michaud, ChloeThis report examines the changes in the urban renewal plan for the redevelopment of the Rideau Heights neighbourhood in Kingston, Ontario. The analysis begins in 1952, when Rideau Heights was annexed by the City of Kingston and efforts to remedy the “blight” conditions of the community began. The analysis will conclude in 1973, when the legislation for the federal Urban Renewal Program was repealed by the federal government and replaced with the Neighbourhood Improvement Program. This report uses a single case study approach, using archival research and analysis methods with the goal of creating a more in depth understanding of the role urban renewal had in the development of the neighbourhood. The City of Kingston’s archival documents, as well as archival newspaper articles from the Kingston Whig Standard, were used to create a chronology, found in Appendix 1, which informed this report’s analysis of the Rideau Heights Redevelopment Project. The report finds that urban renewal plan went through numerous iterations, originally spanning a much larger area than what is included in the final version of the plan. Unlike most urban renewal projects in Canada, and North America as a whole, The Rideau Heights project constituted an unusual approach to urban renewal compared to other North American cities. Rather than raze the entire area and replace housing entirely with social housing, the final urban renewal project in Rideau Heights aimed to conserve as many homes as possible, even planning to move homes to fit the new plan of subdivision. This was a long-term planning project which went through numerous iterations as the objective of the plan evolved. The urban renewal project in Rideau Heights resulted in the neighbourhood undergoing major changes between 1952 and 1973, becoming almost unrecognisable within the 21-year period analyzed in this report.Item Transforming Suburban Public Spaces: A Case Study of the Woodbridge Avenue Streetscape in Urban Design and Public Realm Activation(2025-04) Pillitteri, CristinaThis research explores the transformation of Woodbridge Avenue in Vaughan, Ontario, as a case study in urban design and public realm activation. Amidst rapid suburban densification, the study investigates how streetscape improvements can enhance social interaction, walkability, and overall livability in transitioning suburban-urban environments. The analysis combines qualitative methods, including streetscape assessments, observational analysis, planning document reviews, and key informant interviews. The findings reveal how strategic design interventions support vibrant, inclusive, and multifunctional public spaces that contribute to a stronger sense of community and place. This report offers design and policy recommendations to guide future revitalization efforts in Vaughan and similar suburban contexts, highlighting the pivotal role of streetscape design in contemporary city-building.Item From the School Yard to the Conservation Area: Impact Investment across the Nature/Social Divide(Wiley, 2020-05-06) Cohen, DanIn the face of planetary crises, from inequality to biodiversity loss, “impact investing” has emerged as a vision for a new, “moral” financial system where investor dollars fund socio-environmental repair while simultaneously generating financial returns. In support of this system elite actors have formed a consensus that financial investments can have beneficial, more-than-financial outcomes aimed at solving social and environmental crises. Yet critical geographers have largely studied “green” and “social” finance separately. We propose, instead, a holistic geography of impact investing that highlights the common methods used in attempts to offset destructive investments with purportedly reparative ones. This involves interrogating how elite-led ideas of social and environmental progress are reflected in investments, as well as deconstructing the “objects” of impact investments. As examples, we use insights from both “green” and “social” literatures to analyse the social values embedded in projects of financialisation in schooling and affordable housing in the US.Item Marine Planning in British Columbia: An Evaluation of Haida Gwaii's Marine Plans and Marine Protected Area Management Plans(2024) Wisden, Rosanna ObusanHaida Gwaii, formerly known as Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago of approximately 150 islands located in the Pacific North Coast of British Columbia. Increasing interest in marine spatial planning has led to marine plans and marine protected area management plans being developed to guide the sustainable management of marine areas in the region. Marine Spatial Planning is an iterative public process that analyzes and allocates the spatial and temporal distribution of human activities within marine areas to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives identified during the planning and political process. Marine Spatial Planning processes have led to the development of the following marine plans and marine protected area management plans in and around Haida Gwaii: the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA) Plan; the Haida Gwaii Marine Plan; the Gwaii Haanas Land-Sea-People Management Plan; and the SGaan Kinghlas–Bowie Seamount Marine Protected Area Management Plan. The research presented in this report is guided by the following research objectives in order to evaluate the aforementioned plans: i. Develop a set of marine plan evaluation criteria based on academic and grey literature suitable for the evaluation of the marine plans and protected area management plans’ effectiveness; ii. Use the evaluation criteria developed in Research Objective i to evaluate the four plans that influence marine resource management and conservation in the Haida Gwaii marine sub-region discussed above; iii. Based on the evaluation, make recommendations for improvement to marine management in the Haida Gwaii marine sub-region, and in the marine spatial planning process in general. In addition to highlighting the limitations of this research, which include the lack of Indigenous perspectives and input, the lack of existing research on assessing marine plans and marine protected area management plans in academic and grey literature, as well as the overall limitations in existing management systems to implement the marine plans/marine protected area management plan, the main research recommendations for this report include the following: i. Indigenous leadership should be encompassed in all marine spatial planning processes and in the equitable co-management of marine areas, which will reinforce Canada’s commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples across the coasts; ii. That the assessment of the effectiveness of marine plans and marine protected area management plans expand from the identification of necessary requirements based off the set of criteria and sub-criteria developed in this research report; iii. That marine plans and marine protected area management plans provide a timeframe from when it is endorsed to when the identified goals and objectives can be realized in order to provide a quantifiable analysis prior to conducting revisions of the plans; iv. The interdependence of land and offshore ecosystems also drives the need for more integration between land and marine use planning, as well as transboundary interactions beyond the scope of an identified marine area; and lastly, v. That a set of planning tools be identified that can legally support and enforce marine spatial plans in Canada.Item Oh, the PLAYces You’ll Go: A Comparative Analysis of Public and Private Older Adult Play Spaces(2024-03) Gryfe, MarleyOlder adults over the age of 65 have become the fastest growing age group in the world. This demographic shift requires age-friendly planning that not only supports but also stimulates the aging population. One age-friendly planning approach to engage and excite older adults that is currently overlooked is play. My study aims to address the play gap in age-friendly planning literature by exploring the relationship between older adults with both public and private play spaces. To gain insights into the relationship between older adults and play spaces, a mixed-methods single case study analysis was conducted of Century Village East (CVE), an age-restricted community in Florida. Results from the analysis of naturalistic observations of 245 older adults across three play spaces and ten semi-structured interviews with seasonal residents provided valuable insights on enabling and limiting features of older adult play spaces. Through studying play in a saturated older adult-oriented environment, I was able to develop recommendations for designing public spaces to avoid elements that constrain play, socialization, and physical activity while ensuring the inclusion of play features that foster positive outcomes.