Department of City Planning, University of Manitoba

05/30/2023

Great summary of recent grad Abigail McLaren's work on public transit and immigration.

In this blog post, recent Masters in Planning graduate Abigail McLaren from the University of Manitoba discusses the importance of immigration in transit planning in Canada’s prairie cities.  For my final research project of my master’s degree, I examined recent immigrant settlement patterns an...

03/20/2023

Come join our second year students for their capstone presentations! Full schedule available here:

https://umanitoba.ca/architecture/student-experience/events-2022-2023

10/28/2022

𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Assistant Professor, Tenure-Track
Position Number #31221
https://viprecprod.ad.umanitoba.ca/DEFAULT.ASPX?REQ_ID=24076

The Department of City Planning at the University of Manitoba is interested in advancing Indigenous scholarship and teaching by bringing Indigenous experience, ways of knowing and relationships with land to the Master of City Planning program. To this end, we are seeking Indigenous applicants for a full-time, Probationary (Tenure-track) position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the area of Indigenous Planning. Duties for this position include: scholarship in the candidate’s area of interest, teaching core and/or elective courses, mentoring of graduate students, and service within the University and broader community. The position will commence on 1 July 2023, or as soon as possible thereafter. Salary will be commensurate with experience and qualifications.

The Department of City Planning has laid a strong foundation for Indigenous achievement through its partnerships with First Nations and First Nation organizations, a core Indigenous Planning Studio, and the growing interest on the part of both students and faculty in expanding their knowledge of Indigenous planning practices. The Indigenous Scholar position will support the Department’s teaching in the area of Indigenous Planning (any specialization); and support and build relationships with local communities through the Indigenous Planning Studio. The Department and Faculty offer openness, support, community, caring, and a willingness to take chances and explore many ways of seeing.

The successful candidate will contribute to a growing network of Indigenous scholars, planners and designers within the Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba, and local communities.

Due to the significant cultural requirements of the position, this position is designated for Indigenous candidates. At application, applicants must declare on their cover letter whether they are Indigenous (First Nation, Métis and/or Inuit). Only candidates who identify as Indigenous and have the support of an Indigenous community, organization or institution will be considered for this position.
The University campus is located in Winnipeg (which has the largest Indigenous population of Canadian cities) on the original lands of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation in the heart of Turtle Island. The University of Manitoba is committed to Indigenous Achievement (see the University of Manitoba’s Strategic Plan (https://umanitoba.ca/strateic-plan) and Indigenous Community at U of M (https://umanitoba.ca/indigenous/)). The University is home to a growing community of Indigenous Scholars (https://umanitoba.ca/indigenous/scholars-and-research -scholars).
City Planning at the University of Manitoba is the oldest continuously running program in Canada accredited by the Professional Standards Board for Planning in Canada. The Master of City Planning program is studio-based and most projects undertaken involve collaboration with communities and stakeholders. It is based in the Faculty of Architecture along with three other graduate programs (Architecture, Interior Design and Landscape Architecture) and the undergraduate Environmental Design program. More information about the Faculty, its departments, and programs can be found at the Faculty of Architecture website. (https://umanitoba.ca/architecture/)

𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:

• Master’s degree in Planning, Indigenous Studies, or a related field.
• Ability to teach in the program’s core courses (e.g., Indigenous Planning Studio; Indigenous Peoples and Community Planning) and/or an elective in their area of interest.
• Active engagement with Indigenous ways of knowing.
• Ability to support students in community-engaged research with Indigenous partners.
• Evidence of engagement with or connections to an Indigenous community, organizations, and/or institutions

𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
To apply, please submit the following: (1) a cover letter outlining how the candidate meets the position requirements (2) curriculum vitae (3) statement of scholarly and/or professional interest, including one sample of scholarly or professional work (4) statement of teaching interest, experience, and philosophy, and the names of three references, including telephone number and email address. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide a letter of support from an Indigenous community or organization that outlines how the candidate has supported the community and how they exemplify Indigenous values, traditions, or culture.

Please specify Position Number #31221 in the application and submit all files as a single document (PDF or Word). Consideration of applications will begin on January 16, 2023. The review of applications will continue until the position is filled.

Please send application materials to:
Dr. Richard Milgrom, Search Committee Chair
Department of City Planning
Faculty of Architecture
University of Manitoba
201 Russell Building
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada R3T 2M6
Phone: (204) 474-6868
Fax: (204) 474-7532
email: [email protected]

The University of Manitoba is committed to the principles of equity, diversity & inclusion and to promoting opportunities in hiring, promotion and tenure (where applicable) for systemically marginalized groups who have been excluded from full participation at the University and the larger community, including Indigenous Peoples, women, racialized persons, persons with disabilities and those who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-Spirit, le***an, gay, bisexual, trans, questioning, intersex, asexual and other diverse sexual identities). All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority.

If you require accommodation supports during the recruitment process, please contact [email protected] or 204-474-7195. Please note this contact information is for accommodation reasons only.

Application materials, including letters of reference, will be handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Manitoba). Please note that curricula vitae may be provided to participating members of the search process.

Link to online ad: https://viprecprod.ad.umanitoba.ca/DEFAULT.ASPX?REQ_ID=24076

02/24/2022

Dr. Sarah Cooper published a recent op-ed in the Winnipeg Free Press on pandemic recovery in the inner city!

WHILE the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of ending anytime soon, public debates have shifted from emergency response to reopening and returning to normal. As the recent truckers’ convoy has made clear, some would prefer the reopening happen immediately, with no regard for public health or science...

10/01/2021

New article on policing cyclists by City Planning alumni Aaron Snider and faculty member Orly Linovski

By Orly Linovski, Aaron Snider. Tickets in Winnipeg are issued almost exclusively in inner-city areas, primarily in five census tracts that generally had more racialized and immigrant residents, and uniformly had more low-income residents.

09/02/2021

Recent article featuring alumni Aaron Snider and Dominique Camps, and faculty member Dr. Orly Linovski:

Public transportation plays a vital role in society. It makes it possible for people to travel to and from work and school, access essential services like grocery shopping, daycare and medical care,

03/23/2021

Come hear our 2nd year students discuss their capstone research!

03/10/2020

Open letter to Mayor Brian Bowman regarding the U-Pass cancellation

From the students and faculty members in the Department of City Planning (thanks the students for initiating and drafting this!!)

March 10, 2020

His Worship Mayor Brian Bowman
Mayor’s Office
City of Winnipeg
510 Main Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3B 1B9

Re: Open letter to Mayor Brian Bowman regarding the U-Pass cancellation

Your Worship Mayor Brian Bowman,
We are a group of graduate students and faculty members from the City Planning Department at the University of Manitoba. We are writing to you today about the City of Winnipeg’s recent proposed budget that eliminates the U-Pass. As current and future planners, we are concerned about the economic, social, and environmental impacts of this cut. The decision seems out of line with the city’s
stated priorities and values.

We would first like to acknowledge the establishment of free transit fares for children younger than 12 years old, and the new low-income bus pass program that will undoubtedly improve transportation affordability for many Winnipeggers who need it most. While more can be done to improve access to public transit, these are positive changes that align with the city’s stated goals to increase transit
ridership and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in keeping with the city’s Transportation Master Plan and Climate Action Plan.

At the same time as these positive changes, however, the proposed budget eliminates the U-Pass, a crucial program that resulted from many years of student advocacy. Under the U-Pass agreement currently in place, students pay $272.50 per academic year. With the post-secondary semester pass, we will have to pay $556.00, or more than double the price, for the same service from September to April (1). Because the post-secondary pass is not included with tuition, it would no longer be directly covered by
scholarships and student loans, and will have to be paid out of pocket.

This change comes at a time when the provincial government has raised the tuition increase cap to 5%
plus inflation for Manitoba universities, leading to higher tuitions and greater uncertainty for students whose budgets are already stretched thin. The situation is even more serious for international students, who were removed from public health plans in 2019, leading to higher health insurance costs on top of higher tuition fees than domestic students (2). This could make Manitoba’s universities less competitive and reduce the number of international students who choose Winnipeg to live and study.

As graduate students and faculty, we regularly commute by bus and value the convenience of the service. We are strong advocates for public transit. However, in the face of the proposed changes, we, like many others who study and work at an affected institution, would consider carpooling or other private vehicle options instead of purchasing monthly bus passes. While the U-Pass removed approximately 7,000 vehicles from the routes to the university and increased ridership by 25 percent, the proposed change would likely result in an increase in car traffic, severely reducing transit ridership (3). Evidence suggests that U-Pass programs can solidify habits towards using public transit. Cancelling the
U-Pass now will have long-term impacts on transit ridership and revenue as Winnipeg misses out on creating a generation of life-long transit users (4).

More cars on the road would not only increase congestion on key corridors and exacerbate parking shortages around both universities, but would also increase GHG emissions at a time when the City of Winnipeg has committed to major emissions reductions and many jurisdictions across the globe have declared a climate emergency. As nearly half of the city’s GHG emissions come from the transportation
sector, improving and expanding Winnipeg Transit must be an essential component of the city’s climate change mitigation efforts.

Lastly, we note that this cut to affordable transportation for students comes in the same proposed budget with record spending for roads. This is directly at odds with the goals of Winnipeg’s Transportation Master Plan “to expand the range of travel options that are available to residents,
workers and visitors, and to ensure that people are not dependent on one single mode” (5). Our city needs
leaders with long-range vision and proactive strategies to ensure that tomorrow’s students and all Winnipeggers can enjoy a range of high-quality transportation choices.

We urge you to reconsider the cancellation of the U-Pass program as a small first step in making meaningful progress on the issues of affordability, livability and climate action that are essential to Winnipeg’s long-term success.

Sincerely,

Graduate Students
Hillary Beattie
Dom Camps
Maegan Courchene
Nik Friesen-Hughes
Christopher Gibson
Justin Grift
Michelle Grover
Yasmine Haj Ahmad
Choi Ho
Daniel Iskierski
Brennan Johnson
Jayden Koop
Bradley McGregor
Melanie A. Messier
Angelic Mojica
Brody Osadick
Aaron Snider
Anders Turim

Faculty
Dr. Sarah Cooper, RPP, MCIP
Dr. Orly Linovski, RPP, MCIP
Dr. Richard Milgrom, RPP, MCIP
Dr. David van Vliet, RPP

CC: Members of Winnipeg City Council

1. Winnipeg Transit. (2020). 2020 Transit Fares. Retrieved on March 9, 2020, from: https://winnipegtransit.com/en/ fares/sayhello-to-peggo/transit-fares/
2. The Manitoban. (2019, July 25). International student healthcare costs sharply increase: UMSU opposes coverage hike, hopes to reverse province’s decision. Retrieved on March 9, 2020, from: http://www.themanitoban.com/ 2019/07/internationalstudent-healthcare-costs-sharply-increase/37653/
3. University of Manitoba Student Union. (2020, March 6). UMSU: City disregards students, environment with proposed U-Pass cut. Retrieved on March 9, 2020, from: https://umsu.ca/news/umsu-statement-city-disregards-students-environment-withproposed-u-pass-cut/
4. Grimsrud, M., & El-Geneidy, A. (2014). Transit to eternal youth: lifecycle and generational trends in Greater Montreal public transport mode share. Transportation, 41(1), 1-19.; Han, D., Yu, J., Beimborn, E., Jin, Z., & Tan, W. (2019). Elements of successful universal student transit pass programs from planning to implementation: A benchmark study. Transportation Research Record, 2673(4), 833–843.
5. City of Winnipeg. (2011, October). Winnipeg Transportation Master Plan. Retrieved on March 9, 2020, from: https://winnipeg.ca/publicworks/transportation/ pdf/transportationMasterPlan/2011-11-01-TRWinnipegTMP- Final-Report.pdf, pp. ii

02/24/2020

Upcoming talk by City Planning faculty member, Orly Linovski.

On Thursday February 27, the Ethics Centre presents Professor Orly Linovski (Department of Urban Planning, University of Manitoba) who will give a public lecture titled "The Stakeholder as Client: Conflicting Ethics in Urban Planning Mega-Firms". The talk is from 1-2pm in Russell Building 213. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.

01/20/2020

Join us this Tuesday for Sheryl-Ann Simpson's talk on LAND / LANDER.

What are the possibilities that emerge if we start our exploration of ideas such as citizenship, participation and equity through explorations of land and landscape whether urban, rural or suburban? In this talk I will present examples from ongoing research in the California and on the prairies that take a multisensory approach (incorporating the visual and sonic) to build a stronger understanding of the relationships between land and everyday or ordinary citizenship, broadly defined as practices that make claims to space and self-determination. Finally, I will specifically discuss the ways in which these ideas might be incorporated into practices of design and planning.