The current issue of the Ontario Planning Journal (Vol. 33, No. 6) [1] features a range of topics on rural planning and development. Wayne Caldwell, RPD faculty, talks about two realities in rural Ontario and the impacts on the practice of planning. Sara Epp, PhD Candidate in Rural Studies, considers the settlement of Mennonite farmers in northern Ontario communities and the impact on local food systems. Katherine Howes, MSc RPD student, and her co-author discuss waterfront property owners and their role in local economic development. Pam Duesling, PhD Candidate in Rural Studies, reflects on policy changes occurring across rural Ontario in relation to on-farm diversification. Stephanie Burnham, MSc RPD student, Sheri Longboat, RPD faculty, and their co-author discuss using community-led planning approaches when working with Indigenous communities. These are a few of the range of topics explored in the RPD program at the University of Guelph.
About Us
The School of Environmental Design and Rural Development (SEDRD) brings together major academic fields concerned with creating strong communities, in Canada and around the world. The four highly respected programs in SEDRD share many common goals but approach them in different and complementary ways. This model reflects the imperatives in building authentic communities where planners, leaders, communicators, landscape architects, the citizens and politicians all play important interdependent roles in community strength.