Blumenschein, Larissa MCP
Planning for complete communities: An analysis of food access in downtown Winnipeg
Advisor: Dr. Orly Linovski
Committee: Dr. Richard Milgrom (City Planning), Stefan Epp-Coop (Food Matters Manitoba)
Many North American cities are struggling with a phenomenon called a “food desert”, known as a particular area of a city that fails to provide its residents with access to nutritious food. Due to recent closures of grocery stores, this title of a ‘Food Desert’ is often applied to parts of Downtown Winnipeg. In light of current efforts to further develop Winnipeg’s downtown core, planners and developers are taking a closer look at the issues behind food access for urban residents. Much of the current literature on food access in urban settings focuses primarily on the challenges for low-income households. However, poor food access is also an issue for non-low income residents, who may not be dependent on convenience stores, but must drive long distances in order to purchase groceries, causing unsustainable shopping habits as well as a loss in local consumer dollars. This research focuses on the issues of food access from the perspective of a diverse urban community with a range of incomes. The research aims to address the gaps in food desert literature by providing a better understanding of the challenges behind food access for different types of residents in urban areas, as well as how improved food access can in turn contribute to a complete community.
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Keywords: Food desert, Winnipeg, Access, Downtown, Urban, Community
Chandran, Deepa MCP
Transportation inclusion and community wellbeing: exploring public transit accessibility of Winnipeg's North End neighbourhoods
Advisor: Dr. Janice Barry
Committee: Dr. Orly Linovski (City Planning), Susanne Dewey Povoledo MCP MCIP (City of Winnipeg)
Analyzing public transit accessibility to marginalized communities is critical to exploring the link between transportation inclusion and wellbeing in automobile-centered cultures. This study is an attempt to examine public transit accessibility to Indigenous residents in Winnipeg's North End. Apart from analyzing the current level of transit accessibility, the study explores barriers that hinder the use of public transit in the North End and examines strategies to improving transit accessibility to its residents. This study adopts a holistic approach to understanding 'accessibility' and recognizes the importance of socio-economic, perceptional, and demographic factors in shaping the demand for transit facilities in an area. Findings of the study illustrate the need to include transportation inclusion as an essential component of the urban Indigenous welfare policies in the country. The lessons learned will also provide an initial framework to understand the link between community wellbeing and transportation inclusion of other socio-economically vulnerable communities.
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Keywords: Indigenous communities, Transit accessibility, Transportation equity, North End
Geen, Jillian MCP
The development corporation model’s impact on municipal planning policy, development process, and standards: The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation
Advisor: Dr. David van Vliet
Committee: Dr. Orly Linovski (City Planning), Tom Janzen MCIP (TVJ Projects)
The government land development corporation model works at ‘arm’s length’ from the public sector to manage development of public land assets. With the potential to create uplift in value and shape the built environment to achieve City objectives, many municipalities have established this model, yet there is a lack of study on their impact to the municipal planning and development process. This research presents a case study, including key informant interviews, of the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation’s (CMLC) management of the redevelopment of the East Village to identify lessons that may be application in other development projects. A list of themes for success and weakness informs discussion on how a government land development model can impact municipal planning policy, development process and standards. Half way into the project timeline, CMLC has achieved many of its objectives through a coordinated approach grounded in a strong vision set in a Master Plan. Active marketing and infrastructure upgrades that focused on connections established a renewed sense of place to a blighted neighborhood. CMLC benefits from being able to act in a nimble manner outside of the often-extended municipal decision-making structure. A broad mandate, control over budget decision, land ownership and authority to manage phasing provides efficiency in operations and confidence to investors, however public accountability remains a concern. CMLC introduces new avenues of collaboration and brings multiple disciplines together for risk sharing facilitating innovation in planning policy, practice and standards, that otherwise may have been lost in negotiation. Positioned at the interface between public and private, CMLC has found success in balancing interests and tensions through combining the strengths of each sector.
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Keywords: Models of land development, Municipal development corporation, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, Alternative development standards, Innovative policy, Government land development corporation
Galston, Robert MCP
Places for People: Designing Pedestrian-friendly Streets in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Advisor: Dr. Rae Bridgman
Committee: Dr. Richard Milgrom (City Planning), Marcella Poirier MCP MCIP (University of Winnipeg)
This research explores street design as a means to creating pedestrian-friendly public street space in North American downtown neighbourhoods. Recent literature suggests pedestrian activity in urban environments depends upon both a dense mix of land uses and public spaces which are safe, comfortable, and accessible for pedestrians. This latter condition is the focus of this research, and is referred to as pedestrian-friendly. Focusing on the downtown neighbourhood of South Portage in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the research applies a theoretical framework and a detailed site assessment to understand current conditions of walkability in South Portage. This assessment helps to inform relevant design interventions for identified locations in the South Portage neighbourhood, in order to create improved conditions for pedestrians. It is hoped this research provides a better understanding of what role planners can play in the creation of pedestrian-friendly street space, and to explore what potential exists to make the street environment of the South Portage neighbourhood more pedestrian-friendly.
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Keywords: Urban design, downtown revitalization, Winnipeg, city planning
Intertas, Mark Aurelio MCP
The role of co-operatives in North End Winnipeg's urban revitalization
Advisor: Dr. Rae Bridgman
Committee: Christopher Leo (City Planning), Kerniel Aasland (Political Science, University of Winnipeg)
The North End is one of the most colourful areas in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Plagued by urban decay, the North End is a melting pot of cultures and catch basin for many marginalized people. In the face of adversity, people unite under similar ideals and principles to work towards common goals. This unity is exemplified in co-operatives, which has been in the North End for decades. Co-ops exhibited outstanding camaraderie with the goal of alleviating adverse social conditions. Today, the co-op sector, exemplified by Pollock’s Hardware and Urban Eatin’ Landscapes, continue to operate in the area like conventional business, while practicing social and environmental responsibility under a common set of principles. Due to their ideologies and principles, their impact on neighbourhood and community revitalization is more profound than expected. Through case studies, this research found that co-ops offer urban planners and government officials a complimentary method to conventional urban revitalization methods. Co-operative Urban Revitalization starts by uniting marginalized people and empowering them to devise solutions to social and economic problems.
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Keywords: urban revitalization, co-operatives, North End, Winnipeg, urban decay, urban decline, CED, Commnity economic development, Pollock's Hardware Co-op, Urban Eatin' Landscapes Co-op, cooperatives, case study, neighbourhood revitalization, People's Co-op, Manitoba Co-operative's Act
Leckie, Aaron MCP
Improving accessibility to transit: An examination of the public transportation system for older adults in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Advisor: Dr. Orly Linovski
Committee: Dr. Richard Milgrom (City Planning), Gina Sylvestre (University of Winnipeg)
An aging population will be a defining characteristic of Canadian demographics for the next 30 years. The convenience, reliability, and flexibility of public transportation systems to meet new and changing demands will be an important issue as Canadian cities age. Blending approaches from urban planning, transportation planning, and gerontology, the researcher investigated public transportation services for older adults in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The focus of this research was to understand how the City of Winnipeg prioritizes and funds transit improvements, the barriers that older adults encounter when using transit, and to look at existing challenges and opportunities to enhance the public transit system. Multiple methods were used in this study. The researcher conducted interviews with urban professionals working for the City of Winnipeg, hosted a focus group with older adult users of public transportation, and collected the demographic data of focus group participants through an exit survey. This research finds that older adults in Winnipeg encounter several barriers to transit which largely fit under the general themes of access to bus stops, access to information, and access to destinations. Recommendations and further areas of investigation are provided.
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Keywords: Age-friendly, universal design, travel chain approach, barrier-free design, life-course perspective, winter cities
Miller, Alexis MCP
Beyond the Creative City brand: exploring creative city-making in Winnipeg Manitoba
Advisor: Dr. Rae Bridgman
Committee: Gerry Couture RPP FCIP (City Planning), Dr. Sonia Bookman (Sociology)
This thesis explores the intersection between city planning in Winnipeg, Manitoba and branding the city as a creative city, by examining several key Winnipeg planning documents, which are interpreted as enacting the collective drive to develop - and brand - Winnipeg as a Creative City. Inspired in particular by the work of Charles Landry, this study reveals how Winnipeg’s creative city identity and approach is actively crafted and defined through local planning discourses. The research seeks to expand and enrich the dialogue around the creative city, using a creative city-making framework, to encourage a more holistic and inclusive approach to what rates as a creative city, and what merits recognition as creative and creativity in a city planning context. Some of the creative themes found in Winnipeg of interest to planners include a commitment to collaboration, integration, participation and the desire to operationalize creativity within municipal governance.
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Keywords: city planning, city branding, creativity, city-making, culture
Paradis, Ryan MCP
For-benefit corporations and urban Indigenous community economic development: a case study of the Métis Economic Development Organization (MEDO) in Manitoba, Canada
Advisor: Dr. Rae Bridgman
Committee: Dr. Richard Milgrom (City Planning), Dr. Wanda Wuttunee (Native Studies)
Despite long standing efforts at income assistance and community development, the income gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians continues to grow (Adelson, 2005, p. 53). Indigenous people are also overrepresented in the “poorer populations” of Canada’s urban communities (Peters & Walker, 2005). This research is a case study of the Métis Economic Development Organization (MEDO), a Winnipeg-based For-Benefit company designed to support the Métis community in Manitoba, Canada through its elected government, the Manitoba, Métis Federation (MMF). Given that Winnipeg has the largest Métis population in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2013b), this research highlights MEDO’s place within the spectrum of approaches to urban Indigenous community economic development. Through participant interviews, a narrative is presented which emphasizes the challenges in overcoming (and embracing) certain stereotypes, a strong separation between business and government, and the role planners may have in fostering a healthy environment where for-benefit enterprises may flourish and empower urban Indigenous people in Winnipeg, MB.
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Keywords: Métis, for-benefit, benefit corporation, urban Indigenous community economic development, urban Aboriginal, urban Indigenous, urban planning, CED, city planning, community economic development, Manitoba, MEDO, MMF, fourth economic sector, fourth sector, Winnipeg, economic development, self-sufficiency, self-determination
Pierce, Gaelen MCP
Building cycling infrastructure: a case study of provincial impact on municipal transportation and land-use policies in Hamilton, Ontario
Advisor: Dr. Rae Bridgman
Committee: David Linton MCP MCIP (City Planning), Nancy Smith Lea (Toronto Centre for Active Transportation)
This research examines the emergence of cycling-supportive land-use and transportation policies in Ontario and Hamilton, Ontario between 1990 and 2016. The focus of this thesis is on two questions that have been unexplored in previous research: (1) what cycling-supportive policies emerged in Provincial and Municipal government during this time?; and (2) what role, if any, did the Provincial position on cycling play in the development of Hamilton, Ontario cycling policies? A primary and secondary document review was undertaken to identify patterns between historical Provincial and Municipal policies. Three types of results are presented: (1) an examination of amendments to the Ontario Planning Act, emphasizing its effect on the role of policy in Ontario, the structure of the Ontario planning system, and on Municipal conformity; (2) a detailed review of emergent cycling-supportive policies and trends in Ontario and Hamilton, Ontario between 1990 and 2016; and (3) an analysis of evidence showing the influence of Provincial cycling-supportive policies on Hamilton plan policies. This research concludes that (1) novel cycling-supportive policies have emerged at both the Municipal and Provincial levels during the research period, and (2) evidence exists that Provincial land-use and transportation policies have influenced Hamilton’s cycling policy over the research period.
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Keywords: Bicycling, active transportation, policy, Ontario, growth management, Hamilton, Provincial policy statement
Prokopanko, Adam MCP
Rapid Transit Routing in Winnipeg: Determining Factors for Corridor Selection
Advisor: Dr. David van Vliet
Committee: Dr. Orly Linovski (City Planning), Michael Pyl (City of Winnipeg)
Past practices for determining the routes of bus rapid transit (BRT) corridors in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada have largely relied upon comparisons of quantitative factors. This research recommends qualitative factors to be incorporated into the process in order to present a more complete evaluation of proposed transit routes. Key Winnipeg informants were interviewed from three groups: transit officials, planners, and developers. Each group has a vested interest in the establishment of new BRT corridors and the construction of transit-oriented development (TOD) around the stations. Informants from Ottawa were interviewed to provide insights from another city having long-standing rapid transit development. The research identified eleven factors that should be taken into consideration when evaluating and selecting the routes for BRT corridors in Winnipeg. A framework of recommendations was developed, with the two foundational factors of transportation value and long-term city-building providing a basis to expand on using transit, development, and planning factors.
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Keywords: Bus rapid transit, transit-oriented development, qualitative factors, route analysis
Rogness, Krista MCP
Alone on the SkyTrain in Metro Vancouver, Canada: Women's digital stories help plan safe public transit
Advisor: Dr. Rae Bridgman
Committee: Dr. Orly Linovski (City Planning), Susan Frieg MCIP (Freig & Associates)
Women’s safety is a major concern worldwide in transit planning. In Metro Vancouver, the public has been questioning levels of safety on the public transit system TransLink. A blog, ‘Harassment on TransLink’, has compiled women’s personal stories of harassment on public transit. The blog has acted as an informal reporting strategy for women to share and vocalize their fears about transit. The blog has now helped propel the development of a smart phone app (created by TransLink), which allows riders to report harassment on transit. This case study analysis of the blog explores how social media can function as an alternative reporting tool for safety measures and policy on public transit. Through semi-structured interviews and a review of relevant literature and precedents, the voices of female riders have been analyzed to examine how social media has been and can be used to improve public transit planning for women’s safety.
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Keywords: Storytelling, public transit, safety, women, social media, harassment
Sajwan, Shivani MCP
Community Economic Development (CED) and Social Enterprise in a Western Canadian City: A Case Study of Inner City Renovations (ICR) in Winnipeg’s North End
Advisor: Dr. Richard Milgrom
Committee: Dr. Rae Bridgman (City Planning); Inonge Aliaga MCIP (Province of Manitoba)
How are Community Economic Development (CED) principles helping to improve the economic sustainability of Winnipeg’s North End? This core question guides my research. The main objective is to study how CED principles have been incorporated in a program, to examine how they have been implemented, and how the program contributed to neighbourhood economic stability. In Winnipeg’s North End, residents have experienced poor quality housing, low educational attainment, high unemployment rates and visible poverty. This has contributed to the deterioration of the neighbourhood. To help revitalize these neighbourhoods, local organizations are using CED principles in their programs; they focus on addressing the physical, social and economic gaps, and the challenges many residents face. Inner-City Renovations is one social enterprise applying CED principles to improve the economic stability by utilizing the available local resources. This paper aims to identify how CED principles are contributing to the economic sustainability of Winnipeg’s North End.
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Keywords: Community economic development (CED) initiatives; social enterprise; economic sustainability; Inner-City Renovations (ICR); Winnipeg’s North End; neighbourhood revitalization
Syvixay, Jason MCP
Where They Meet: Indigenous Activism and City Planning in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Advisor: Dr. Rae Bridgman
Committee: Jino Distasio (City Planning), Jeff Palmer MCP MCIP (Catapult Community Planning)
In Winnipeg, Indigenous activists are finding and/or creating new opportunities to meet in public space to discuss civic issues like safety, inclusion, and the right to land. Through physical resistance (i.e. Indigenous activists occupying public space through blockades, protest, and public demonstrations), Indigenous activists have begun to make known their varying political, economic, and social struggles — and in many cases, are rallying both public and media support to affect and create neighbourhood change. This practicum will explore Indigenous activism, leading to lessons for planners and others. Instead of maintaining a critical distance from these demonstrations, which can often create feelings of alienation within the Indigenous community, I assert that planners and others can view these public actions as offering opportunities for feedback, dialogue, and change. Through a case study of Meet Me At The Bell Tower, I hope to demonstrate how Indigenous activism in public spaces may represent an important bottom-up, community-based approach to public engagement.
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Keywords: Indigenous planning, protest, public space, right to the city, neighbourhood revitalization
