Ontario Professional Planners Institute

We are looking for volunteers to help moderate panels and monitor rooms at the #OPPIConference2024. If you are interested, please email conference@ontarioplanners.ca for more information.

Join us at this years 2024 OPPI Conference. We look forward to meeting you all! Ontario Professional Planners Institute https://lnkd.in/gKdQd6V2

Join Strategists Emily Reisman, Craig Lametti and Yasmin Afshar, along with project team members Shannon Holness and Troy Budhu for a panel discussion on Planning with the community – Jane Finch Mall Redevelopment Process Reflections at this year's Ontario Professional Planners Institute conference in City Of Hamilton. Since its development in the 1960s, Jane Finch Mall has played a central role in one of Canada’s most diverse communities. It is a place where people meet their daily needs and an important place of connection within the community. Over the years, the mall expanded incrementally in response to changing community needs. With recent investments in the Finch West Light Rail Transit (LRT), the community is entering a new period of change, including the mall site. This change presents an opportunity to address critical community needs by introducing new amenities and services to contribute to the development of a more complete community that continues to welcome Torontonians as it has always done. Looking to the future, the mall owners assembled a team of consultants, including engagement specialists with ties to the community, and launched the JFM+ (Jane Finch Mall Plus) process in 2021 to engage the local community around a shared vision for the site. The JFM+ process went beyond the typical development planning process for a privately owned site to engage early with the community before preparing a formal development application submission for the city. Across over two years of consultation, the JFM+ process engaged over 2,000 community members, including important leaders, activists, and community organizations, through a variety of methods. Key to delivering this was the 15+ members of the engagement team — known as the community animators — who were comprised of a diverse group of people who lived and were actively engaged with the community and passionate about the neighbourhood’s future. Their lived experience and intimate understanding of the community informed and helped guide the process, enabled the team to engage a representative group of organizations and individuals, and brought insights into the community priorities and planning and design components of the proposal. This presentation and facilitated panel discussion includes members of the planning and engagement team who will present a candid overview of the project and process, what worked, how the approach to engagement was shaped by the community, and lessons learned.

Join Strategist Tim Smith on the last day of this year's Ontario Professional Planners Institute conference for Designing the Inclusive City - a session that will take participants on a visual journey around Ontario, across Canada, and to cities in the US and Europe to see places designed to meet the needs of everyone— people of all cultures, all ages, all abilities. The places include neighbourhoods, housing developments, and public spaces. Features that make the places successful are highlighted, along with the challenges of making them truly inclusive. The session demonstrates how the design of communities, buildings, and open spaces can help to address the economic and social divisions within many Ontario cities.

Strategist Josh Neubauer, our Hamilton Collaborative Studio Lead, is presenting at two sessions during the Ontario Professional Planners Institute conference. On Wednesday, with YWCA Hamilton's Chelsea Kirkby and Violetta Nikolskaya, they will explore Shaping Spaces for All: Lessons from YWCA Hamilton on Gender-Informed Planning and Design. The overarching goal is to inspire, energize, and equip planners with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the importance of, and effectively implement, gender-based planning and design for the betterment of communities. On Thursday, Josh will be co-leading a hike: From Biosphere to Business: How Geological Architecture Can be Economic Development Infrastructure in Hamilton, exploring how ecological conservation can go hand-in-hand with economic development. Co-led with Paul Shaker of Civicplan.

Join Strategist Eric Turcotte at this year's Ontario Professional Planners Institute annual conference in City Of Hamilton! He is co-leading a collaborative charrette along with Alex Taranu, Ute Maya-Giambattista and Jana Kelemen. SPECIAL PRE-CONFERENCE EVENT! Tuesday, September 24, 2024 The Urban Design Charrette is a full-day participatory workshop conducted in an abbreviated charrette format. Understanding urban design as a fundamental tool to tackle complex urban issues and deliver vibrant communities, this year’s case study focuses on a Hamilton site and invites planners and designers from across the country to work in teams and envision creative solutions by drawing from a diverse range of experience and perspectives. The site will be chosen from a place in need of revitalization/reurbanisation. Planners and designers will look at options and measures to address pressing questions to revitalize, retrofit, and potentially re-envision such sites as resilient places where a variety of housing, employment opportunities, retail and services, access and transportation options (specifically sustainable transportation, higher order transit, active transportation), and, in particular, a strong public realm is delivered. Public amenities such as parks, parkettes, squares, plazas, natural areas, complete streets, and public facilities are of a special focus. Thanks to a collaboration between the Council for Canadian Urbanism (CanU) and the City of Hamilton with support from the Ontario Professional Planners Institute, the workshop explores the ideas and principles of good Canadian urbanism and how they can be applied to result in a livable, resilient, sustainable, healthy, and authentic community.

We're excited to announce that in-person registration for #AdaptationTransformation2024 is SOLD OUT! If you weren't able to purchase an in-person ticket, don't worry—virtual attendance is still available. You can enjoy all the sessions and participate in the conference from the office or the comfort of your couch. Prefer to attend in person? Join our waitlist by visiting https://ow.ly/2c2w50Tjgeo. See you soon!

Get ready — the call for proposals for #ACTION2025, CIP and OPPI’s (Ontario Professional Planners Institute) national planning conference, opens next week! 🎉 Here’s what you’ll need to prepare for your submission: 🔺Names, contact, and brief biographical details for each presenter 🔺A draft title for your session 🔺Long description of your session (150 words maximum) 🔺Short description of your session for the website and mobile app (50 words maximum) 🔺Identify key learning outcomes for your session Mark your calendars — the submission deadline is October 25, 11:59 p.m. PT 🗓️ Stay tuned to our channels for more info!

Meet OPPI's 2024 Scholarship Recipients! We are delighted to celebrate this year's outstanding students who have demonstrated exceptional promise and dedication in their planning studies. Through our scholarship program, we aspire to support and recognize the emerging talent that will shape the future of our profession. Today's planning students are the Registered Professional Planners (RPPs) of tomorrow, and we are excited to see their impact. Congratulations! To learn more about our recipients, visit https://ow.ly/Cj8w50Taf7M.

📅 We’re just three weeks away from our #AdaptationTransformation2024 conference—are you ready? Join us for a three-day event featuring insightful workshops and informative discussions on the latest topics shaping our profession. Registration closes in one week; register now before it’s too late! https://ow.ly/5vr850SLniA