The Randall Lewis/ULI Building Healthy Places Virtual Forum brings together leaders in health, wellness, and real estate for conversations on the intersection of health and the built environment. Forums are typically a content-heavy, interactive, and dynamic exchange of ideas focused on the host community in which they are held.

Due to COVID-19, the 10th in the series of ULI Building Healthy Places Forums is going virtual. This two-part Forum series will take place the week of June 15. Each 75-minute session will start at 1:00 pm EDT. Register once for access to both sessions.

The Virtual Forum is organized in collaboration with ULI member leaders and will focus on sharing information about Toronto-based projects and applying lessons from these projects to the work of Forum participants who will join from across the country.

Monday, June 15 | 1:00 to 2:15 pm EDT

Part 1: Lessons from “North of the Border”
Authors Ray Tomalty and Alan Mallach will provide a broad overview of how Canada is fostering healthier urban centers and more energy- and resource-efficient suburban growth. This session will draw from their book America’s Urban Future: Lessons from North of the Border and will help set the stage for Part 2 of the series.

Speakers:

Allan Mallach, Senior Fellow, Center for Community Progress

Alan Mallach has been engaged as a practitioner, scholar and advocate with the challenges of rebuilding America’s cities and their neighborhoods for over fifty years. A senior fellow with the Center for Community Progress in Washington DC, he teaches in the Graduate Center on Planning and the Environment at Pratt Institute in New York and has lectured on housing and urban issues across the United States, Europe, Israel and Japan. He has worked at the Brookings Institution and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and served as director of housing & economic development for the city of Trenton, New Jersey. The author of many books, articles and research studies on housing, planning and urban development, his most recent book is The Divided City: Poverty and Prosperity in Urban America, which looks at urban and neighborhood revitalization in the Rust Belt, and the uneven effects of urban revival on lower income residents and communities of color. He is also a concert pianist and author of two well-received books on 19^th century Italian opera. He holds a B.A. degree from Yale College, and lives in Roosevelt, New Jersey.

Ray Tomalty, Principal, Smart Cities Research Services and Adjunct Professor, McGill University School of Planning

Ray Tomalty is Principal of Smart Cities Research Services and Adjunct Professor at McGill University’s School of Urban Planning. He specializes in research and policy development related to urban sustainability, including growth management, active transportation, green infrastructure, community energy and climate planning, housing affordability, fiscal issues, urban governance, and smart cities. Over the last 30 years he has worked for clients ranging from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Ontario Growth Secretariat, the Canadian Environmental Grantmakers’ Network, the Canadian Institute of Planners, Metro Vancouver, and several municipal governments. He has a Ph.D. in urban planning from the University of Waterloo and a Master’s in public administration from Queen’s University at Kingston.

Wednesday, June 17 | 1:00 to 2:15 pm EDT

Part 2: Rethinking Toronto’s Social Housing
Leaders from Toronto Community Housing and the City of Toronto, along with their private partner Tridel, will discuss redevelopment of Alexandra Park, a 1970s social housing community. Panelists will explain how the partnership is advancing new housing and parks all while not displacing existing residents.

Following the session, we invite participants to gather in the virtual ‘Zoom Room’ for informal discussions with the panelists. The Zoom Room will remain open for 20 minutes following the conclusion of the main session.

Speakers:

Javan Courtney (PMP), Manager of Revitalization & Renewal Communities, Toronto Community Housing

A graduate of the University of Toronto, Javan Courtney (PMP) is an experienced practitioner with strengths in community benefit agreements, social development planning, operational modeling and planning, and community consultation. As a registered project management professional with over 8 years experience, Javan manages the engagement, community development, economic development, and social development functions of revitalization projects for Toronto Community Housing.

Bryan Sherwood, Manager of Development Planning, Tridel

Bryan Sherwood, with a Master’s Degree (MSci.Pl) in Urban Planning from the University of Toronto and a specialization in community engagement, has 9 years of active residential development and planning experience. Bryan is Manager of Development Planning at Tridel where he manages the planning and pre-development process for several multi-phased Toronto-area subdivision developments that are currently under construction, including Alexandra Park, Auberge On The Park, Metrogate and Leslie Nymark. Bryan also has significant experience managing and leading affordable homeownership programs, public/private development partnerships and complex community engagement initiatives.

Graig Uens, MCIP, RPP, Senior Planner, City of Toronto

Graig Uens is a Senior Planner at the City of Toronto with 13 years of experience in development review, policy development, and consultation. From 2012 until 2019 Graig was the City Planning lead on the Alexandra Park and Atkinson Housing Cooperative Revitalization. Graig has also led the City’s review of several complex development applications and policy initiatives, including the Honest Ed’s / Mirvish Village, the “Changing Lanes” initiative to permit Laneway Suites across the City and the “Cask Force” initiative to expand permissions for the City’s local breweries. Graig holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo and is a Registered Professional Planner and a member of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute.

Colleen Lavallee, Resident, Atkinson Coop

Colleen Lavallee is developing a small business providing career planning services to a growing cliental. She is a resident of Atkinson Coop. She has been participating in the revitalization of the community since 2007 when a group of residents, concerned about the structural stability of their community centre, approached Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) to revitalize their community.  Understanding that this would mean partnering with a developer (and changing the socio-economic landscape of the community), the group of residents created a list of 10 guiding principles. These guiding principles have allowed them to ensure that this revitalization is engaged with the community through discussions ranging from design, to opportunities, to community-owned social enterprise space. It is the goal of the community that this process will provide a sustainable platform providing healthy and safe homes, holistic and community-driven mental health supports, and access to corridors of success. The community is proud of their contribution to this development, and Colleen is humbled by her role and participation.

Maggie Hall, Community Relations & Corporate Social Responsibility Specialist, Tridel (Moderator)

Maggie holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo as a Health Geographer and has several years of experience working in both public and private sectors. Maggie’s experience includes working in low-income communities in Mexico with multi-barriered and vulnerable populations with limited access to essential services, including water and sanitation. At Tridel, she currently works on social procurement, community economic development, and promoting sustainability through dedicated programs in Tridel’s communities.

The ULI Building Healthy Places Forum is made possible
by the generous support of ULI Foundation Governor Randall Lewis.

Register View Registrants

When: June 15 and 17 at 1:00 p.m to 2:15 pm EDT
Where: Live online
Cost: Participation is free, but registration is required
Registration: Register once for access to all three sessions

Forum Goals:

• Provide a place for ULI members who are passionate about health and development to engage.
• Offer the opportunity for ULI members to share knowledge and insights.
• Showcase the latest work being done at ULI and other organizations on health and real estate.

Learn about past Forums