Planning for Resilience Conference

By: Jason Owen, University of British Columbia (jayowen4@gmail.com)

As a follow up to last year’s inaugural student-led planning symposium, “Sustain-a-what to sustain-a-how”, this year’s “Planning for Resilience” was a resounding success. Students from UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) have initiated what is likely to become a longstanding tradition of connecting students with academics and practitioners to engage in dialogue around key issues in planning and related fields.

With over 120 in attendance, “Planning for Resilience” took place on March 4 and 5 at UBC’s Graduate Student Society complex and included keynote speeches from Dr. Emily Talen, author of Designing for Diversity, local sustainability guru and SCARP graduate Mark Holland, and renowned ecosystems specialist Dr. C. S. Buzz Holling.

Throughout the day, panels organized and led by SCARP graduates and Ph.D. students brought leading planning professionals, expert researchers and members of the community together to share their experiences and tackle pressing issues in planning with a focus on resilience. Panel topics included: urban design; food systems planning; inclusivity; urban ecology; urban form and spirituality; active transportation; digital media; water supply; international equity; energy resilience; First Nations community planning; and social justice.

The lunchtime keynote speech by C. S. Buzz Holling, while grounded in his work on ecosystems, was incredibly appropriate for the day. The concept of resilience of complex dynamic systems has broad reaching applicability and particular relevance to human systems. This groundbreaking work is the perfect foundation from which to explore the concept of resilience in planning.

Fundamental to the experience at the now-annual SCARP Symposium are the connections made between students and practitioners. The nature of a student-led symposium allows for a valuable exchange of ideas and experiences, as well as timely networking opportunities for emerging professionals. By all accounts, “Planning for Resilience” was a well-organized, engaging event that is likely to continue to gain steam as it is passed on from one graduating class to the next.

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