July 1, 2021 - CBN News

Thank You to my Ryerson Students and CBN Members

By: Chris De Sousa

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank my urban planning students at Ryerson for not only expressing a keen interest in brownfields but also for helping CBN advance its mission.  The support of our placement students, Dan Ash (Fall 2020) and Mabel Mai (Winter 2021), helped CBN work through its administrative transition, update our website, and deliver the 2020 Brownie Awards and other virtual events.  I would also like to thank the undergraduate and graduate students in my Brownfields and Sustainable Redevelopment course for writing excellent and informative case studies of Canadian brownfield projects, including many Brownie Award-winners (check them out at https://www.brownfieldsresearchlab.com/successstories/).  The graduate students also wrote short columns summarizing key themes, findings, and recommendations from scholarly brownfield articles.  These brief “Research from the Field” columns address studies on social sustainability, tax increment financing, climate resilience, and an array of other issues.  Also, check out the excellent Major Research Paper on brownfield redevelopment activity in Guelph and St. Catharines written by my advisee Claire Semple https://www.brownfieldsresearchlab.com/work/studiostudentresearch/.

In addition to thanking my students for their enormous contribution to CBN, I would also like to thank the CBN members and other brownfielders who took the time to answer their questions, share their experiences, and guest lecture in my class.  I am proud to be a member of this network of passionate professionals and am delighted to see a subsequent generation of brownfielders emerge.