Jennifer Keesmaat (MES ’99), the City of Toronto’s new chief planner, will present “Re-imagining Planning in Practice” as part of The City Seminar, an interdisciplinary series of presentations and discussions on urban landscapes, past and present.
The talk will take place Friday, Oct. 5, from 11:30am to 1pm, at 140 Health, Nursing & Environmental Studies Building, Keele campus. The event is sponsored by The City Institute at 
York University (CITY) and the Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES). Everyone is welcome to attend.
Jennifer Keesmaat
What’s next for the planning practice, particularly in the City of Toronto? “This presentation will grapple with the opportunities facing the planning practice in the City of Toronto by exploring the role of public sector planning in leading and shaping policy development,” says Keesmaat. “In particular, consideration will be given to the role of the public and politicians in shaping long-term policy.”
What’s next for planning practice, particularly in the City of Toronto? “This presentation will grapple with the opportunities facing the planning practice in the City of Toronto by exploring the role of public sector planning in leading and shaping policy development,” says Keesmaat. “In particular, consideration will be given to the role of the public and politicians in shaping long-term policy.”
Founding partner of Office for Urbanism, a planning and design firm, and a former principal at Dialog, a Toronto-based integrated design firm, Keesmaat says she is committed to creating places where people flourish. She has repeatedly been recognized by the Canadian Institute of Planners, the Ontario Professional Planners Institute, the Design Exchange and the Environmental Design Research Association for her innovative work in Canadian municipalities.
Her planning practice is characterized by an emphasis on collaborations across sectors, and broad engagement with municipal staff, councils, developers, business leaders, NGO’s and residents associations. Keesmaat is the founder of Project Walk, which premiered its first short film in 2011, as an official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2012, she debuted her first TED talk, Walk to School.
She studied urban planning at York, where she worked on the political processes that shape urban environments. Her career has taken her to international projects in the United States, Ireland and Greece. In Canada, Keesmaat has led master planning initiatives across the country in cities as diverse as Toronto, Vancouver, Mississauga, Regina, Moncton, London and Halifax.
As the chief planner for Toronto, she will be leading a number of significant projects, including the five-year Official Plan review, and will steer the new City-Wide Zoning Bylaw through to completion.
For more information, visit the CITY website.