Research Associate, 2019-2020
Biography
I am an internationally trained urban planner. I obtained my PhD from the University of Saskatchewan, Department of Geography and Planning in 2018. I completed my Masters studies in Sustainable Urban Planning and Design at Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden. I have worked as an urban planner and designer and have taught courses as a sessional lecturer in urban planning programs.
Research with PWIP
My research is located within three main areas of scholarly literature: (1) reconciliation and inclusion in urban planning (2) intercultural understanding in cities (3) the built form and participatory design for ethnocultural diversity. My research builds upon and expands my doctoral project – titled City Planning, Design, and Programming for Indigenous Urbanism and Ethnocultural Diversity in Winnipeg – that investigated planning approaches taken, or not taken, by municipalities to engage with different perspectives, aspirations, values, and claims of Indigenous peoples in Prairie Canada. The primary objective of my proposed research is to examine the place of city planners and non-Indigenous urban inhabitants in reconciliation, cross-cultural relations, and decolonization discussions in urban development.
Other Research Interests
- Placemaking and public space planning and programming,
- The built environment and design for inclusion and diversity,
PhD Dissertation
City Planning, Design, and Programming for Indigenous Urbanism and Ethnocultural Diversity in Winnipeg https://harvest.usask.ca/handle/10388/8517
Publications
Nejad S, Walker R., & Newhouse D. (2019). Indigenous placemaking and the built environment: Toward transformative urban design, Journal of Urban Design DOI: 10.1080/13574809.2019.1641072. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2019.1641072
Nejad S, Walker R, Macdougall B, Belanger Y & Newhouse D. (2019). “This is an Indigenous city; why don’t we see it?” Indigenous urbanism and spatial production in Winnipeg, The Canadian Geographer, 00(0), 1-12; DOI: 10.1111/cag.12520
Nejad S & Walker R. (2018). Contemporary Urban Indigenous Placemaking in Canada, In Grant E, Greenop K, Refiti A & Glenn D. (Eds) The Handbook of Contemporary Indigenous Architecture, Singapore: Springer, 223-251.
Walker R & Nejad, S. (2017). Urban Planning, Indigenous Peoples, and Settler States, in Bain A, Peake L. (Eds) Urbanization in a Global Context: A Canadian Readers Guide, Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press, 136-154.