Summer Planning Internship 2.0

Department of Geography & Planning

Summer Planning Internships

Infrastructure Institute

Madeline Barnes Planer

For my internship I have been working at the Infrastructure Institute, a project of the School of Cities My work was divided into two portfolios over the summer, firstly helping develop and lead the Social Purpose Real Estate Accelerator program we launched in October, and then also working with Dixon Hall, a shelter provider on facilitating internal consultations with their team about a supportive housing redevelopment project. One of the benefits of this job have been being able to work on really exciting programming and projects that are more creative than what you might get at a typical planning firm I also felt very connected to current issues facing the city, and met lots of amazing people The drawback for students considering a role like this is that I definitely wasn’t working on traditional planning projects. I was, however, able to continue this position throughout the school year, which could be another benefit to future students.

Research Assistant to Professor Nidhi Subramanyam

Yu-Chen Chuang

I worked with Professor Nidhi Subramanyam as a student researcher for my summer internship. My primary task was to conduct research on green infrastructure as a flood risk solution, including reviews of academic literature and policy documents In addition to individual research, I participated in co-lab meetings every other week with members of Professor Subramanyam’s research meeting Throughout the meetings, we learned how to present our work progress to the team, as well as various skills such as time management, teamwork, library searches, the use of academic databases, reference management, and conducting effective literature reviews. At the end of my summer work study, I reviewed 51 published studies on green infrastructure and five policy documents on green infrastructure implementation in the City of Toronto I also accomplished a research report, unfolding current academic discussions on the barriers to implementing green infrastructure

Planning & Urban Design Co-op at HDR IN

Marjan Fadaei

At HDR, I worked on multiple projects including the Ontario Line (OL), Eglinton East LRT (EELRT), and Skytrain at Surrey My major responsibility for OL was to evaluate the functionality of the public realm where it meets new stations Regarding, EELRT, I assessed the potential constraints which might happen during the construction of EELRT. Also, I was involved in producing a policy recommendation document for the Skytrain in Surrey.

The internship helped me enhance my knowledge of understanding the job of transportation planners and sharpened my skills such as coordination and management skills Also, the internship helped me in course selection for the following semesters as I gained a better understanding of the types of the courses that would help me in my future job.

Planning Intern at Urban Strategies Inc.

Joycelyn Guan

This past summer, I worked as a Planning Intern at Urban Strategies Inc I was responsible for supporting the preparation of planning reports, presentations, panels and other materials for communication with clients and project stakeholders such as site descriptions, proposal descriptions, and community needs assessments. I also analyzed and supported the summarization of policy documents, zoning by-laws and background studies. This experience was complementary to my planning education as I learned a lot about the development process, land-use zoning, and engagement processes I was able to work on aspects of numerous different projects so I was exposed to a lot of interesting aspects of land use planning

Employment Survey Co-op Student (City of Mississauga)

Nhan Trong Nick Huynh

For 4 months of 2022’s summer, I was part of the City of Mississauga’s employment survey team. The employment survey is an annual initiative that the City conducts to better understand Mississauga’s business community and its employees The City uses the data collected to identify patterns, trends, and make growth forecasts for policymaking. My primary responsibility was conducting face-to-face and telephone surveys to acquire business and employment information from enterprises My daily routine was travelling to different parts of Mississauga to interact with businesses and update the City’s existing employment database. This position was a great opportunity for me to enhance my communication skills and being exposed to how the public planning sector operates through attending department meetings I would highly recommend this job to anyone who is comfortable talking to strangers on a daily basis and loves walking (a lot) outdoors.

Project Officer at the Infrastructure Institute

Alexandra Lambropoulos

This summer, I had an internship at the Infrastructure Institute at the School of Cities where I worked as a Project Officer. During my internship, I was responsible for interpreting academic literature in art exhibitions as a platform for infrastructure and real estate development, planning, and partnerships I was also responsible for conducting research to develop presentations and reports and support exhibition planning and coordination Overall, the internship enhanced my planning education because I learned how to communicate urban planning theories to the general public in an engaging way. I also learned how to develop public programming and community engagement activities.

Policy & Planning Co-Op Student with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Sarah MacKinnon

From May September 2022, I completed an internship with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation as a Planning & Policy Co-op Student. Throughout my internship, I deepened my knowledge of the provincial planning framework through conducting policy reviews of municipal official planning documents to ensure policy alignment with provincial planning documents (i e the PPS, Growth Plan, and Regional Transportation Plans) I also supported the development of policy recommendations based on feedback from Regional Transportation Task Forces (i e , teams made up of local mayors, transport agencies, and Indigenous leaders). As a co-op student, I was also responsible for completing an independent research project as assigned by my senior management, where I was responsible for leading research efforts and inter-ministerial stakeholder engagement for developing an Indigenous engagement framework for regional transportation planning projects My co-op experience allowed me to find a new love for policy work within planning, a new passion for transportation planning, and develop lasting friendships with mentors and colleagues!

Development Intern at First Capital REIT

Lizzy Marcus

I worked at First Capital REIT as a Development Intern for my internship in the summer of 2022. During the summer I worked on many different projects revolving around real estate development I helped create development pro forma’s, collected information on different municipalities' zoning laws, and also worked on a capstone project This capstone project was the highlight of my internship. There were 17 summer interns at First Capital REIT, all working in different departments of the company, including accounting, marketing, and leasing. All of the interns were divided into 3 different teams and each team had a different capstone project. My group’s capstone task was to research and come up with innovative ideas to create a “vertical thriving neighbourhood” We were to do this with one of First Capital’s new residential development projects We were to come up with ideas to have the perfect mix of retail and amenities in this one development to create a “vertical thriving neighbourhood”. It was such a creative and collaborative experience and so interesting to hear my capstone group members option’s from different departments in the company.

City of Toronto, Transportation Services, Strategic Policy and Innovation

Naziha Nasrin

Naziha completed her Internship working as a Research Trainee for the City of Toronto’s Summer Internship Program as part of the Strategic Policy and Innovation Unit As a Research Trainee she was responsible for conducting foresight scans for future projects on emerging technology for automated vehicles, mircomobility and transportation innovation zones She also helped prepare supporting evidence on jurisdictional scans about open streets to help the City Council with practical recommendations for implementing the ActiveTO program in the City of Toronto. She also created and presented an in-depth training workshop to senior project managers about learning effective scanning and foresight strategies. Throughout her internship she was able to gain valuable hands-on practical experience and as well as participate in the City of Toronto’s Mentorship Program where she participated in weekly sessions and learnt skills on professional networking, project management and how to plan for transportation projects in the City.

Research and Engagement Intern at Black Urbanism Toronto

Jane O’Brien Davis

For Black Urbanism TO (BUTO), the main project I worked on was their Pathways to Community Ownership. To combat displacement as a result of both gentrification and the ongoing construction of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, BUTO is working to organize business owners and community members along Eglinton Ave West in Little Jamaica This involved researching the histories and varied models of Community Land Trusts as well as working with other BUTO team members to engage the community, canvas business owners, and coordinate and facilitate focus groups.

This opportunity provided an understanding of the importance of community engagement and demonstrated a side of planning not engaged with through the program I would recommend this opportunity to other students because it was a good engagement experience but it was funded through MITACs and UofT and actually getting paid was a bureaucratic nightmare and the department was very unresponsive for many months.

Research Intern at Monument Lab

Jane O’Brien Davis

In this role I supported Monument Lab’s ongoing projects with outreach, research, and mapping work. This internship was technically unpaid, so I had to procure funding (through U of T) to support my work. I enjoyed my work with Monument Lab because it again allowed be to obtain planning experience and exposure that is not taught in the program.

While working with Monument Lab, one of the projects I supported was the Re: Generation project Re: Generation aimed to empower local communities in ten states to come together and create their own monument. This project allows for many marginalized communities to present and commemorate their own history/histories as they see fit. In my work, I supported communications with community, transcribed and engaged interviews from community members, as well as visualized the data from each of these ten projects through mapping, charting, and other visual projects

Researcher-in-Residence for Long Winter’s DIY Space Project

Travis Van Wyck

The DIY Space Project (DSP) is an intervention in support of space for community-driven culture in Toronto Participating collectives are paired with a cross-sector advisory group to support them in finding and sustaining space As a researcher-in-residence for the DSP, I participated in a space and policy tour in Prague, Berlin, and Amsterdam During our visit, I was responsible for documenting our visit and comparing our observations with cultural policies that explicitly target alternative culture. Additionally, I supported the planning and facilitation of the above cross-sector advisory sessions. I was responsible for drafting presentations and memorandums on the project that was distributed to cultural industry workers and land use professionals in Toronto and the EU My internship provided exposure to grassroots and municipal cultural planning initiatives across a variety of jurisdictions while introducing me to a diverse network of cultural planners in Toronto and cities across the EU. The DSP also gave me the opportunity to conduct original, action-oriented research on a topic directly related to my CIP which allowed me to begin data collection over the summer

Capital Planning Department at New Jersey Transit

Ryan Wilkinson

My summer internship was in the Capital Planning department at NJ Transit, the statewide transit operator for New Jersey in the US In this position, I worked on various tasks, most notably leading a team of interns to produce a set of legacy rail stations to prioritize accessibility improvements and other necessary modernization works I also assisted the department in an assessment of the Atlantic City Rail Line and the rail network’s small yards. After the summer, my internship was extended into the fall and winter on a part-time basis, which has allowed me to work remotely in a variety of capital planning support roles, mostly the formation of project narratives for federal grant applications

COVID-19 Street Design Research Assistant

Christa Yeung

In this role, I researched street café policies and programs in North American cities under the supervision of Dr. Paul Hess. I inventoried municipal policies related to street cafés to analyze impacts to public space during the pandemic and the implications this had for social equity. As well, I mapped and assembled a database of street café permits for 5 North American cities to analyze the growth and geographic distribution of street cafés

Research Assistant with the School of Cities

Sami Ferwati

I completed 2 internships this summer. One RA-ship was through the Schools of Cities whereby I conducted research on affordable housing supervised by Karen Chapple. During this internship, I looked at informal housing typologies and helped conduct interviews with community leaders to understand possible opportunities for addressing the housing affordability crisis In the second Internship I conducted real estate development, due diligence, and land use planning research under Bo Pelech During my internship, I worked with varying clients to undertake their development projects. Both internships allowed me to sharpen my skill set as a planner, as well gave me great opportunities to interact with many stakeholders.

Junior Land Use Planner at DM Wills Associates Limited

Claire Champagne

For my internship component of the MSc.Pl. program, I had the opportunity to work as a Junior Land Use Planner for DM Wills Associates Limited DM Wills is located within the City of Peterborough, and offers consulting services in engineering, land use planning, and environmental consulting. In my position, I worked on a variety of land use planning projects for both municipal and private clients. Projects included a wide range of disciplines, including residential, commercial, industrial, tourism, and resource planning Working with interdepartmental staff and sub-consultants, some of my day-to-day tasks included the preparation of land use planning applications, reports, and documentation for municipal approval I also supported Senior Planning staff in the development and preparation of consultation plans/open houses for planning applications and projects.

Policy Intern at Association of Municipalities of Ontario

Kosta Diochnos

Last summer I worked at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) as a Policy Intern. This was an exciting and enjoyable opportunity where I learned in-depth about all the work that municipalities do Urban planning is about so much more than land use –happy and health cities require good city services like water, waste treatment, transit, infrastructure maintenance, libraries, social programs and more At AMO I had the opportunity to be involved in researching and supporting all these areas of policy interest, discovering best practices and making recommendations. AMO shows how municipalities work together to address common issues, and their important leading role in planning I also had the opportunity to support the large annual AMO conference, which draws thousands of delegates from different organizations. I would highly recommend this opportunity to anyone

Intern at StrategyCorp

Michelle Zhang

As an Intern at StrategyCorp, I support the development of a Municipal Economic Development Strategy I supported the preparation and facilitation of over a dozen interviews with stakeholders, Councillors and the Mayor, as well as the development of a community survey and focus group materials. I conducted a document scan and secondary research that I then combined with our engagement findings into a SWOT analysis Over the past few months, I helped transform this analysis into a strategic framework which forms the basis of the draft strategy

I continue to work on this project and have begun participating in other land development projects.