The leadership team of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape reaffirms our 2020 pledge to condemn systemic racism, bigotry, discrimination, hate, and abuse of power. Through school culture, research, engagement, and teaching, we continue the commitment to expand our disciplinary roles in global values towards equity and justice in the built environment.  We also acknowledge that actions speak louder than words and can report progress on several fronts.

First, Professor Catherine Hamel has been appointed as the school’s first EDIA Director and is a full member of the leadership team. Professor Hamel represents SAPL on several university committees and EDIA initiatives and, with the support of students, faculty, and the Dean’s Office, continues to oversee the implementation and growth of JustSAPL EDIA by design.

Second, pedagogical adjustments persist and an important component of our school’s commitment to equity and growth has been the continued development of SAPL’s Indigenous programming, activities, and fundraising. This includes having Indigenous professionals and knowledge keepers teaching and enhancing content in courses across all three of our professional programs.

Three SAPL faculty members received Teaching and Learning Grants to augment  Indigenous ways of knowing and doing into our curriculums; participating in the university’s Inclusive Excellence Hiring Initiative with the launch of a search for an Indigenous scholar or professional as a full-time tenure track faculty member in architecture, planning, or landscape architecture; securing an endowed scholarship for an Indigenous student in architecture; and launching our Indigenous Pathways Program with a grant from the Alberta Real Estate Foundation that will enable us to operate summer design thinking workshops and programming for Indigenous High School students.

Third, the approval of the Bachelor of Design in City Innovation (with the first cohort starting in fall 2023) brings opportunities to further activate our commitments and broaden their impact through a series of new academic hires that will increase the diversity of our faculty and the research and activity they bring. This supports the development of the Global Citizenship courses at the undergraduate level and the continued commitment to social and climate justice in innovative ways consistent with the commitments of JustSAPL EDIA by design.