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This case study will critically examine lessons learned during COVID-19 to inform how we advance change towards socially sustainable public spaces. Through the lens of equity, access to public space for vulnerable populations during COVID-19 in Victoria, British Columbia, is explored. A stakeholder analysis is presented to illuminate the nature of stakeholder engagement within the City of Victoria, followed by a review of the intersectoral response that led to the activation of ERCs and the mobilization of hotel rooms to accommodate people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. Furthermore, this case study will discuss how participatory processes, such as equity-centred design, placemaking, and equity mapping, can facilitate community and citizen engagement. This case highlights the emergence of leisure-related innovations as catalysts for social change—an increasingly important area of leisure research. In addition, this case study outlines the urgent need for research related to the intersection of COVID-19, equity, public space, and leisure. For broader audiences, such as local governments, not-for profit organizations, and leisure service providers, the value of this case study is underscored by the relevance of co-creation in the context of inclusive land-use planning, policy, and design. https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/25231/Broderick.pdf?sequence=3

Gateway communities throughout the intermountain west are an important part of the tourism experience. They are often the doorstep to the national parks and public lands that draw millions of international and domestic visitors each year. Along with many benefits, tourism brings unique challenges to these communities, and they face them with limited staff, resources, and time. This chapter explains the recent development of the Gateway and Natural Amenity Region (GNAR) Initiative and its current efforts to assist gateway communities in the intermountain west region of the United States. The GNAR Initiative is a Cooperative Extension program of the Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism at Utah State University. The Initiative is a hub for gateway community stakeholders to identify shared needs, and cooperatively develop, share, and access resources. The initiative utilizes the infrastructure and mission of the university land grant extension system to operationalize its own, similarly aligned three-part mission: multidisciplinary, trans-boundary research, community and student education, and community capacity building. An overview of the GNAR Initiative’s development is provided as a possible model for similar efforts in other regions. The GNAR Initiative’s internal structure and development path focused on using a collaborative, grass-roots effort to build peer-to-peer networks that link GNAR communities to GNAR communities, and GNAR communities to research and resources in an arena that continues to rapidly evolve. The Initiative’s efforts to include a diverse stakeholder group to guide its efforts resulted in the initiative being equipped to quickly respond to the evolving issues in gateway communities during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/25258/PowellRumoreSmith.pdf?sequence=3

This research has aimed to identify the ways in which social service delivery in the mid-Island region of Vancouver Island has shifted because of COVID-19 conditions. Prompted by initial informal comments regarding the effect of the pandemic, we initiated an 18-month research process that checked in with representatives of social service agencies at six-month intervals. The study offers a local perspective that may have insights and lessons relevant to social service organizations elsewhere. https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/25255/SchmidBradley2021.pdf?sequence=3

Conference paper: 2021 First-Year Engineering Experience. Virtual conference dates: August 9 - 10, 2021. © 2021 American Society for Engineering Education. This paper was originally published as: Dick, B. (2021). Enabling hands-on, team-based project work during COVID-19 [Paper presentation]. 2021 First-Year Engineering Experience Conference. https://peer.asee.org/38378 COVID-19 has impacted delivery of the first-year engineering design curriculum throughout the post-secondary system. At Vancouver Island University (VIU), instruction of the first-year curriculum shifted to an entirely remote learning environment where students were not expected to be in physical contact at any point during the term. This presented a significant challenge to delivering its learning outcomes and activities, particularly hands-on, team-based project work. At VIU, students typically complete a cornerstone design project in the second term of their firstyear of studies. Due to COVID-19, this project was modified to allow for completion within a virtual learning environment. Teams of three or four students were tasked to cooperatively create a rolling ball structure, built in isolation, but delivered and assembled at the University campus by the course instructor and its technician. This structure was required to form a path for a rolling ball, and interact with its neighbouring structures to create seamless track. Collectively, all team structures (a total of ten) formed a ring allowing for continuous ball movement once started. These pass-off points between each structure were determined collaboratively between both teams and individuals. This paper describes how a team-based cornerstone project experience was managed, and its impact on the student experience. https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/26194/DickASEE35475.pdf?sequence=3

This action research inquiry, undertaken in partnership with the Independent Schools Association of British Columbia (ISABC), was guided by the question: How might the ISABC’s Team Leadership Program support the leadership development and thriving of emerging and middle leaders throughout and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic? Data were collected with a survey and two focus groups involving 52 participants from 16 independent schools. Arts-based approaches included photo elicitation and found poetry. Key findings indicated the pandemic has magnified the human side of educational leadership and thriving as being a middle leader requires communication, relationship building, and the prioritization of followers’ needs. Recommendations addressed strategies to (a) develop self-awareness, coaching, and interpersonal skills amongst emerging leaders; (b) capitalize on existing leadership networks to foster a stronger sense of belonging within the ISABC; and (c) offer leadership-focused professional development and resources accessible to the broader ISABC community. Keywords: arts-based research, found poetry, K–12, independent schools, leadership development, middle leaders, photo elicitation, thriving at work

Digging deeper to meet the needs of our aging population|Creuser davantage pour répondre aux besoins de notre population vieillissante / Samantha Biglieri & Glenn Miller -- Understanding the diversity of Canadian seniors / Doug Norris -- Older Indigenous people, health, and planning in Canada: Considering ethical space / Sarah E. Nelson -- What can planners do to help seniors age in place? / Arlene Etchen -- The case for visitability / Amina Menkad & Joanna Ilunga-Kapinga -- COVID-19 and the forgotten densities of long-term care / Julian Iacobelli, Samantha Biglieri, Lorenzo de Vidovich, & Roger Keil -- Après la zone scolaire, pourquoi pas la « zone santé » pour un vieillissement actif ? / Mikael St-Pierre, Simon Chouinard-Laliberté, & Audrey Lise Mallet -- Breaking up with cars is hard to do / Krista Macaulay -- Nested aging: Lifecycles in the vertical city / Maxwell Hartt, Brian Webb, & James T. White -- Innovative, intergenerational housing empowers women / Carla Guerrera -- Affordability: A key component of accessibility / Amanda McCulley -- Gerald Hodge: FCIP/FICU 1931 - 2017 / Glenn Miller -- The cautionary tale that is Canada's experience with long-term care|L’expérience canadienne en matière de soins de longue durée : une leçon à retenir / Gordon Harris -- Planning research digest|Condensé de recherches en urbanisme -- Planner's bookshelf|L’étagère du planifi cateur Our aging population: Challenges and opportunities|Notre population vieillissante : défis et opportunités Digging deeper to meet the needs of our aging population|Creuser davantage pour répondre aux besoins de notre population vieillissante / Samantha Biglieri & Glenn Miller -- Understanding the diversity of Canadian seniors / Doug Norris -- Older Indigenous people, health, and planning in Canada: Considering ethical space / Sarah E. Nelson -- What can planners do to help seniors age in place? / Arlene Etchen -- The case for visitability / Amina Menkad & Joanna Ilunga-Kapinga -- COVID-19 and the forgotten densities of long-term care / Julian Iacobelli, Samantha Biglieri, Lorenzo de Vidovich, & Roger Keil -- Après la zone scolaire, pourquoi pas la « zone santé » pour un vieillissement actif ? / Mikael St-Pierre, Simon Chouinard-Laliberté, & Audrey Lise Mallet -- Breaking up with cars is hard to do / Krista Macaulay -- Nested aging: Lifecycles in the vertical city / Maxwell Hartt, Brian Webb, & James T. White -- Innovative, intergenerational housing empowers women / Carla Guerrera -- Affordability: A key component of accessibility / Amanda McCulley -- Gerald Hodge: FCIP/FICU 1931 - 2017 / Glenn Miller -- The cautionary tale that is Canada's experience with long-term care|L’expérience canadienne en matière de soins de longue durée : une leçon à retenir / Gordon Harris -- Planning research digest|Condensé de recherches en urbanisme -- Planner's bookshelf|L’étagère du planifi cateur https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/26301/PlanCanada_Vol.61_No.2_Summer-2021.pdf?sequence=3

Tourism has been affected on a global scale due to the novel coronavirus. Governments of all levels are trying to navigate how to move forward with the tourism industry in order to support best practices whilst addressing challenges that hinder economic prosperity, such as social distancing and border closures. This work focuses on identifying the local government planning and tourism resilience practices that are being put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, establishing the role of the local government planner in tourism resilience planning practices. Research was first acquired through a literature review and providing the Vancouver Island context. Additionally, four information interviews were conducted with destination management organization professionals and community planners on Vancouver Island. Lastly, a survey was sent out to local government planners on Vancouver Island in order to reach a larger scope of participants. Concluding this thesis are a set of recommendations rooted in local government jurisdiction for the planning profession, moving forward. Thesis/major project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Community Planning in the Department of Community Planning, Faculty of Social Sciences. https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/24390/BurnsThesis.pdf?sequence=3

The draft guidebook is a comprehensive summary of the steps to consider while successfully launching and using digital engagement. The research on this topic indicates that investing in digital engagement technology for municipal planning is becoming a priority for many public and private organizations. The declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic on March 11th, 2020, had a ripple effect across the globe as many economies came to a screeching halt, suspending all-in person meetings until the foreseeable future. The restrictions on in-person meetings inadvertently made the usage of digital engagement tools exceedingly crucial for local governments. It is essential to highlight that the major project from which the guidebook is informed was conducted from a research program based in Canada. Consequently, some examples and references of the guidebook’s framework will be grounded in the local context. Major project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Community Planning in the Department of Community Planning, Faculty of Social Sciences, Vancouver Island University. https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/24396/DigitalEngagementGuidebook.pdf?sequence=3

In this paper, urban planner, development consultant and educator, Mark Holland, outlines a rethinking of urban structure that will be supercharged as we learn from the impacts of COVID 19 on our cities. The modern city region has been focused on building high density downtowns and peripheral town centres, based on assumptions that are now out of date as a basis for regional planning. COVID 19 closed our downtowns and we now need to reinvent our urban and regional patterns in light of what we have (re)discovered from our pandemic response. Restructuring our economy, social patterns, food systems and regional growth patterns into a network of high-street-based corridors will not only make us more resilient to shocks like COVID 19, but overall create a much healthier, sustainable, and economically viable region. https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/23638/HollandFP2021.pdf?sequence=3

The school closures necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic created a rapid shift to alternative modes of educational delivery, primarily online learning and teacher-supported home-schooling. This shift has revealed deep inequities in education systems worldwide, as many children lost access to teachers and schooling. An effective response to these changes has tested teachers’ personal capacities and individual and collective agency intensely. The research lab we report on within this paper aimed to develop a better understanding of teacher agency in meeting the challenges of the pandemic and the physical and relational enablers and constraints of their environment. Drawing on case study reports from six international contexts and a series of online discussions with research lab participants, this study explores teachers’ enactment of agency in the context of various circumstances and environments. The authors argue that it is imperative that education systems support the enhancement of teachers’ personal and collective agency in the face of continued disruption to schooling and ongoing challenges to educational equity. This is an electronic copy of an article that was originally published as: Ehren, M.C.M., Madrid, R., Romiti, S., Armstrong, P.W., Fisher, P., & McWhorter, D.L. (2021). Teaching in the COVID-19 era: Understanding the opportunities and barriers for teacher agency. Perspectives in Education, 39(1), 61-76. http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/2519593S/pie.v39.i1.5 https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/24447/Fisherpdf?sequence=3