Healthy Cities in the SDG Era

Healthy Cities in the SDG Era is a podcast about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and how research conducted by faculty and students at the University of Toronto is helping to achieve them. This podcast will explore research and policy topics related to SDG3: Good Health and Well-being, and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and the ways in which they intersect with the other SDGs - for example, areas like poverty, hunger, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, reduced inequalities, and climate action. Our goal is to give context to the ongoing research and progress towards achieving the SDGs at U of T, as it relates to Canada’s actions, and to add new perspectives to national discussions about the SDGs. Our conversations will be evidence-based and focus on highlighting actionable ways that people can make an impact in achieving the SDGs. CREDITS: This podcast is co-hosted by Dr. Erica Di Ruggiero, Director of the Centre for Global Health, and Ophelia Michaelides, Manager of the Centre for Global Health, at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, and produced by Elizabeth Loftus. Audio editing is by Anwaar Baobeid and Sylvia Lorico. Music is produced by Julien Fortier. It is made with the support of the School of Cities at the University of Toronto.

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Healthy Cities in the SDG Era

20. The Finale

October 31, 2022 • Season 1 • Episode 20

In this final episode, we will look at the intersection between SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

The focus of SDG 11 is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable while the focus of SDG 3 is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Leonard Mwesigwa is a 2nd Year Ph.D. Student in Planning at the University of Toronto and a Founder/CEO of Inclusive Green Growth Uganda (IGGU), an NGO based in Uganda whose vision is “A prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development”. Leonard was born & raised in Uganda. He is a Professional Civil Engineer with a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil & Building Engineering, Kyambogo University, Uganda; Master of Science in Transport Planning & Engineering, Newcastle University, UK; Master of Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University, UK and a Postgraduate Diploma in Project Planning & Management from Uganda Management Institute.

He has worked in both private and public sector organizations for over 10 years and on several urban policy design and urban infrastructure development projects. Notably as a Senior Urban Transport Planner at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) for over 6 years, he oversaw and participated in several city road designs and construction projects. As a practicing Urban Transport Planner, he is passionate about developing equitable and sustainable urban transit systems in the Global South. His Ph.D. research aims at examining the potential use of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in delivering socially inclusive and equitable urban transit systems in rapidly urbanizing African cities.

Karen Chapple, Ph.D., is the Director of the School of Cities at the University of Toronto, where she also serves as Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning. She is Professor Emerita of City & Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, where she served as department chair and held the Carmel P. Friesen Chair in Urban Studies. Chapple studies inequalities in the planning, development, and governance of regions in the U.S. and Latin America, with a focus on economic development and housing.

Chapple is currently engaged in many research projects related to inequality and sustainability planning, with a focus on residential and commercial/industrial displacement. Since 2006, she has served as faculty director of the UC Berkeley Center for Community Innovation, which has provided over $2 million in technical assistance to community-based organizations and government agencies. This has included research on the potential for gentrification and displacement near transit-oriented development (for the Association of Bay Area Governments); more effective planning for affordable housing and economic development near transit (for the Great Communities Collaborative); the relationship between the arts, commercial and residential revitalization in low-income neighborhoods; and the role of green jobs and industrial land in regional economies.

Chapple holds a B.A. in Urban Studies from Columbia University, an M.S.C.R.P from the Pratt Institute, and a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. Prior to academia, Chapple spent ten years as a practicing planner in economic development, land use, and transportation in New York and San Francisco.