Pamela Robinson
Dr. Pamela Robinson MCIP RPP is a professor at the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University and is interim academic director at city building TMU. Throughout her career as a planner her research and practice have focused on complex, emergent challenges that Canadian communities face. Her research and practice have focused on complex, emergent challenges that Canadian communities face. Pamela began with a focus on cities and climate change and now focuses more recently on how new technologies are impacting how we plan and design communities. Her current research asks: who is planning the Canadian smart city? In 2020 Pamela received the inaugural Canadian Institute of Planners President’s Award: Academic. She is an advisor on the Toronto Public Library’s Innovation Council and serves on the Board of Directors for the Metcalf Foundation. Pamela writes for Spacing Magazine and recently published a co-edited book The Future of Open Data (external link, opens in new window) (2022).
Teaching interests:
Land use planning
Environmental design
Planners' relationship with the public
Community-based learning
Philosophy of teaching:
To engage students in efforts to bridge the gaps between planning theory and practice.
- To encourage students to broaden their perspectives on the boundaries of planning with the goal of enriching how our cities look, feel and operate.
Research interests:
- Smart cities
- Platform urbanism
- Artificial intelligence
- Urban sustainability
- Cities and climate change
- Open data
- Civic technology
- Open government
- Public engagement
- Scholarship of teaching and learning
MCIP Member, Canadian Institute of Planners
RPP, Registered Professional Planner