Big Ideas, Better Cities: The critical role of research in citybuilding

Short Description: McMaster dedicated a year to Big Ideas, Better

Cities, an ambitious series of public events connecting McMasters
researchers to communities in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and the
world.
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How can McMaster researchers help address some of the most
pressing issues facing cities today?
That was the focus of Big Ideas, Better Cities, a series of public events
that took place between September 2015 and April 2016 aimed at
connecting the University to the Hamilton community and showcasing
how McMaster research is helping cities respond to 21st century
challenges.
We wanted to bridge the divide between the McMaster and Hamilton
communities and shine a light on how research can positively impact
cities here in Ontario and around the world, says Susan Searls Giroux,
Associate Vice-President, Faculty, who led the initiative. Our goal was
to spark a dialogue within our community, to learn more about the
challenges facing cities, and to share the ways in which McMasters
cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research can help address these
challenges.
Funded through Forward with Integrity an initiative intended to
enhance the Universitys programs and activities in core areas
including research excellence and McMasters relationship with the
community Big Ideas, Better Cities featured themes that focused on
four areas of research strength including healthy aging, big data,
healthy communities, and research related to climate change and the
environment.
Big Ideas, Better Cities events, which took place both on campus and
in downtown Hamilton, drew nearly 3000 community members and
involved about 200 McMaster researchers campus-wide. Each theme
included a series of events that were organized by a team of
interdisciplinary researchers and included consultation within the
University community and with City of Hamilton officials.
Each set of events was distinct and featured a range of activities
including high profile public talks, conferences and community

workshops, as well as tours and demonstrations in 17 diverse labs and

research spaces across campus.
Stephen Huddart, CEO of the McConnell Family Foundation, kicked off
the Big Ideas, Better Cities series with his talk, How Universities can
Make Cities Great, in which he discussed the many challenges facing
both cities and post-secondary institutions, and how renewed
city/university collaboration can generate prosperity and social
progress.
Watch video of Stephen Huddards talk
This talk set the stage for Big Ideas, Better Cities series, which included
the following themes:

Theme 1: Healthy Aging

[Insert photo of Margaret Trudeau]
Living long, Living well: A Symposium on the Plasticity of Aging, led by
Parminder Raina, Director of the McMaster Institute for GeroScience,
and the Raymond and Margaret Labarge Chair in Research and
Knowledge Application for Optimal Aging, explored the latest research
on optimal aging and included a two-day academic symposium
highlighting the leading-edge research of more than 60 renowned
McMaster and international experts.
As part of this event, Margaret Trudeau gave a public talk recounting
her struggles with mental health and sharing insights from her book
The Time of your Life, on how older adults can make their later years
meaningful and fulfilling.
[BLOCK QUOTE: Link to Margaret Trudeau article in Spec, Daily
News article link]

Theme 2: Health and Social Innovation through

Big Data
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[BLOCKQUOTE: Link to Daily News story, link to Spectator
story]
More than 300 members of the McMaster and Hamilton communities
gathered over two evenings for Health and Social Innovation
through Big Data, which focused on how McMaster researchers are

using big data to transform health care and drive creative solutions to
some of the complex challenges facing cities today.
Watch videos: Big Data researchers at McMaster
John Preston Associate Dean, Research and External Relations in the
Faculty of Engineering and Abigail Payne, Director of McMasters
MacDATA Institute were the lead organizers of this event.

MacTalks
Throughout the event, McMaster experts from a number of Faculties
delivered a series of 10-minute mini-lectures, or MacTalks, on topics
ranging from how big data is being used to combat antibiotic
resistance to how data is helping to reshape the urban landscape and
build sustainable societies.
MacTalks included:
When Big Data Meets Health: The Advent of Precision Medicine
Guillaume Par, MD & PhD, Department of Pathology and Molecular
MedicineDirector of the Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology
Laboratory
Watch video
Combatting Antibiotic Resistance Using Surveillance
Andrew G. McArthur, PhD, Department of Biochemistry & Biomedical
SciencesCisco Research Chair in Bioinformatics
Watch video
Big Data, Big Ideas: The Role of Theory in a Data-Rich World
John Cairney, PhD, Departments of Family Medicine, Kinesiology,
Psychiatry and Behavioural NeurosciencesDirector of the INCH Lab
Watch video
Using Big Data to Transform Healthcare for Elders
Andrew Costa, PhD, Department of Clinical Epidemiology &
BiostatisticsSchlegel Chair in Clinical Epidemiology & Aging
Watch video
Partnering for the Public Good
Abigail Payne, PhD, Department of EconomicsDirector of MacDATA
InstituteDirector of the Public Economics Data Analysis Laboratory
(PEDAL)
Watch video

Building Dance Technologies for People with Parkinson's

Matthew Woolhouse, PhD, School of the Arts.
Watch video
The City as a Complex System and Evidence Based Planning
Pavlos Kanaroglou, PhD, School of Geography and Earth Science
Director of the McMaster Institute for Transportation and Logistics
Watch video
Watch Videos: All MacTalks videos

Soap Box Talks

During each event, MacTalks were followed by informal soapbox talks'
by community leaders, students, industry partners and McMaster
researchers on the different ways in which big data is influencing
public policy and fuelling social and health innovation.
Watch videos: Soapbox Talks

Hack your Community

Health and Social Innovation through Big Data also included a studentfocused event called Hack your Community, organized in partnership
with The Forge.
Using a collection of data provided by the Community Foundations of
Canada (CFC), and with the help of peers and community mentors,
McMaster students worked in teams, over 24 hours, to come up with
projects or ideas that could make a difference in the Hamilton
community.
Watch video: Hack your Community

Theme 3: Building Healthy Communities

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[BLOCK QUOTE: Link to DN article, link to spec Article on
Walrus Talks, link to Spec OpEds]
Building Healthy Communities was made up of four days of events
showcasing how McMaster researchers are helping to build healthy
cities in Hamilton and around the world.

Jim Dunn, Chair of McMasters Department of Health, Aging & Society

and Nick Kates, Chair and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry
and Behavioural Neurosciences, co-led the Building Healthy
Communities events which drew more than 800 faculty, staff, students
and community members for a range of events including:

Healthy Active Living: Behind the Slogan

Hosted by McMaster Children and Youth University, more than 300
kids and their parents joined Dr. Katherine Morrison, Associate
Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at McMaster University, for a
talk on whats new in the science behind our health. This talk was
followed by interactive workshops on health, technology and social
issues of concern in many neighbourhoods around the greater
Hamilton area.
McMaster Children and Youth University offers free, monthly Saturday
morning lectures for young students (7-14 years old), to spark their
curiosity and expose them to the university environment.

Half-day Conference: Healthy Children and Families

This conference highlighted the work of five McMaster researchers,
who are working with community partners to make Hamilton the best
place to raise a child. This event also included a panel discussion
featuring Paul Johnson, Director LRT Project Coordination, City of
Hamilton, Howard Elliott, Managing Editor, The Hamilton Spectator and
Filomena Tassi, MP, Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas
Talks included:
Healthy Child Development
Jean Clinton, BMus MD FRCP(C)
Clinical Professor McMaster University, Dept of Psychiatry and
Behavioural Neuroscience
Preventing Family Violence: Building Healthy Families
Harriet MacMillan, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Professor, Departments of
Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, and of Pediatrics, Chedoke
Health Chair in Child Psychiatry, Offord Centre for Child Studies,
McMaster University and McMaster Childrens Hospital
Mental Health and Academic Outcomes of Migrant Children in
Hamilton
Kathy Georgiades, PhD, Associate Professor & David R. (Dan) Offord

Chair in Child Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral

Neurosciences & Offord Centre for Child Studies
Neighbourhood Influences on Parents Work-Family Conflict
and the Implications for Child Health and Well-Being
Dr. Marisa Young, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology,
McMaster University
Partnering for Change: Improving the Lives of School-aged
Children in Hamilton
Cheryl Missiuna, PhD, OTReg(Ont), Professor in the School of
Rehabilitation Sciences at McMaster University

The McMaster Health Crawl

Watch video: McMaster Health Crawl- Six unique labs
McMaster researchers gave demonstrations and guided tours of six unique labs
and research spaces on campus, inviting both the Hamilton and McMaster
communities to learn more about the research currently underway.
The Biomechanical Lab
LiveLab
Centre for Simulation-based Learning
CRUNCH Lab
Student Wellness Centre (SWELL)
PACE Lab

The McMaster Health Fair

This event featured the work McMaster researchers are doing to help
build healthier communities in Canada and around the world. Through
presentations, posters, and displays, McMaster researchers showcased
the many projects, initiatives, courses and research facilities at
McMaster that are focused on building healthy communities.

Walrus Talks
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Walrus Talks, produced in partnership with McMaster and the Walrus
Foundation, included a unique line-up of creative, cultural, civic,
community and McMaster experts who spoke about some of the critical
factors in building healthy cities.

Walrus Talks included:

Activating Space
Santee Smith, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre
Watch video
Good Stories Make Good Neighbours
Miranda Hill, Project Bookmark
Watch video
Loneliness is the Greatest Poverty
Andr Picard, Globe and Mail
Watch video
Breaking Down Stigma
Jennifer Heisz, Associate director (seniors) of the Physical Activity
Centre of Excellence (PACE)
Watch video
The Odd Interplay of Cities and Infection
Gerry Wright, Director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for
Infectious Disease Research
Watch video
Health Happens When You Fight for It
Nick Saul, Community Food Centres Canada
Watch video
Creating Culture
Tim Potocic, Supercrawl
Watch Video
Watch Videos: All Walrus Talks

Theme 4: Climate Change and Environment

900 members of the McMaster and Hamilton communities attended
Climate Change and Environment: Navigating from Risk to Resilience
five days of conferences, talks and activities that that explored how
research can help cities respond to the threat of climate change and
help build greener, more sustainable communities.

These events were co-led by Carolyn Eyles, director of the Integrated

Science Program and a professor in the School of Geography & Earth
Sciences and Dustin Garrick, assistant professor (Department of
Political Science and the Booth School of Engineering Practice) and the
Philomathia professor in water policy.

The Spring Water Forum

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(BLOCK QUOTE: Link to DN story, link to Spec Story)
The Spring Water Forum, hosted by the McMaster Water Network,
featured a number of sessions with McMaster and international experts
on some of the most pressing water-related challenges facing cities
today and explored how the latest research is helping communities
develop paths to urban water security.
Speakers included Yanna Lambrinidou (Virginia Tech) who shared
insights from the prize-winning Virginia Tech research team that
uncovered the drinking water crisis in Flint Michigan, Patrick Ray,
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering at the University of Massachusetts and consultant with the
World Bank who spoke about the effects of climate change on water
resource planning and Bu Lam, Manager of Municipal Programs at
the Canadian Water Network on the challenge of water security in
cities.
The event also featured McMaster water researchers, Dustin Garrick,
Philomathia Professor in Water Policy and Director of the McMaster
Water Network, Gail Kranztberg, Professor and Director of the Centre
for Engineering and Public Policy in the W. Booth School of Engineering
Practice and Sarah Dickson, Associate Professor in McMasters
Department of Civil Engineering.

Low Carbon Cities Conference

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(BLOCK QUOTE: Link to DN story)
Low Carbon, Climate Resilient Cities brought together leading
researchers, municipal leaders, the businesses community, nongovernmental organizations and members of government to exchange
ideas and build collaborations focused on transforming cities into
smart, low carbon communities.

The event, organized by Altaf Arain, Director of the McMaster Centre

for Climate Change, featured a number of speakers including the
Honourable Eleanor McMahon, M.P.P for Burlington and Founder of the
Share the Road Cycling Coalition, Glen Hodgson, Vice-President & Chief
Economist at the Conference Board of Canada, and Chris Murray, city
manager at the City of Hamilton.
A number of McMaster researchers participated in the conference
including Pavlos Kanaroglou, director of the McMaster Institute for
Transportation and Logistics, James Cotton, professor and associate
director of the McMaster Institute for Energy Studies and Bruce
Newbold, professor and director of McMasters School of Geography
and Earth Sciences.

The Hamilton Bike Tour: The Rolling Green Seminar

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50 cyclists a mix of students, professors, and community members
gathered to explore some of the environmentally significant sites
across Hamilton and learn more about the initiatives currently
underway to help preserve and restore Hamiltons natural
environment.
Participants heard from a number of community, municipal leaders and
McMaster experts including Matthew Green, Ward 3 Councilor, Carlos
Pinho, Beautiful Alleys, Mark Chamberlain, President and COE, Trivaris
Ltd., Randy Kay, Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG),
McMaster, Nancy Bouchier, Associate Professor, Department of History,
Daryl Bender, Transportation Planner, City of Hamilton, Reyna Matties,
Graduate Students Department of Biology and Brian Baetz, Professor
and Chair, Department of Civil Engineering.
Michael Egan, Associate Professor of History in the Faculty of
Humanities organized the event, which started at Tim Horton's Field
and made a number of stops including selected sites in East Hamilton,
the Hamilton Bayfront, Lot M (an environmental restoration site on
McMasters campus), and the Dundas EcoPark.

Electric Mobility Conference

(link to DN article)
The Critical Role for Electric Mobility, hosted by the McMaster Institute
for Transportation and Logistics (MITL), brought together McMaster,
national and international experts to explore how electric vehicles are
poised to transform our everyday lives, impact our economic activities

and help re-shape our cities locally and around the world.
SpeakersincludedJillian Anable, Professor and Chair in Transport and
Energy, University of Leeds, Julian Marshall, Professor, Environmental
Engineering, University of Washington, Dan Guatto, Chief Operating
Officer, Vice President, Engineering and Operations, Burlington Hydro
Inc., Marlene Chamandy Manager, Government Relations at Ford Motor
Company of Canada, Ltd., and Chantal Guimont, President, Electric
Mobility Canada
This event also feature a presentation on the Social Costs and Benefits
of Electric Mobility in Canada,* a five-year, Canada-wide research
survey of 20,000 households that looked at consumer attitudes toward
electric vehicles.

McMaster Environmental Crawl

The McMaster Environmental Crawl invited McMaster and Hamilton
community members to explore 10 state-of-the-art research facilities
on campus where environmental and climate change research is taking
place.
This event included demonstrations and short presentations by
McMaster experts, as well as posters featuring some of the
groundbreaking climate and environment-related research currently
underway at McMaster.
The following labs and research spaces were open to the pubic:
W.J. McCallion Planetarium
Hydrometeorology & Climatology Lab
Maps, Data, GIS Centre
Complex Ecological Systems Lab
Water and Wastewater Treatment
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Laboratory
Paleoenvironmental Sciences Lab (ITRAX XRF scanner)
Mac Water Lab
The Wilson Toxicology Lab
FloodNet & the McMaster Water Resources and Hydrologic Modelling
Lab
Watch videos: Featured labs (theyre on FB, ask Matt to upload to you
tube)

Sustainable Lunch
Faculty, staff, students and community members gathered for a
lunchtime conversation about food sustainability and food justice in the
local Hamilton area.
Ontario Green Party Leader, Mike Schriener spoke at the event, which
featured food prepared using local ingredients by Hamilton chef Ken
Lefebour of Nellie James.

High School Workshops

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McMaster researchers welcomed 70 area high school students, leading
them on a hike through Cootes Paradise and inviting them into labs to
learn more about local invertebrate species and water quality, as well
as to examine rock samples that provide evidence of how the Earths
climate has changed over time.

Big Ideas, Better Harbour

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Climate Change and Environment: Navigating from Risk to Resilience
wrapped up with a conversation on the future of Hamilton Harbour.
Big Ideas, Better Harbour featured academics, civic leaders,
community activists and residents who came together to explore
ways to support a healthy and thriving harbour. This event featured
expert talks and a panel discussion moderated by Chris McLaughlin
Executive Director of the Bay Area Restoration Council.
Speakers and panelists included, Chris Phillips, Senior Advisor to the
General Manager of Planning & Economic Development at the City of
Hamilton, Desirae Cronsberry from Steelcity Living, Jay Carter,
Hamilton Project Manager at Evergreen Cityworks, and Rob Fiedler, an
urban geographer and cartographer.
McMaster speakers included Ken Cruikshank, Dean of Humanities and
Hamilton historian who spoke about the history of Hamiltons harbor
and Pat Chow Fraser, a professor in McMasters Department of Biology.

Conclusion

Big Ideas, Better Cities concluded in April 2016, drawing to a close a

series of nearly 20 individual events that brought together researchers
from more than 30 departments campus-wide.
McMaster President Patrick Deane says he was deeply impressed with
the scope and breadth of the events and says the series illustrated how
universities and communities can come together to talk about, and
address the significant challenges facing local communities, our
country, and the world.
McMaster committed a year to Big Ideas, Better Cities; a year in which
we gained a deeper understanding of the critical issues affecting
Hamilton and made important connections within our local and
research communities, says Deane. We are proud to be a part of the
Hamilton community. We look forward to continuing this dialogue with
our community partners and strengthening the relationships that were
formed throughout the course of this extraordinary series of campuscommunity events.