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Faculty and Staff

Pierre Filion
Professor
Associate Director, Graduate Studies
School of Planning

Contact Information:

Phone: +1-519-888-4567 ext. 33963
Fax: 519-725-2827
Office: EV3 - 3243
Email: pfilion(at)uwaterloo.ca
CV: Read more

I have always been fascinated by cities. There may be some genetic component to this interest, since from the moment I began primary school, I would get in trouble for drawing imaginary cities in class. Later in secondary school, I would occasionally skip school to take long walks through different parts of Montreal. I was intrigued by contrasts between districts: the intense activity of old working-class neighbourhoods, the wealth and elegance of exclusive residential areas close to the core, the narrow and crowded streets of Old Montreal which still harboured warehousing and small-scale industrial activities, and the downtown area which was then undergoing large-scale redevelopment.

Some of my most memorable moments are closely associated with urban settings. This is the case, for example, of my first visit to Expo 67, a utopian world of daring architecture, canals and efficient transportation systems. Equally lasting are memories of first steps in the intense urban environment of large cities such as New York, London and Paris. Still today, a visit to a new city is a source of considerable anticipation and excitement.

My research work on cities is driven by a commitment to make urban areas more livable, more stimulating and less environmentally damaging. Like much contemporary thinking on planning, this work takes a critical stance towards the direction urban development has taken over the last sixty years. My main research effort consists in the conceptualization of social and physical environments that contrast with the types of development that have characterized urban development over the past decades. Although I am fully aware of the importance of urban design in defining such environments, my approach relies on social science perspectives and emphasizes implementation potential. Indeed, many excellent ideas do not make it beyond the planning stage because they are impossible to implement in the present political, economic and social context.

More specifically, my present research focus is on how to create active and diversified urban settings, which are hospitable to pedestrians and transit users. This reflection is motivated by a desire to find ways of producing such environments in areas that are not known for their lively nature or pedestrian and transit hospitality: suburbs and the cores of middle-size cities. Intensified pedestrian- and transit-friendly urban environments of this nature would reduce automobile dependence while procuring new life-style options and, therefore, additional choice within urban areas.

On a more theoretical plane, another dimension of my research work explores the relationship between changes in urban form and the evolution of society. For example, I have associated changes, over the last decades, in patterns of development and redevelopment within the Greater Toronto Area with the societal transition from modernism to post-modernism and from Fordism to post-Fordism. In papers dealing with these issues, I argue that land use, transportation patterns and the geographical distribution of social groups echo broader societal tendencies concerning production and consumption patterns.

Degrees:

Ph.D. Urban Studies, University of Kent, Canterbury, 1983
M.A. Political Science, Université Laval, 1979
B.Ac. Journalism/Political Science, Université Laval, 1977

Research Interests:

Research Grants/Projects:

Contact Pierre Filion for more information on research opportunities.

Graduate Student Supervision:

 
# of students currently
supervising/co-supervising
Total # of student
supervisions/co-supervisions
Masters
4
35
PhD
7
9

Recent/Key Publications:

Read a complete list of publications in the curriculum vitae (.pdf)

Courses Taught:

02/07/2012