Rachel Barber will receive the PlanON Innovative Research Award for her Master of Planning thesis, “Aging but not Forgotten: An Analysis of Older Adult Health Care Access in Elliot Lake.”
The announcement is on the The Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) website here.
PlanON describes the award as, “the highest honour OPPI can bestow!”
Barber travelled to Elliot Lake in October 2022 to conduct her fieldwork. Her thesis was published in May 2023.
On Jan. 31, Barber presented her report in a public, virtual presentation. It was attended by persons across Ontario and beyond, including Elliot Lake citizens and City staff.
Age-Friendly Action Plan cited
The OPPI website notes, “In 2017, the city published an Age-Friendly Action Plan to improve Elliot Lake in eight key areas, including health care and transportation. This study assessed older adult access to health care facilities via Elliot Lake’s existing public transportation service.”
The study looked at the “geography of health care facilities in Elliot Lake” to “evaluate the accessibility of health care facilities in Elliot Lake via public transportation,” for older adults without private transportation.
An overview of Barber's report was presented to the City's Accessibility Advisory Committee by a citizen member, Feb. 21.
Two current transit studies – not connected
Barber's report is not connected to a transit study contracted by the City in July 2023. An interim report of that study was presented to the Public Services Committee Aug. 28. In an unusual move, it was not passed forward to tomorrow's council meeting. A story about the committee meeting is here.
Before the meeting, ElliotLakeToday reached out to Barber and she watched the committee meeting from Paris.
Barber was in Paris to study at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) as a visiting doctoral student.
According to their website, EHESS is “focused on academic research in the social sciences. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious institutions of graduate education in France.”
Award presentation in Hamilton
Barber's award-winning thesis was part of her Master of Planning program at Queen's University. She is presently a PhD student in the Department of Geography and Planning at Queen's University.
Her doctoral research focuses on left-behind places, or places that have experienced long-term population and economic decline, across Canada.
Barber will receive the PlanON Innovation Research Award in person at the OPPI conference in Hamilton at the end of September. Information about the award can be found here.
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