About this Event
You're invited to the 2026 UBC SCARP Symposium. The symposium is an annual planning conference hosted by students from the University of British Columbia's School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP).
We extend our sincere thanks to our Platinum Sponsor,
Pacific Institute for Climate Solution.
We also would like to offer our gratitude to our Gold Sponsors,
- Modus
- DIALOG
- Young Anderson Barristers & Solicitors
- Real Estate Foundation of BC
- Planning Institute of British Columbia
- University of British Columbia β Faculty of Applied Science
We gratefully acknowledge the support of our other generous sponsors:
- Lidstone & Company Barristers & Solicitors
- McElhanney
- Coriolis Consulting Corp
- Campus + Community Planning
Agenda
π: 09:30 AM
Territorial Welcome
π: 09:45 AM
Keynote
Host: Sonia Furstenau
Info: Sonia Furstenau served in public office for ten years, including four years as Leader of the Green Party of British Columbia. Prior to politics, she was a teacher, a researcher, and the National Administrator for RESULTS Canada, a citizen-led organization committed to reducing global poverty. From 2013-2017, Sonia worked with and organized her community of Shawnigan Lake in a four-year campaign to protect their drinking water, resulting in the provincial government revoking a permit for a five million tonne contaminated landfill. Sonia was motivated to enter politics because of the systemic failures in British Columbia's decision-making processes, particularly its failure to meaningfully engage with people most affected by those decisions. In September 2024, Sonia and her colleague Maeve Maguire founded the Community Assembly Network, with the mission to accelerate the uptake of deliberative democracy across BC.
π: 10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
BREAK 1
π: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Panel: Planning with Polarization
Host: Alison Gu
π: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Panel: Indigenous Planning Perspectives
π: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Panel: People-Powered Planning
Host: Kathy Shimizu
π: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Panel: Intersectionality in the Built Environment
Host: Henry Tsang
π: 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
LUNCH
π: 01:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Workshop: Heart-to-Heart: Participatory Planning Methods
Host: Happy Cities - Leah Karlberg
π: 01:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Workshop: Re-Imagining Transportation, Access, and Mobility
π: 01:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Workshop: Research as a Way Forward
Host: Keisha Maloney
π: 01:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Workshop: Home is Where the Heart is
π: 03:00 PM - 03:15 PM
BREAK 2
π: 03:15 AM - 04:30 PM
Panel: SCARP Alumni
π: 01:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Workshop: Art and Joy for Climate Hope
Host: Sword Fern Collective - Paige Hunter
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
AMS Student Nest, 6133 University Boulevard, Vancouver, Canada
CAD 43.93 to CAD 97.18








