Our dedicated community engagement team works collaboratively with planners, urban designers, clients and communities.
It’s important for people to understand what’s happening in the spaces where they live and work, particularly when change is on the horizon. For many, the planning process can be confusing.
That’s where we come in.
Tailored Strategies Community engagement helps to create a strong foundation for any planning project, with strategies that are tailored to the needs of the client and the community.
Translating Complexity, Building Access In many ways, we are translators who provide access for communities to understand the process and its inner workings.
Opening Channels for Community Voices We find ways to create a fair and transparent platform where people can engage and share their thoughts, and provide a direct channel for communities to interact with the people who are proposing change.
Tools of Engagement Stakeholder and public engagement sessions, workshops, open houses, urban design charrettes, visioning sessions and surveys are just a few of the tools we use.
Project Websites We create dedicated project websites that feature highlights, FAQs and application materials that provide clarity and a view to the big picture.
“We aim to be the go-to firm for communications and messaging when it comes to the planning process. Toronto and other municipalities have a lot of challenges around that. We really try to simplify the process for people.”
– Community Engagement Specialist
Our community engagement specialists operate in a team learning environment.
We share resources and experience, working creatively with architects, designers and planners to develop strategies and materials that bring projects to life.
Our collaborative approach also includes internal capacity building, helping our planners with in-person presentations with community members.
Most of our community engagement specialists have a background in planning with a real understanding of the planning process and how those areas of expertise work together.
Please join us in welcoming our amazing new interns - Alley, Lianne and Myah! Welcome to the team!
Looking forward to getting to work together over the next several months.
Big congrats to Rayah Flash, the recipient of the Bousfields Graduate Entrance Award at TMU, honouring future planning leaders. Rayah’s dedication of planning, place-making, and creating vibrant communities inspires us all! Bousfields Senior Associate Alex Savanyu (and TUM alum) was in attendance to present Raya with the award at the TMU ceremony.
Bousfielders had a great time attending a number of Jane’s Walks last weekend all around the city. From Little India to Bathurst & Harbord, it was fun to run into fellow urbanists and continue to learn even more about our neighbourhoods and communities.
Walk With Us was the 2025 theme of Jane’s Walk Toronto —an open invitation to explore, connect, and share stories through walking. Centered on belonging, curiosity, connection, and change, it invites everyone to reimagine the city together.
Thank you to all of the organizers and volunteers for the walks! To learn more about the Jane’s Walk Toronto Festival visit: www.janeswalkfestivalto.com
What should U of T’s St. George campus look like by 2040? The University of Toronto St. George Campus Plan 2040 is set to guide the long-term growth and transformation of U of T’s urban campus. We’re thrilled to announce that our Community Engagement team is leading the engagement process, guiding conversation around the future of the St. George campus!
We’re excited to partner with ICE (Indigenous and Community Engagement), a 100% Indigenous-owned firm, leading the Indigenous engagement efforts. Together with @uoft University Planning, @gehlpeople (the Public Space and Public Life Study team), as well as the Public Realm Plan design team, we’re looking to build a vision for a vibrant, sustainable and inclusive campus!
Bousfielders had a great time last night as one of the table sponsors for the annual ULI Meet the Chief Planners Event!
This year, we were also thrilled that Emma West, Bousfields Partner and Chair of the Women’s Leadership Initiatives Americas, was invited to present the ULI Americas Annual Awards for Excellence to the team behind the ‘Canary Landing - Maple House’ project.
Thank you to @uli_toronto for organizing this fantastic event full of great conversations and connections.
March was International Women’s Month, and International Women’s Day was celebrated on Saturday, March 8 this year. This year’s theme was ‘Accelerate Action’.
This past month we asked women at Bousfields to share some thoughts on #IWD / #IWM and ways to #AccelerateAction. Be sure to swipe through to read what some of them shared!
International Women’s Day is a globally celebrated day to recognize the social, economical, cultural, and political achievements of women worldwide. Focusing on the need to Accelerate Action emphasizes the importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality. It calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres.
#internationalwomensday #internationalwomensmonth
We’re proud to share that Bousfields is part of an amazing team that recently received Zoning By-law Amendment approval for a mixed-use development strategically located near Ontario Tech University (UOIT) and Durham College in Oshawa!
This 10-storey, mixed-use development will offer a range of high-quality housing options, including student geared housing aimed at addressing the critical need for student housing in the area. This @6ix_dev.inc development will integrate Niagara Station as part of the proposed Aerial Cable Car Transit line, as well as a variety of retail spaces including a grocery store and commercial gym, designed to meet the needs of the local community.
Bousfields is excited to be part of a project team that includes @6ix_dev.inc, @wspcanada and Nextrans Consulting Engineers, all working together to create a modern, sustainable, and community-focused development in Oshawa.
Last month, Bousfielders Ashley Paton and Simon Horner, participated in the TMU MPGSA (Metropolitan Planning Graduate Associate) Speed Networking night. The event included 35 students and 35 professionals from a diverse range of educational and professional backgrounds, contributing to insightful and thought-provoking conversations about the industry as a whole!
We’re #Hiring! We are currently recruiting for a Planner. Visit bousfields.ca/careers for more info and email careers@bousfields.ca to apply!
Bousfields is thrilled to have sponsored the 7th Annual ULI Winter Social alongside our colleagues at @rwdiwestcoast and @costar ! A big thank you to the @uli_toronto team for organizing such an amazing event. The evening was full of insightful conversation, knowledge sharing and fun!
📸 Photographs by Shiraz Ali | www.shirazali.ca
It’s always fun to get to chat with students about the work we do! Bousfielders from our Community Engagement Team, Simone Hodgson and Lewis Walker, spoke to students at @uoft this week as part of Professor Aditi Mehta’s (@aditimehta12) Introduction to Urban Studies course. Thank you to Professor Mehta and the students for welcoming us, and asking lots of engaging and insightful questions!
Congratulations to Timurul Hoque Kazi, the 2024 John Bousfield Bursary recipient! In recognition of John’s visionary work in professional planning, the bursary is awarded to a student whose work and research promotes innovation and advances planning practice.
