Exclusive Extended Learning Experiences in Hamilton for OPPI’s 2024 Conference

OPPI's Education & Events team is busy putting together an inspiring program for the OPPI 2024 Conference. This year we will have over 100 breakout sessions to choose from that include exciting extended learning opportunities. 

New this year, we have three pre-conference events - jump-start your conference and explore Hamilton with these three fantastic options. 

SPECIAL PRE-CONFERENCE EVENT! September 24, 2024

The Urban Design Charrette: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
A full-day participatory workshop conducted in an abbreviated charrette format. Understanding urban design as a fundamental tool to tackle complex urban issues and deliver vibrant communities, this year’s case study focuses on two Hamilton sites and invites planners and designers from across the country to work in teams and envision creative solutions by drawing from a diverse range of experience and perspectives. The site will be chosen from a place in need of revitalization/re-urbanization.

The Urban Design Charrette will explore two important sites in downtown Hamilton: Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School at 130 York Boulevard and an existing strip mall site at 50 Dundurn Street South. These areas have an excellent development potential and offer great complexity, characteristic of urban infill sites. 

Planners and designers will look at options and measures to address pressing questions to revitalize, retrofit, and potentially re-envision the sites as resilient places where a variety of housing, employment opportunities, retail and services, access and transportation options (specifically sustainable transportation, higher order transit, active transportation), and, in particular, a strong public realm is delivered. Public amenities such as parks, parkettes, squares, plazas, natural areas, complete streets, and public facilities are of a special focus.

Thanks to a collaboration between the Council for Canadian Urbanism (CanU) and the City of Hamilton with support from the Ontario Professional Planners Institute, the workshop explores the ideas and principles of good Canadian urbanism and how they can be applied to result in a livable, resilient, sustainable, healthy, and authentic community.

Participants will focus on a particular site and will start the day with a site visit to understand its context. Participants will then discuss and outline the design principles that will guide the finding of creative site design solutions.

In smaller groups, participants will design site solutions to complete these communities through a context-sensitive and resilient mixed-use development with a strong focus on affordable housing and high-quality public realm.  Toward the end of the day, all groups will present and discuss their proposed designs to a guest design review panel.

McMaster’s Master Plan Guided Excursion: 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Discover McMaster University's Main Street West campus! Established in 1930 in Hamilton, McMaster is not only a Major Activity Centre in the Urban Hamilton Official Plan but also a powerhouse of innovation and research that drives the city’s economy.

Join us as we explore the exciting new 2023-2033 Master Plan, which is shaping the future of the campus. Dive into the themes of housing, environmental sustainability, conservation and state-of-the-art sustainable building design that are transforming McMaster to meet the evolving needs of students, faculty, and the community.

Meet McMaster staff, explore dynamic campus buildings, and get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to bring a world-class campus vision to life. Don’t miss this chance to see how McMaster University is planning for the future of higher education!

Crawford Lake Conservation Area Guided Excursion: 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Join staff from Crawford Lake Conservation Area to learn about the history of this remarkable park. The rare meromictic lake tells the story of 10,000 years of history, from glaciation to a 15th-century Wendat or Attawandaron longhouse village, to the nuclear age, the lake has recorded it all. We will focus on the history of the pre-contact reconstructed longhouse village and how operation of this remarkable site has evolved in response to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Several of our guided excursions sold out, so we’ve added some exciting new ones hosted by local planners and related professionals. Join in to learn about some noteworthy sites and projects in Hamilton, Ontario, our conference host city.

Day 2 - September 26, 2024

Visit to Area Volumetric Modular Housing Manufacturing Plant: 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Factory-built homes have featured prominently in recent policy discourse on housing. The Government of Canada is looking to expand housing factories, and the Government of Ontario is developing a modular housing sector strategy. But what defines the term “modular” and what differentiates a factory-built home from traditional methods of construction?

Conference attendees will board a bus to be taken to a walking tour of Ancaster-based modular housing manufacturer BECC Modular. The tour will begin with an overview of the technical processes and planning considerations that are unique to modular, an overview of what CSA A277 standards mean for building approvals and inspection, and the different categories of modular (panelization, volumetric, pre-fabricated vertical structures). The tour will then proceed through the manufacturing facility, where attendees will be able to see units in various stages of construction, and then through a steel-forming facility, where attendees will be shown how waste reduction and supply chain controls are achieved. The tour will conclude with a question and answer period with BECC Modular’s lead architect and design team. 
 
From Biosphere to Business: How Geological Architecture Can be Economic Development Infrastructure in Hamilton: 2:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Take a break from the pressures of planning on an interactive (and easy) hike exploring how ecological conservation can go hand-in-hand with economic development. Co-led by Hamilton-based planners from Civicplan and Urban Strategies, this quick hike will bring participants into the paths of the Niagara Escarpment – a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that runs through the heart of Hamilton. Participants will see and discuss how Hamilton’s striking green spaces promote a healthy city and economy, and how more can be done to link ecological and economic success.

Hike leaders will discuss the history of the city’s growth around the Escarpment, highlighting successes and failures in sustainably linking the two. Participants will brainstorm ideas for better connecting ecology and economy in Hamilton and elsewhere, aided by examples provided by the hike leaders. Providing some relief from the everyday pressures of planning, participants will enjoy a green change of scenery with views of waterfalls and the lower city that illustrate important links between the Escarpment and all forms of urban economic opportunity.

The hike will conclude at a patio on the thriving Locke Street retail area, demonstrating the direct connection between business and conservation.

Day 3 - Friday, September 27, 2024

Saltfleet Conservation Walking Tour: 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

This walking tour will provide an overview of the new Saltfleet Conservation Area and the associated wetland development program undertaken by the Hamilton Conservation Authority.  The new wetlands as natural infrastructure within the conservation area will provide natural hazard attenuation by reducing flooding and erosion in urban Stoney Creek below the Niagara Escarpment, provide water during low flow periods, and provide for climate change adaptation and mitigation.  Further, the tour will highlight the benefits the wetlands and their associated natural heritage features and habitat provide as well as the passive recreation opportunities and benefit of greenspaces for mental health achieved by connecting the conservation lands via the Dofasco Trail.  A total of four wetlands are proposed as part of this project with the first wetland, which will be the focus of the walking tour, constructed in 2022.


Please note, pre-registration for the above extended learning opportunities are required; you can either purchase them when you are registering for the conference or purchase through the Member Portal.

We hope to see you at this year's conference and please send an email to conference@ontarioplanners.ca with any questions you have on extended learning sessions!

Karenza Sutton-Bennett, PhD
Senior Manager, Education & Events