Next: Neighbourhood watch
Posted Jan. 10/07
A search of recent Ipsos Reid surveys shows that health care, the environment and urban issues are important and topical issues for Canadians today. For example: “Canadians agree that a patient wait time guarantee is the most important priority for Canada’s new government”; “Most Canadians want the government to take action in fight against child obesity”; “Torontonians have their say on future city council: issue of crime features most prominently”; and “Environment tops the list of priorities for Canadians – first time since July 1990”.
This issue of Panorama demonstrates, in spades, how faculty, alumni and students are involved in these big issues of the day. I’m proud of the Faculty of Public Affairs’ commitment to doing leading edge research and heading projects and publications in the areas of the environment, municipal issues and health care in Canada.
As a researcher interested in urban and local governance, I know that we can’t look at cities without considering their development and being concerned about their future. In this issue you’ll read about faculty members who are tackling practical and potentially devastating problems facing cities.
You’ll also meet a coterie of scholars who are looking at health care issues in new ways — from the intersection of health and economics to an innovative approach to women’s health.
When it comes to the environment, science and technology play a role in policy and practice. Improving how science is reported and modernizing the public policy that governs how we use science and technology are being addressed in the Faculty of Public Affairs.
Together, these three issues are top of mind for Canadians — and for the scholars who infuse their enthusiasm for research into health care, and environmental and urban issues into our academic programs, their teaching and our students.
Katherine Graham
Dean, Faculty of Public Affairs