Meg Holden

Education

• BSc (Hons.) University of Victoria, 1996
• MSc Rutgers University, 1998
• PhD New School for Social Research, 2004

Biography

Meg Holden is an engaged researcher and teacher in the domains of urban and regional planning and policy, sustainable development and well-being, and pragmatic philosophy. An environmental pragmatist by personal conviction, Meg seeks paths toward new directions for cities where more and more of us can experience sustainability and justice.

Chercheuse et enseignante spécialiste dans les domaines de planification et politiques publiques urbaines et régionales, du développement durable et bien-être, et de la philosophie pragmatiste, Meg Holden suit un chemin de recherche marqué par un pragmatisme environnemental. Le but envisagé de ses travaux consiste des directions à suivre pour un avenir où une variété croissante des êtres urbains connaît la durabilité et la justice dans leur quotidien.

Research

New Articles

• 2023 Zhu, Y. and Holden, M. Housing and psychosocial well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Habitat International.
• 2022 Holden, M. Frank Cunningham’s pragmatic perspective. Socialist Studies/Etudes socialistes 16(1).
• 2022 Boulton, C., Dedekorkut-Howes, A., Holden, M., Byrne, J. How leadership influences urban greenspace provision: the case of Surrey, Canada. Urban Affairs Review.
• 2021 Bouikidis, A. and Holden, M. Pandemonium: Recovering from COVID-19 and lessons for the future of the city. HazNet: the Magazine of Canadian Risk and Hazards Network.

My Books

• 2023 Holden, M. and Breux, S. (eds). Crossing Paths, Crossing Perspectives: Urban Studies in Quebec and British Columbia. Also published in French as: Regards Croisés sur les études urbaines au Québec et en Colombie-Brittanique. Laval: Presses Univ. Laval.
• 2019. About, C., Doussard, C., Holden, M. (eds). (re)Penser la fabrique de la ville? 20 ans d’écoquartiers à l’international : bilans et perspectives. Paris: Dunod-Colin. 224 p.
• 2017. Holden, M. Pragmatic justifications for the sustainable city: Acting in the common place. Routledge Series on Equity, Justice and the Sustainable City (J. Agyeman and S. Zavestoski, series eds).

Watch or Listen

• Video abstract of Holden, M., About, C., Doussard, C., Rochard, H., Poiroux, A., Airas, A. 2021. Off-cycle: Comparing model sustainable neighbourhoods in France and Canada. City. doi.org/10.1080/13604813.2021.1988346
• 2021 Holden, M. in Citoyen 2.0 Episode 10: Partager la Planète.
• 2021 (Feb 17) Closer to home: the case for complete neighbourhoods. Event 3 of The Future We Want: The Change We Need dialogue series. Invited moderator (online).
• 2021 (Jan 21) Towards a more equitable housing system: is Vancouver a city for renters? Event 2 of The Future We Want: The Change We Need dialogue series. Invited moderator.
• 2020 (Dec 5) Planning for the post-pandemic city. Event 1 of The Future We Want: The Change We Need dialogue series. Invited moderator.
• 2020 Holden, M., Issa, O., Saunders, D. Bula, F. Media Voices Commentaries on CanU Forum Step Up Conversations and podcast.
• Commentary
• Holden, M., Lee, R. and Emami, S. 2023 Planners’ role in bending the curve of the emerging asocial society. Plan Canada (Spring), p.20-24.
• Vernet, C. 2023 (July 18) Interviewed in: New trees planted to provide shade during heat waves. Radio-Canada Panorama. Version francaise ici.
• Luymes, G. 2023 (June) Quoted in: South Vancouver’s lack of services, social spending subject of upcoming council vote. Vancouver Sun. Also coverage of this report in The Province and Vancouver is Awesome.
• Menon, A. 2022 (Oct 13) Quoted in: Are high-rises really bad for your health? The Tyee.
• Zhu, Y., Mahdavi, D., Holden, M. 2022 More housing supply isn’t a cure-all for the housing crisis. The Conversation
• Holden, M., Mahmood, A., Akbarnejad, G., Martin, L., Winters, M. 2021 Bursting social bubbles after COVID-19 will make cities happier and healthier again. The Conversation
• Holden, M. 2020 If we love our cities, we’ll make better decisions about their future... The Conversation

Other sample research publications:

Urban development and housing

• Emami, S., Lee, R., Martin, L., Mahmood, A., Winters, M. and Holden, M. 2023 How sociable is life in multi-unit rental housing? Results of the 2021-22 Hey Neighbour Collective resident survey. 80p.
• Nouri, MJ., Holden, M., Sones, M., Winters, M., Mahmood, A. 2022 Knowledge Synthesis for the Emerging Asocial Society: Social quality of life in high-density built environments. Vancouver. 60p.
• Zhu, Y., Holden, M., Vaez Mahdavi, D. and Zeng, A. 2022 Housing vulnerability and well-being in the COVID-19 pandemic: A B.C. survey on the secondary effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions. Community Housing Canada.
• Holden, M. 2021 Book review: Planning on the Edge: Vancouver and the challenges of reconciliation, justice, and sustainable development by P. Gurstein and T. Hutton (eds). Canadian Journal of Urban Research 30(2): 126-128.
• Zhu Y, Holden M, Han P, Kim S. 2021 (May) Toward a Better Understanding of Housing Vulnerability. Community Housing Canada.
• Holden, M., Seifi, S., Adeli, R. 2020 Hey Neighbour! A new initiative in rental building resident sociability. International Journal of Community Well-Being 3(3): 341-359.
• Hey Neighbour Collective (Hoar M, Hogg M, Winters M, Holden M + others). 2020 (Dec) Developing Truly Complete Communities: Social equity, social connectedness, and multi-unit housing in an age of public health and climate crises. Submitted to Metro Vancouver.
• Holden, M. and Chang, R. 2020. The ups and downs of a sustainable and climate resilient development path in Canadian cities. In Moos, M., Vinodrai, T. and Walker, R. (eds) Canadian Cities in Transition, 6^th ed. Toronto: Oxford Univ Press, p. 397-416.
• Holden, M. and Kim, S. 2020 (July) Township of Langley Mayor’s Standing Committee on Development Process Review Report. Township of Langley. 37 p.

Sustainable cities, well-being and urban neighbourhoods

• Holden, M. 2022. Stepping up to meet the challenge of a zero carbon built environment. In: Rydin, Y, Beauregard, R., Cremaschi, M., and Lieto, L. (eds) Planning and Regulation: Practice, institutions and morality. Routledge, p. 122-134.
• Holden, M. 2019. Bringing the neighbourhood into infill development in the interest of wellbeing. IJCWB 1(2): 137-155.
• Airas, A., Larsen, M., Holden, M. 2019 Social sustainability and ecourban neighbourhoods. In Shirazi, M.R. and Keivani, R. (eds) Urban Social Sustainability: Theory, practice and policy. New York: Routledge, p.149-170.
• Holden, M. 2018 Community wellbeing in neighbourhoods: Achieving community and open-minded space through engagement in neighbourhoods. International Journal of Community Well-Being 1(1): 45-61.
• Holden, M., Li, C., Molina, A., Sturgeon, D. 2016 New actors and intermediary roles in the craft of ecourban neighbourhoods. Articulo Journal of Urban Research 14.
• Sturgeon, D., Holden, M., Molina, A., Li, C. 2016 What does neighbourhood theory mean for Ecourbanism? Introduction to the special issue on ‘Ecourbanism Worldwide.’ Articulo Journal of Urban Research 14.
• Holden, M., Robinson, J., Sheppard, S. 2016 From resilience to transformation: what is the development path? In Yamagata, Y. and Murayama, A. (eds) Urban Resilience -- a transformative approach. Springer, pp. 295-319.
• Holden, M. and M. Toftager Larsen. 2015 Institutionalizing a policy by any other name: in the City of Vancouver’s Greenest City Action Plan, does climate change policy or sustainability policy smell as sweet? Urban Research and Practice 8(3): 354-370.
• Holden, M., C.Li., A.Molina. 2015 The emergence and spread of eco-urban developments around the world. Sustainability 7(9): 11418-11437
• Scerri, A. and M. Holden. 2014 Ecological modernization or sustainable development? Vancouver’s Greenest City Action Plan. Environmental Policy and Practice 16(2): 261-279.
• Holden, M., A. Hadizadeh Esfahani, A. Scerri. 2014 Facilitated and emergent social learning in sustainable urban development. Urban Research and Practice 7(1): 1-19.
• Holden, M. 2012 Urban policy engagement with social sustainability in metro Vancouver. Urban Studies 49(3): 636-651.

Community indicators, equity and democratic participation

• Holden, M., Fassihi, F., Firth, C. 2021 South Vancouver and Marpole Neighbourhood Equity Report. Vancouver.
• 2021 Martin, L. and Holden, M. A picture is worth 1000 words: a photovoice exploration into sociability in multi-unit residential buildings. Vancouver: Hey Neighbour Collective report.
• Moreno Pires, S., Magee, L., Holden, M. 2017 Learning from community indicators movements: towards a citizen-powered urban data revolution. Environment and Planning C. 35(7): 1304-1323.
• Holden, M. 2017 Getting to Groundbreaking, But Not Build Out: From formation to failure in a regional housing indicators collaborative. In Holden, M., Stevens, C., Phillips, R. (eds). Community Quality-of-Life Indicators: Best cases VII. New York: Springer.
• Holden, M. 2006 Urban indicators and the integrative ideals of cities. Cities Journal 23(3): 170 -183.
• Holden, M. 2006 Revisiting the local impact of community indicators projects: Sustainable Seattle as prophet in its own land. Applied Research in Quality-of-Life 1(3/4): 253-277.

Planning and Urban Theory

• Holden, M. 2020 Ecological crisis, action and pragmatic humanism. In Wills, J. and Lake, R. (eds) The Power of Pragmatism: Knowledge production and social research. Manchester University Press, p. 195-209.
• Holden, M. 2020 The quest for an adequate test: Justifying the sustainable city as an order of worth. Sustainability 12(11): 4669
• Holden, M. 2018 Our changing views of the city: a new urban celebration. The Conversation. (18 July)
• Holden, M., A. Scerri, A. Hadizadeh Esfahani. 2015 Justifying failures within urban redevelopment success stories: dispute, compromise, and a new test of urbanity. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 39(3): 451-470.
• Holden, M. and A. Scerri. 2014 Justification, compromise and test: developing a pragmatic theory of critique to understand the outcomes of urban redevelopment. Planning Theory 14(4): 360-383.
• Holden, M. 2008 Social learning in planning: Seattle’s sustainable development codebooks. Progress in Planning 69(1): 1-40.
• Holden, M. 2008 The tough minded and the tender minded: A pragmatic turn for sustainable development policy. Planning Theory and Practice 9(4): 475-496.