Mark Seasons

Mark Seasons PhD, FCIP, RPP is a Professor with the School of Planning at the University of Waterloo, which he joined in 1998 following almost 20 years in planning practice. He is a Fellow, Canadian Institute of Planners and a Registered Professional Planner (Ontario). Mark’s education includes a BA (Honours Geography - Queen’s); MEnvDes (Planning - Calgary); and PhD (Regional Planning - Waterloo).

Mark has practiced as an urban planner with the City of Calgary, the New Zealand federal government, the Province of Ontario, and the Canadian federal government’s National Capital Commission. Throughout his professional career, he has worked in the areas of urban renewal, long-range planning, neighbourhood revitalization, regional planning, and non-profit housing.

Mark’s research interests include plan evaluation, planning for climate change, strategic planning, and planning for slow-growth or declining cities. He has designed and delivered courses in land use planning, research methods, planning theory, program evaluation and regional planning. As a researcher, Mark has written and had published numerous articles in a variety of peer-reviewed journals. He’s also a member of the editorial boards of several academic journals for which he regularly reviews and evaluates articles that are submitted for publication. Mark was editor-in-chief of Plan Canada, the Canadian Institute of Planning's practice-oriented journal, from 2005-10. In 2021, he published a sole-authored and peer-reviewed text on plan monitoring and evaluation (Evaluating Urban and Regional Plans: From Theory to Practice, UBC Press).

Degrees

• Ph.D. (Regional Planning & Resource Development), University of Waterloo, Canada, 1989
• M.Env. Des. (Planning), University of Calgary, Canada, 1985
• B.A. (Hons.) (Geography), Queen's University, Canada, 1975

Academic honours

• 2011 - Recipient, distinguished teaching award, University of Waterloo
• 2009 - Fellow, Canadian Institute of Planners (FCIP)
• 2006 - Outstanding faculty award, University of Waterloo
• 2002 - Recognition of service award, Canadian Institute of Planners
• 2001 - Member services award, Ontario Professional Planners Institute
• 1994 - Member Services Award, Ontario Professional Planners Institute

Research interests

• Planning for climate change
• Planning for no-or slow growth
• Urban and regional planning
• Strategic planning
• Plan evaluation
• Local economic development