David Brown

David F. Brown Phd, FCIP, OUQ (Membre Émérite) is a retried Associate Professor and former Director (1999 – 2010) of the School of Urban Planning, McGill University, Montreal. Educated at Bishop’s University (BA Geography), McGill University (MUP) and Sheffield University where he completed his doctorate in planning, he teaches graduate level planning studios, urban environmental planning, geographic information system applications, and planning methods. He is a Membre Émérite of the Ordre des Urbanistes du Québec and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Planners.

Professor Brown has significant professional experience as an urban planning consultant, notably in association with Daniel Arbour and Associates Ltd. and GENIVAR TT Ltd.  His research and professional interests focus on urban development and management, informal settlement regularization, environmental planning, planning issues associated with climate change, and the role of public institutions, community groups and citizens in the planning and development process.  In addition to his work in the Montreal context, he has considerable professional and research experience in Central America and the Caribbean Basin.

Ph.D. Dissertation

Residential Management Strategies in Formal and Informal Settlements: A Case Study in Trinidad and Tobago.

Selected recent publications

Brown, David “Editorial: The Need for Direct, Transparent and Respectful Transactions Between Planning Participants”, in Canadian Journal of Urban Research, David Brown (Ed.), Volume 21, Issue 1, pp iii-v, 2012.

Brown, David F. and Ginette Lamontagne, “What’s Next for Quebec’s Northern Frontier”, Planning, The Magazine of the American Planning Association, August/September, 2012, pp 22-27.

Brown, David, “Editorial: Integrating Theory and Practice” in Canadian Planning and Policy, Joint Issue CIP-CJUR, David Brown (Ed.), 2011.

Cappe, Marni and David Brown, “Mainstreaming Climate Change Tools for Planners”, Journal of the Alberta Association of the Canadian Institute of Planners, Winter 2009/2010, pp 5-7.

Opadeyi, Jacob, and David Brown, “Geographical Information systems for Urban Planning and Management in the Caribbean: Finding the Right Approach, West Indian Journal of Engineering, Vol. 30, Number 2, January 2008, pp1-12.

Brown, David. Member of Steering Committee and Workshop Participant. Climate Change: A Policy Paper, Canadian Institute of Planners, Presentations, 2008

Brown, David. “Planning in Real Time: Lessons from Trinidad and Tobago”, ISoCarp Congress 2007, Urban Trialogues: Co-productive ways to relate visioning and strategic urban planning, Antwerp, Belgium, September 2007.

Brown, D. & L. Bornstein “Whither Managua? Evolution of a City’s Morphology”, pp. 69-92 in Z. Enlil & P. Vaggione, Eds. Cities between Integration and Disintegration: Opportunities and Challenges, The Hague: ISoCaRP, 2007.

Brown, David. “Back to Basics: The Influence of Sustainable Development on Urban Planning with Special Reference to Montreal.” Canadian Journal of Urban Research. 15-1. 2006

Brown, David « La renouvellement de la planification urbaine par le développement durable : le cas de Montréal. A la recherche de la cohérence territoriale : la planification urbaine a l’épreuve du développement métropolitain dans le monde. »  Dix-huitièmes Entretiens du Centre Jacques Cartier.  Lyon, France. Décembre. 2005

Brown, David “Creative Neighborhoods.” Paper in proceedings of the 41st ISoCaRP Congress.  Bilbao, Spain, October 2005.

Zhang, Henry and David Brown. ”Understanding Urban Residential Water Use: A Case Study of Beijing and Tianjin, China,” Habitat International. Vol 29, issue 3, pp 469-491 2005

Brown, David F. « Gestion environnementale intégrée : Entre la démocratie locale et l'intégrité régionale. » La Gouvernance : Bilan de l’expérience française et comparaison avec les expériences canadienne et québécoise, Seizièmes Entretiens » du Centre Jacques Cartier, Lyon, France. 28 novembre - 4 décembre 2003

Brown, David and Asad, Mohammed. “Shantytowns” in Encyclopedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual World, Editors: Karen Christensen and David Levinson. Sage Publications. 2003 

Brown, David. “Mergers and De-Mergers: Implications for Environmental Planning and Management in Montréal,” Plan Canada, vol. 43, no. 3, pp 24-26

Brown, David. "Balancing Theory and Practice: Planning Education in Canada," Plan Canada, vol. 42, no 4, pp 33-34. 2002

Brown, David, Adele LeRoyer and Henry Zhang “Shifting Streams: Estimating Water Demand in the Beijing-Tianjin Region of China,” Paper presented at ACSP 2000, Atlanta, November. 2000

Brown, David "Flexible yet Firm: The Role of Public Institutions in the Community Development Process," paper published in referred proceedings Quality of Life in Cities Conference, Singapore, March. 2000

Selected Reports

Harmonization of Land Use Classifications and Proposals in Fourteen Regional Development Plans, Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development, Trinidad & Tobago, GENIVAR TT, Senior Land Use Planner, 2012

Neighborhood Upgrading Program: Nurse Trace and La Savanne Circular Road, Guayaguayare, Trinidad, GENIVAR TT, Senior Land Use Planner, 2012.

Sustainable Island Resource Management Zoning Plan, Antigua & Barbuda, GENIVAR TT, Senior Land Use Planner, 2011.

Integrated Re-development Plan for Greater Scarborough, Tobago, GENIVAR TT, Senior Land Use Planner, 2011

Regional Development Plan for Penal / Debe Regional Corporation, Trinidad, GENIVAR TT, Senior Land Use Planner, 2010

Regional Development plan for Princes Town Regional Corporation, Trinidad, GENIVAR TT, Senior Land Use Planner, 2010

Master Plan for Central Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, GENIVAR TT, Senior Land Use Planner, 2007

Selected Conference Presentations

Brown, David F. "Vers une ville plus accessiblre, conviviale et écologique: l'organisation de la densité et de la diversité", Plan de développement de Montréal, Office de consultation publiqe de Montréal, 5 juin 2013

Brown, David, Beate Bowron, Gary Davidson, “Putting Climate Change Science to Work: Applying an Analytic / Deliberative Process to Support Effective Collaboration Between Scientists, Planners, and Communities Working to Prepare Cities for Climate Change”, Ecocity World Summit, Montreal, August 25^th 2011

Invited Presentation, "Radical Change in Climate and in Planning", CIP International Conference, Climate Change & Communities, Oct 3, 2010

Workshop Facilitator,  "Mainstreaming Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation within the Curriculum of Planning Schools", CIP International Conference, "Climate Change & Communities: A Call to Action", Oct 2-5, 2010.

Workshop Facilitator, "Climate Change Adaptation Planning", Annual Conference of the Planning Institute of British Columbia, "Planning in Action - Transforming Communities", Sun Peaks, BC, June 1-4, 2010.

Workshop Facilitator, "Working Together for Climate Change Adaptation", Annual Conference of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects, "It's Time", Edmonton, August 19 2010.

Invited Presentation: Tacking ‘Wicked Problems’ in Informal Settlements: A Case Study of Institutional Response to an Environmental and Health Emergency in Trinidad, McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy, March 31st 2010

Workshop Conveyor and Facilitator: Teaching Climate Change in Planning Schools, Meeting of  Planning Professors sponsored by NRCan through the Canadian Institute of Planners,  Guelph, Ontario, February 5th 2010

Workshop Facilitator, "Focus Group on Climate Change Priorities for Planners", Ordre des Urbanistes, April 30, 2010

Invited Presentation : Développer la ville tous ensemble  5e Congrès mondial d’éducation relative à l’environnement, Programme de la niche des Défis urbains, le 11 mai 2009

Développer la ville tous ensemble. 5^e Congrès mondial d’éducation relative à l’environnement Programme de la niche des Défis urbains. May 11, 2009.

Présentation: Le développement durable à l’échelle locale: de quoi s’agit-il? Colloque « Changer le monde, un quartier à la fois!, » Centre d’écologie urbaine de Montréal, 1-3 Mai 2008

Présentation: « Le développement durable des quartiers: un projet pour tous, » Le Mile-End en Chantier, Soirée citoyenne sur le développement du secteur Maguire, November 26, 2008

Presentation. “Neighborhood Sustainable Development Indicators” Urban Affairs Association Conference. Montreal. April 19-22 2006.

Presentation (with Romer Altamirano Guerrero). “Sistemas de Información Geográfica Aplicaciones en investigación y gestión urbana.” Centro de Recursos del Proyecto Vulnerabilidad Social y Gestión Urbana. Universidad Centroamericana. March 28, 2006.

Présentation. « Le renouvellement de la planification urbaine par le développement durable : le cas de Montréal. À la recherche de la cohérence territoriale : la planification urbaine a l’épreuve du développement métropolitain dans le monde. Dix-huitièmes Entretiens du Centre Jacques Cartier. Lyon, France. Décembre 2005.

Présentation. “Green Neighbourhoods.” Rendez-vous citoyen Kyoto. Centre d’écologie urbaine / SODECM. Montreal. November 26, 2005

Organizer and Participant. Neighborhood Sustainability Indicators: A Best Practice Workshop. School of Urban Planning, McGill University and the Urban Ecology Center / SODECM. June 2005

Invited Participant. Workshop of Climate Change and Cities. National Resources Canada. Ottawa. September 14-15 2005.

Conference Presentation. “The Legacy of the 1976 Montreal Olympics,” Frontiers in Planning and Design, Annual Meeting of the Canadian Institute of Planners, Calgary, July 2005.

Professional Affiliations