Jeanne Wolfe (1934–2009) was a British-born Canadian

urban planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, tow ...

and scholar known for her outstanding contribution to planning affairs in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada, and internationally.

Biography

Wolfe received a bachelor's degree in Geography from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, UK (1953–56), a master's degree in Geography from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

in London, Ontario (1956–59), and a master's degree in Urban Planning from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in Montréal (1959–61). Following her graduation from McGill, Wolfe practiced for over a decade as a professional planner, holding positions with both the City of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and the Quebec Government's Ministry of Municipal Affairs. In 1973, Wolfe joined the faculty of the McGill School of Urban Planning. While at McGill, she developed courses in the history, theory and practice of urban planning, taught numerous planning studio courses (interdisciplinary, team-based practical planning projects) in collaboration with public and community partners, and supervised countless graduate students. Wolfe was Director of the McGill School of Urban Planning between 1988 and 1999, and given the honorific title of Professor Emerita following her retirement. Wolfe was a prolific and accomplished researcher and writer. Among her achievements are reviews about Canadian planning and housing policy, and articles documenting the evolution of Montreal's governance structure. She also extensively studied urban and social issues in developing countries and late in her life, she worked on a history of

utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', which describes a fictional island soci ...

communities across Canada. In addition to her research, Wolfe participated in many social and environmental organizations and commissions, both locally and nationally. For example, she was a commissioner for both the 1986 Parizeau Commission on the Future of Municipalities and the 1987 commission for the

Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile stretch of Sherbrooke Street west. The MMFA ...

. She was also a long-serving board member for the Society to Overcome Pollution (1979 to 2009). For the last 25 years of her life, Wolfe was deeply involved in planning research and practice in developing countries, particularly in the Caribbean basin and in Central America. She was a founding member of the Groupe interuniversitaire de Montréal, a Centre of Excellence of the Canadian International Development Agency, which helped to establish post-secondary urban-planning programs in local universities and to develop their research capacity. In recent years, she worked in China and in India, studying and advising on local planning and governance structures, for instance with respect to solid-waste management (in India) and metropolitan governance (in China). Wolfe was appointed a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in May 2009 for "her contributions as a leading scholar and mentor in the field of urban planning in Canada and abroad."

Honours

* Professor Emeritus in Urban Planning at McGill University (2000) * Prix Jean-Claude La Haye, Ordre des urbanistes du Québec (2004) * President's Award, Canadian Institute of Planners (2007) * Member of the Order of Canada (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, Jeanne 1934 births 2009 deaths Alumni of the University of London Canadian urban planners Women urban planners Members of the Order of Canada

Biography

Honours

See also

References