Evan Castel

My academic research is situated at the intersection of urban planning, architecture and public health, where I use a health equity lens with geospatial and epidemiological tools to examine connections between the built environment and human health. My doctoral work focused on the unique built environment of high-rise habitation, using large Statistics Canada datasets and GIS to examine the health and social consequences of life in the current high-rise boom as well as in the aging, stigmatized high-rises that are central to Canada’s low-income urban housing stock. This work, supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, is providing the first national examination of the social and health implications of high-rise living, bringing insight into the effects of density and the role of disadvantage in Canada’s urban centres.

My undergraduate education was in architecture (University of Toronto) and the life sciences (Queen’s University), followed by ten years of experience in architecture and urban planning policy roles, including working for Ontario’s Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal on the preparation of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. After developing my research and policy skills in these roles in the private and public sectors, I began graduate studies with a Master’s degree in health sciences at York University before beginning my doctoral degree. I am always interested in community and academic feedback and collaboration, and welcome inquiry via my contact information above.