Kayleigh Swanson

Kayleigh Swanson is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream in the Department of Geography and Planning. Kayleigh designs and teaches courses on planning research methods, environmental planning, critical climate justice, planning tools and processes, and community-engaged planning. Her pedagogy is grounded in student-centered active learning and critical self-awareness and reflexivity. Kayleigh holds Certificates in University Teaching and Interdisciplinary Teaching and Course Design from the University of Waterloo.

Kayleigh’s PhD research evaluated the equity orientation of climate action plans in Canadian municipalities to consider how local governments can advance climate action that is both ambitious and equitable. Her ongoing pedagogical research explores teaching strategies for managing climate anxiety and cultivating hope in environmental education.

Publications

Swanson, K. (2025). Bridging scholarly and community perspectives: A framework for assessing equity and justice in Canadian climate action planning. Journal of Urban Affairs, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2025.2529915

Swanson, K. (2025). Unveiling inequity: Community perspectives on climate action planning in Ontario cities. Cities, 167, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2025.106395

Swanson, K. (2023). The “dark side” of climate action planning. Journal of Planning Literature, 39(2), 223-226. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08854122231217703

Swanson, K. (2023). Centering equity and justice in participatory climate action planning: Guidance for urban governance actors. Planning Theory and Practice, 24(2), 207-223. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649357.2023.2189288

Swanson, K. (2023). Equity and justice in climate action planning: The challenge of evaluation. Canadian Planning and Policy/Aménagement Et Politique Au Canada, 2023(1), 23-37. https://doi.org/10.24908/cpp-apc.v2023i1.15813