Kate Nelischer

Assistant Professor - Department of Urban and Regional Planning
knelisch@buffalo.edu - 230 Hayes Hall - (716) 829-5471

Kate Nelischer.

Kate Nelischer joined the School of Architecture and Planning in 2022 as assistant professor of urban planning, bringing research and teaching experience that will foster connections across real estate development and urban planning in the study of smart cities and planning and development governance.

Most recently, Nelischer served as a Definite-Term Lecturer at the University of Waterloo School of Planning and has previously taught at the Toronto Metropolitan University of Urban and Regional Planning and the University of Toronto Urban Studies and Human Geography Departments. 

From 2018-2020, Nelischer served as the Assistant Dean, Academic Planning and Governance at the University of Toronto John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. In this role she managed curriculum planning and represented the Faculty on University-wide initiatives to expand online and in-person experiential learning resources for students and faculty. She also managed program accreditation reviews, the development of the Faculty’s first Ph.D. program, and Faculty governance. As Assistant Dean, Nelischer also served as the secretary of the Faculty’s Diversity and Equity Committee, authored annual reports on the Faculty’s responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action, and organized anti-bias training for faculty and staff.

Kate Nelischer attending a community organizing event focused on the Sidewalk Toronto/Quayside project (Image credit: Block Sidewalk).

Kate Nelischer attending a community organizing event focused on the Sidewalk Toronto/Quayside project (Image credit: Block Sidewalk)

A Sidewalk Toronto/Quayside public engagement event held at the Sidewalk Labs offices in 2018.

A Sidewalk Toronto/Quayside public engagement event held at the Sidewalk Labs offices in 2018.

Nelischer's research interests center on the governance of planning, design, and development processes, including community engagement. She is interested in who is represented in planning and design processes, who is underrepresented, and the resulting impacts on the forms and management of the city. She recently completed her PhD in Planning at the University of Toronto, where her doctoral dissertation offered a case study of Sidewalk Toronto, a former public-private partnership between Sidewalk Labs (an Alphabet Inc. subsidiary) and Waterfront Toronto (a tripartite government agency) to develop a smart city. Nelischer's research analyzes the project’s unique partnership structure and identifies how this shaped the planning and engagement processes, and contextualizes the project within the history of Toronto’s waterfront development. She was awarded the Van Ginkel Graduate Fellowship from the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance for her doctoral research, and has presented results at the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference (ACSP), and Urban Affairs Association (UAA) Conference.

According to Nelischer, new technologies and new partnerships, like those seen in the Sidewalk Toronto project, are reshaping development processes, municipal governance, and urban landscapes.

Smart city projects are rapidly becoming a dominant element in the global urban agenda, and their increasing development and management by private technology corporations represents a turning point in planning and governance.

- Kate Nelischer

Kate Nelischer facilitating a community design charrette in Toronto while serving as a consultant for The Planning Partnership Ltd.

Kate Nelischer facilitating a community design charrette in Toronto while serving as a consultant for The Planning Partnership Ltd.

Her research interests are shaped by nearly a decade of professional planning, urban design, and community engagement experience across the public and private sectors. She previously served as a Senior Public Consultation Coordinator for the City of Toronto, where she designed and led community participation processes for major planning, design, transportation, and engineering projects and fostered partnerships with local organizations and institutions. Nelischer also helped to launch the City of Brampton’s first Office of Community Engagement, and previously worked for the Toronto-based consulting firm The Planning Partnership Ltd., managing large-scale landscape architecture, urban planning, and consultation projects for public and private clients. With a professional background and interest in government-led public consultation, she has authored a number of reports on best practices for public consultation, including a white paper on conflict management for the International Association for Public Participation, and more recently a report on improving policy outcomes through more inclusive consultation for the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance.

Kate Nelischer presenting on a panel discussion at the 2018 UN Women Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Forum in Edmonton, Alberta.

Kate Nelischer (right) presenting on a panel discussion at the 2018 UN Women Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Forum in Edmonton, Alberta.

Kate Nelischer facilitates a community design charrette in Toronto while serving as a consultant for The Planning Partnership.

Kate Nelischer facilitates a community design charrette in Toronto while serving as a consultant for The Planning Partnership.

Nelischer says she was drawn to UB by its broad interdisciplinary approach to real estate development, which engages not only architecture and urban planning but also the social sciences, public health, law and management.

"UB’s MSRED program is unique in its focus on not only finance and construction, but also planning and design," said Nelischer, noting that most real estate programs are situated within business programs. "This engages students in the contemporary and complex issues they will encounter in practice, such as affordable housing, sustainability, and community development."

For the past nine years, Nelischer has served on the National Board of Directors of YWCA Canada, where she has chaired the Nominating Committee, participated on the Diversity Strategy Task Force, Governance Committee, and Young Women’s Leadership Committee, and was nominated to the World YWCA Board of Directors as the Canadian delegate. YWCA Canada is the country’s largest feminist women’s multi-service organization, providing shelters and long-term affordable housing for women and engaging in gender equity advocacy work at the federal and local levels. Motivated by experience with the YWCA, Nelischer has undertaken research projects on the history of purpose-built women’s housing in Toronto and has more broadly published on women’s right to the city. She has presented this work at the 2018 UN Women Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Global Leaders Forum and has organized related expert panel events, such as a recent forum in collaboration with the University of Toronto School of Cities and the Institute for Gender and the Economy.