On September 22, 2026, we hosted a webinar discussing social infrastructure and its role in social connection.
What does it take to have a thriving community? Social infrastructure is essential, and refers to “people, places, and things” that make up healthy, active, caring communities. This webinar provided background information about social infrastructure, and explored why scaling up social infrastructure is so important and challenging, with examples from Vancouver and beyond.
Presenters:
MEG HOLDEN, SFU School of Resources and Environmental Management
Meg Holden is Professor and Director of the School of Resources and Environmental Management at SFU. She is a Registered Professional Planner and an urban sustainability researcher who studies and advocates the adoption of more sustainable models and ways of living in Canadian communities and internationally. Meg is the director of the Scaling Up Social Infrastructure (SUSI) project.
KATIE FENN, BC Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA)
Katie joined BCRPA in 2022 after a long tenure in public health focusing on quality systems and improvement at the BC Centre for Disease Control. Her passion is system-level engagement and partnership in health promotion and disease prevention. Katie grew up in recreation and parks, having been a fitness and dance instructor, lifeguard, camp leader/manager, support worker, and festival visual arts coordinator, and participant in the Olympic Academy of Canada. Katie holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from UBC, and dual undergraduate degrees from Queen’s University in Physical and Health Education (BPHE) and Film (BA). She is grateful to make her home on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish people including the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh in North Vancouver.
For more information on what Meg shared, you can visit: https://www.sfu.ca/sustainabledevelopment/research/susi.html
SUSI also has an email listserv that interested participants are welcome to subscribe to: https://lists.sfu.ca/susi/subscribe/
