Architecture and urban
scholar, critic, and designer.

Part punk planner, part anarchitect.
My work looks at both how we shape our cities and how our cities shape us.

Bio: Dr. Sarah Gelbard recently completed her Ph.D. in Urban Planning at McGill University (Montreal, Canada) and has master and bachelor degrees in architecture from Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada). Sarah is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Criminology at the University of Ottawa working on the bi-directional relationship between criminalization and housing insecurity from an abolitionist and feminist perspective. This work draws on her doctoral research in spatial justice, radical community-based planning and storytelling. Sarah is also the lead singer, songwriter, and bass player in local Ottawa punk band Bad Missionary.

Current position:
SSHRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Department of Criminology
University of Ottawa

  •  Just Home: Mapping Collective Housing Journeys of Gender and Criminalization

Doctoral dissertation:

  • City for all: Contested narratives of participatory reforms, placemaking practices, and ‘good’ city-building in Ottawa

Teaching (Carleton University):

  • SOCI 2810 The Sociology of Third Places (Fall 2022)
  • ARTH 4800 Women in Architecture (Fall 2023)
  • SOCI 4171 Community Engagement (Winter 2024)

Publication:

Gelbard, S. (2023). Radical Solidarities in Punk and Queer Refusals of Safety and Inclusion Narratives in Planning. Urban Planning, 8(2). 177-186. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v8i2.6372

Gelbard, S. (2023). “Did You Hear? Mavericks Is Closing!” Punk Refusal of Gentrified Endings. GeoHumanities 9(1), 211-229. https://doi.org/10.1080/2373566X.2023.2180418

Gelbard, S. (2023). Assimilation City: Inclusive Planning and Histories of Exclusion. In D. Maoz & E. Mayer (Eds.), Canadian Readings of Jewish History: From Knowledge to Interpretive Transmission(pp. 213–232). Cambridge Scholars Publishing. https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-9003-8

Zoll, D., R. Vasudevan, B. Gauger, S. Gelbard, C.M. Kayanan, J. Mah, A. Reyes,  (2023, ahead of print). “Notes from the trenches: Reflections from recent Ph.D. graduates on navigating the academy.” Journal of Planning Education and Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X231195729 

Gauger, B., S. Gelbard, C.M. Kayanan, J. Mah, S. Sherman, R. Vasudevan. (2019, equal authorship). “Spaces of Struggle.” Critical Planning 24. 13-18.

Gelbard, S. (2019). “Messy Methodologies: Proposing Radical Alternatives to the Formal Research Plan.” Critical Planning 24. 45-56.

Gelbard, S. B. (2013). Wandering Dwellings: Diasporic Architectures. In R. Seredynska-Abou Eid (Ed.), Diasporic Choices (pp. 221–230). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9781848881877_022

Blanchard, A. P., G. S. McDowell, N. Valenzuela, H. Xu, S. Gelbard*, et.al. (2013). “Visualization and Phospholipid Identification (VaLID): online integrated search engine capable of identifying and visualizing glycerophospholipids with given mass.” Bioinformatics 29(2): 284-285. *co-author contribution: data visualization

Forthcoming publications:

Gelbard, S. (submitted for review). “Piazza Dante. Monument of urban renewal.” In Granite and Bronze: A Critical Guide to the Monuments in Canada’s National Capital. Editors T Davidson & D Dean. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Recent and upcoming conferences:

  • Mapping collective housing journeys of gender and criminalization. Philosophy of the City. Brooklyn NY. Fall 2023
  • Realizing the Right to Housing for Criminalized Women and Gender-Diverse People. CAEH Conference. Toronto ON.
  • Urban Planning for Queer Justice: Queering Place and Time in the Inclusive City. ACSP Annual Meeting. Toronto ON.
  • Forever unsettled: Songwriting as research text. IAG-NZGS Combined Conference. Sydney. Online.
  • Urbanist “Killjoy”: complaints about progressive popular urbanism and planning. Philosophy of the City Now: Around the world in 24h. University of Twente. Online
  • Punking the common urban narratives. ACSP Annual Meeting. Toronto ON (virtual).
  • Future dis-oriented and punk placemaking. ACSP Annual Meeting. Greenville SC.
  • Annihilation/Assimilation: the dark side of inclusive planning. Philosophy of the City. Detroit.
  • more conference presentations

Connecting theory to practice

I am also engaged in a number of advocacy and activist activities that encourage the reappropriation and appreciation of shared public space through tactical interventions, installations, and writing. Socio-cultural equity, diversity, and justice for minority and alternative groups are key themes in my work.

I am the former Housing Development Coordinator at the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (2021-2022).

I am also the vocalist, bass-player, and song writer for Bad Missionary.

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