Black Graduate Scholar Award recipients announced in Geography and Planning

Felicia Achamah is a PhD student in geography and planning whose research examines artisanal and small-scale mining and its implications for livelihoods and development in sub-Saharan Africa.

Her work focuses on the organization, governance and production networks of small-scale mining sectors, as well as sand mining in Ghana. Using a global production network approach, she explores how resource extraction connects local livelihoods to broader economic systems.

Her research aims to contribute to policy and academic debates on how development minerals can be better supported to promote inclusive and sustainable economic development in the region.

Hannah Permaul Flores is a published researcher and emerging environmental health scientist pursuing a master’s degree in geography at the University of Toronto.

Her research explores resilience, equity and the health impacts of climate and environmental change, with particular attention to how communities adapt to challenges such as air pollution, water scarcity and shifting ecological regimes. She uses field studies, spatial analysis and community-based approaches to better understand health–environment interactions across local and regional scales.

Recognized as one of Canada’s Top 25 Environmentalists Under 25 and a recipient of the Women in GIS Young Professional Award, she has collaborated with organizations such as National Geographic and The Nature Conservancy on global projects highlighting both the vulnerabilities and strengths of communities responding to environmental change.

Marcus Pereira is a PhD student in planning at the University of Toronto whose research focuses on gentrification, displacement and cultural preservation in Black urban communities, with a focus on Toronto’s Little Jamaica.

His work examines how major development projects and neighbourhood redevelopment reshape communities socially, economically and culturally.

Pereira is also the founder of Reclaim Rebuild Eg West, a community organization in Little Jamaica dedicated to preserving Caribbean culture, supporting residents and resisting gentrification, displacement and cultural erasure.

Nathan Thomas is a first-year master’s student in planning at the University of Toronto, holding a specialized honours bachelor’s degree in urban studies from York University.

Thomas’ research focuses on transportation planning and urban design. Much of this work examines public transit, with particular emphasis on the applications of high-speed rail and high-frequency rail in the Canadian context. Previous research includes studies on the effects of public transit on the academic and physical health of commuting students.