Tanisha Palmer, She/Her/Hers
My name is Tanisha Palmer (she/her) and I am currently in my fourth year of Honours Health and Society at McMaster University. After completing a placement in Hamilton that shed light on the social determinants of health at play within the community I had been calling home for the past three years I was left wanting not only an experience that would strengthen my critical thinking and problem solving skills around our social institutions and community structures, but an opportunity that works towards providing tangible solutions for them. And that is exactly what I believe CityLAB SIR encompasses!
From learning about aspects of re-designing communities, city planning, effective dialogue, and community engagement in our current world to building professional skills, it is an opportunity like no other! My current project is surrounding healthy and safe communities, specifically by improving traffic infrastructure into ‘complete streets’. Learning about how to create streets that are safer for all users of all ages and abilities has forever changed the way I view traffic design. While everyone is drawn to this experience for different reasons, the new views and knowledge you gain from working in such an interdisciplinary setting, brings your learning to heights you could never have imagined!