James Dunn

Jim Dunn is a Professor and Department Chair of the Department of Health, Aging and Society of McMaster University.

As an urban geographer he likes to bend studies around natural experiments . He studies living communities as they undergo transformations, and explores how built environments affect the mental and physical health in neighbourhoods and communities.

Some connections are obvious – parks, pedestrian friendly streets and accessible transit can all promote healthy activity, reducing prevalence of diabetes, obesity and other conditions.

Some connections are more subtle: For more than a decade, Dunn has been studying Toronto’s Regent Park, the largest urban redevelopment project in Canadian history. He has found clear evidence that people who are more satisfied with their housing and neighbourhood, and who feel safer and more secure, also enjoy improvements to their overall health.