Anne Harvey

10/18/23 • 42 min

Anne Harvey’s passion is matchmaking. Mind you, not in the romantic sense.

Harvey, a “relationship-oriented leader,” began introducing Edmontonians to each other in 2012 when the City of Edmonton’s Abundant Community initiative launched.

The initiative was in response to growing reports of social isolation in modern cities; of people feeling disconnected from friends, neighbours and community.

Robert Putnam’s book, Bowling Alone, first brought the issue to the spotlight in the early 2000s, revealing a stark decline in church attendance, volunteering and political engagement in North America. He used bowling — a rapid decrease in bowling leagues but an increase in individual bowlers — as a symbol of declining social connection.

Twenty years on, social isolation is now viewed as a quiet epidemic, as harmful to health as obesity or cigarette smoking. Humans are social creatures and need to feel seen and supported.

Thus, the City’s decision to work with communities to create opportunities for neighbours to join with neighbours for local causes or just fun. The Abundant Community initiative, says Harvey, gave people the vocabulary to talk about something they were already feeling — a loss of connection.

As Harvey notes, Edmonton was ripe for this kind of work, given its century-old community league system. In fact, it was Edmonton’s history with active neighbourhoods that inspired Harvey’s masters research.

Simply put, she wondered if connected neighbourhoods remained connected during the recent pandemic.

In our LiftEd podcast with Harvey, she talks about her research and the many benefits of living a connected life. We also talk about the causes of social isolation, including the rise of social media.

Harvey’s advice is for all of us to be more intentional in meeting our neighbours. A small block party, rather than a neighbourhood-wide event, offers a better chance to meet those who love close by.

And it’s those people who will check on your house when you’re on vacation, or pick up groceries when you’re sick. We all live better lives when we support each other, she says.

Harvey is now the Senior Director of School and Community Based Programs with E4C, a non-profit, anti-poverty organisation in Edmonton that serves more than 16,000 vulnerable people.

About Anne Harvey
Anne Harvey is a relationship-oriented leader, facilitator, writer, ESL instructor and strategic manager of programs, projects and events. She brings her years of experience in the public, private and nonprofit sectors to her current role on the executive leadership team of E4C as Senior Director of School and Community-Based Programs. E4C, a nonprofit organization in Edmonton, Alberta that serves over 16,000 vulnerable people, has a mission to change lives and grow communities with the ultimate vision of eliminating poverty in Edmonton.

Anne recently completed a community-based research project as a requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts in Community Development from the University of Victoria. Her research explored neighbourhood networks as viable places to build social capital and community resilience. Applying a qualitative methodological approach, Anne’s research explored how involvement in neighbourhood networks affected people in Edmonton, Alberta during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her research included a focus on Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), a strengths-based approach, as an enabler of neighbourhood networks.

Anne Harvey’s passion is matchmaking. Mind you, not in the romantic sense.

Harvey, a “relationship-oriented leader,” began introducing Edmontonians to each other in 2012 when the City of Edmonton’s Abundant Community initiative launched.

The initiative was in response to growing reports of social isolation in modern cities; of people feeling disconnected from friends, neighbours and community.

Twenty years on, social isolation is now viewed as a quiet epidemic, as harmful to health as obesity or cigarette smoking. Humans are social creatures and need to feel seen and supported.

Simply put, she wondered if connected neighbourhoods remained connected during the recent pandemic.

And it’s those people who will check on your house when you’re on vacation, or pick up groceries when you’re sick. We all live better lives when we support each other, she says.

Harvey is now the Senior Director of School and Community Based Programs with E4C, a non-profit, anti-poverty organisation in Edmonton that serves more than 16,000 vulnerable people.

Previous Episode

Don Iveson

You could say this man needs no introduction.

Except Don Iveson was often improperly introduced as Don Ive-R-son, even during the years 2013-2021 when he served as Edmonton’s mayor. This odd, seemingly contagious malaprop never seemed to bother Iveson. He was so prepared for it that he locked down domain names for both Iveson and Iverson during his election campaigns.

He was first elected as a city councillor in 2007 at 28 years of age as a strong advocate for environmental and social causes.

As mayor he sought and won funding for the Valley Line LRT extension, which will eventually link Millwoods in the southeast to Lewis Farms in the far west. He also sponsored a new and ambitious initiative, EndPovertyEdmonton, which he co-chaired with Bishop Jane Alexander.

Iveson also worked with neighbouring municipal councils to forge a stronger capital region; at the national level, he did similar work for five years as chair of Canada’s Big City Mayors Caucus. In 2021, Don Iveson decided to pull out of civic politics and watched on as his friend Amarjeet Sohi took over as mayor.

It's been quiet on the Don Iveson front ever since, so we thought it was time to check in. Iveson agreed to sit down with Erick and Scott, to find out what he’s been up to.

To no surprise, what he’s been up to is a lot. He’s working part-time with the Co-Operators on mitigating the impacts of climate change. He accepted a position at the University of Toronto as a School Of Cities Canadian Urban Leader. He has launched a consultancy to advise on complex municipal issues; is a member of the Expert Panel on Adaptation at the Canadian Climate Institute; and board co-chair at the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.

The climate and housing issues must be tackled together, he argues. It's wrong, he says, to suggest more housing will only drive up carbon loads. The challenge is difficult but such conditions bring the best out of us and our talent for creativity and innovation, he says. Does he remain hopeful, in a world where facts seemingly matter not and our politics too often mirror schoolyard bully tactics?

Iveson says he is optimistic. Get people away from the furious noise. Sit down with them. Chat with them about how to deal with shared concerns. Then people can and do work together. “I still believe people are amazing in their own right.”

About Don Iveson
Don served as Edmonton’s 35th Mayor from 2013 to 2021 with a guiding leadership principle to make things better for the next generation. This long-term view is now embedded in: Edmonton’s smart-growth City Plan; City Council’s Energy Transition Strategy; and the continued work of End Poverty Edmonton.

Since retiring from City Hall, Don continues to live in Edmonton. He works part-time with Co-Operators as Executive Advisor for Climate Investment and Community Resilience. Don is also ramping up Civic Good, a public policy advisory practice working on climate, housing, complex governance and civic innovation projects with like-minded clients ranging from startups to governments. He has accepted an appointment as a School of Cities Canadian Urban Leader at the University of Toronto, is a member of the Expert Panel on Adaptation at the Canadian Climate Institute, and volunteers as Board Co-Chair of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.

As Mayor, Don’s political leadership extended to the national stage, serving as Chair of Canada’s Big City Mayors during an unprecedented rise in the prominence of cities in the national political landscape, including leading during the COVID crisis which hit municipalities especially hard. His advocacy helped to shape the National Housing Strategy and influence the Federal Government to commit to ending chronic homelessness nationwide — goals that cannot be achieved without robust partnerships with cities. He also served as an Honourary Witness to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and implemented the first trauma-informed all-staff Indigenous awareness and reconciliation training program at a major Canadian city.

Next Episode

Dr. Robin Mazumder

In essence, a city is just a hodgepodge of streets, buildings and green spaces where people live, work and play.

Cities are the seas we swim in. Yet only now are researchers studying the way urban environments impact on our moods and mental health.

One such researcher is former Edmontonian Dr. Robin Mazumder, an environmental neuroscientist whose research focuses on how urban stress affects us individually and collectively.

Mazumder, who grew up in B.C., worked for five years in Edmonton as an occupational therapist, where he noticed how disabled patients were cut off from participation in community, at least in part, by the physical environment.

He became prolific on social media and was one of the organisers of a famous, impromptu community snowball fight in the midst of a long Edmonton winter. That event — “magical” is how Mazumder describes it — drew hundreds of people outside on a winter day to play like children and raise money for charity.

Mazumder’s interest in community health and mental health led him to volunteer with the likes of Make Something Edmonton and the early days of EndPovertyEdmonton.

Mazumder was one of Avenue Magazine’s top 40 Under 40 in 2014. After leaving Edmonton to pursue his PhD, he was awarded the University of Waterloo’s President’s Community Impact Award in 2018.

Mazumder now speaks widely and regularly on how urban design can support well being. Issues of noise, safety and even public access are critical to health.

Does urban design cause or perpetuate poverty? Mazumder suspects it does.

Mazumder is currently doing postdoctoral research in the emerging discipline of neurourbanism, in Berlin, which is where the LiftEd Podcast reached him.

Cities like Berlin, he says, are rich in street life, which is an antidote to the dreary and unsafe moods created in too many urban areas.

“The streets are full of people because there are so many opportunities for people to sit and connect,” he says.

Edmonton might not yet have street life to match Berlin. But take heart.

“What makes Edmonton special to me,” says Mazumder, “is it’s the friendliest city I’ve ever lived in.”

About Dr. Robin Mazumder
Robin Mazumder is an environmental neuroscientist with a keen interest in how urban stress impacts individual, community, and societal wellbeing. His PhD research, funded by the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, applied wearable technology in real and virtual settings to examine psychological and physiological responses to the urban environment. His research interests are informed by his clinical experience as a mental health occupational therapist working in the cores of Canadian cities, including Edmonton where he lived for five years. In addition to his research, Robin is an outspoken advocate for urban design that supports wellbeing and has given more than 30 keynotes internationally on the topic. He was named Top 40 Under 40 by Avenue Magazine in 2014, an "Edmontonian to Watch'' in 2015 by Metro Edmonton, and in 2018 was awarded the University of Waterloo’s President’s Community Impact Award in recognition of his leadership and advocacy. Robin is also passionate about science communication and has been interviewed by and written for major media publications, including the CBC, Huffington Post, Wired, and Vice. He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Technical University of Berlin doing research in the emerging discipline of Neurourbanism, and is signed with literary agency Cooke-McDermid writing a book for the general public on the implications of neurourbanism on pressing societal issues.
https://robinmazumder.com/