Mikiko Terashima

• Lead, Planning for Equity, Accessibility, and Community Health (PEACH) Research Unit
• Cross-appointment: Department of Community Health & Epidemiology
• Scholar, Healthy Population Institute

Education

• PhD 2011, Interdisciplinary Studies, Dalhousie University
• MSc 2000, Planning, School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia
• BA 1995, International Studies (Honours), Michigan State University

Teaching

• PLAN 2002 Community Design Methods
• PLAN 2010 Sustainable Community Design
• PLAN 3110 Planning Healthy Communities
• PLAN 5304 Planning Research Methods
• PLAN 6000 Planning Project and Seminar
• ENVS 3400 Environment and Human Health (2012-2014)

Research Interests

Mikiko’s main research interest revolves around methods of measuring various social and built environmental forces that create systematic inequalities in health and well-being among different groups of people across different places. One of her current areas of research involves investigations of spatial accessibility to services and amenities necessary for the population to maintain health and well-being such as food outlets and primary health services. Another area deals with a different kind of accessibility—built environment that enables or hinders the use of space by individuals with different types and levels of (dis)ability (including persons with mobility and sensory-related disabilities and older adults). Mikiko leads various research activities at the PEACH Research Unit, including development of experience-based accessible design standards and guides, economic value of accessible spaces, and comparison of walkability measures with and without accessibility lens.

The PEACH Research Unit hires qualified planning students for ongoing projects on a part-time basis. Students interested in getting involved and learning from the research projects are encouraged to contact Mikiko.Terashima@dal.ca with a resume describing relevant experiences and a copy of the most recent academic transcript.  

Selected Publications

• Terashima, M. & Clark, K. A Heuristic Look at Sense of Place for Planning. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, In press.
• Terashima, M. & Clark, K. (2021). Precarious Absence of Disability Perspectives in Planning Research, Urban Planning, 6(1): 120-132. 
• Vaughan, K., Terashima, M., Clark, K., & Deturbide, K. (2021). Exploring Stakeholder Perspectives on the UK’s Regulatory Tools for Accessible Housing: Lessons for Canada. Journal of Aging and Environment. https://doi.org/10.1080/26892618.2021.1877861
• Terashima, M., Hart, C. & Williams, P. (2020). A spatial analysis of population at risk of food insecurity using the voices from a Photovoice study. Canadian Food Studies, 7(2)20-47.
• Mosky, S. & Terashima, M. (2020). Parks and the pandemic: future implication for disaster response through a lens of urgent biophilia. Plan Canada, 60(4): 18-20.
• Totten, A. & Terashima, M. (2018). Smart Growth success story?  Commercial redevelopment in Halifax’s North End.  Plan Canada, 58(4):38-44.
• Thomas, R. & Terashima, M. (2017). Aging Atlantic cities: Challenges and potential solutions for planners. Plan Canada 57(3): 8-11.
• Terashima, M., Carter, A.J.  (2017). Correlation of age and rurality with low-urgency use of Emergency Medical Services (LUEMS): A geographic analysis. Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine. 1-8 doi:10.1017/cem.2017.364.
• Terashima, M., Kephart, G. (2016). Misclassification errors from postal code-based geocoding to assign census geography in Nova Scotia, Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 107:e1-17.
• Terashima, M., Rainham, D., & Levy, A.R. (2014). A small-area analysis of inequalities in chronic disease prevalence across urban and non-urban communities in the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada, 2007-2011. BMJ Open. 4:e004459. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2013-004459.
• Terashima, M., Guernsey, J.R., & Andreou, P. (2014). What type of rural?: assessing the variations in life expectancy at birth across small-areas using classes of locally defined settlement types. BMC Public Health. 14:162, doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-162.

Technical Reports

• PEACH Research Unit. Accessibility Guidelines and Standard Jurisdictional Review. (2019). Nova Scotia Accessibility Advisory Committee
• PEACH Research Unit & Cities and Environment Unit. Nova Scotia Interim Accessibility Guidelines and Audit Tool. (2019).  Client: Nova Scotia Accessibility Directorate
• Terashima, M. (2018). The Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Benchmarking Survey Results Report. The Rick Hansen Foundation. 
• Terashima M., Jones, P., Christian, E., Ahrens, B., Dowling, L., Traynor, R. (2016). An inter-sectoral, collaborative approach to the development of Nova Scotia community clusters. Maritime SPOR SUPPORT Unit. Halifax, Nova Scotia. 
• Halifax Food Policy Alliance (2016). Community Food Security Assessment Toolkit.  Created under the Thrive! initiative.  
• Davidson, T., Kuhn, P. and Terashima, M. (2015). Creating Sub-Regional Geographic Districts within the Halifax Regional Centre to Support Evidence-based Planning, Report for Halifax Regional Municipality.

Major Scholarships

• 2012-2014    Canadian Institute of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship
• 2012-2014    Elizabeth May Chair Environmental Research Postdoctoral Fellowship
• 2009-2011    Atlantic RURAL Centre Doctoral Fellowship
• 2005-2008    Canadian Institute of Health Research Strategic Research, Strategic Training Grant: Public Health and Agricultural Rural  Ecosystem (PHARE)
• Training Fellowship
  2005-2007    Killam Foundation Pre-doctoral Scholarship

Memberships and Service Outside Dalhousie University

• Canadian Institute of Planners (Candidate)
• Atlantic Planners Institute (Candidate)
• Canadian Public Health Association
• Halifax Accessibility Advisory Committee (Previous)