Associate Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
University of Toronto
Health Sciences Building, Rm 588, 155 College St.
Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 3M7
Phone: (416) 978-7542
Email: blake.poland@utoronto.ca
Websites
DLSPH faculty profile: http://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/faculty-profile/poland-blake/
Updated CV on academia.edu: https://utoronto.academia.edu/BlakePoland/CurriculumVitae
Collaborative Specialization in Community Development: www.cdcp.ca
Toronto Community Development meetup group: https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Community-Development-Meet-up/
Healthier Cities & Communities hub, DLSPH: www.healthiercitiescommunities.com
SSHRC-funded Transition Emerging Study: www.TransitionEmergingStudy.ca
Biosketch
Dr. Blake Poland is a professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH), Director of the Collaborative Specialization in Community Development, and head of the Social & Behavioural Health Sciences Division of the DLSPH. Trained in social/health geography (PhD, McMaster 1994), Blake’s research has focused on the settings approach to health promotion, the health of marginalized groups, the sociology of tobacco control, and community development as an arena of practice for health professionals. More recently his attention has turned to ecological public health, community resilience, urban sustainability transitions, social movements as agents of change, and authentic dialogue as a tool for transformative learning. Blake teaches courses in social theory (CHL5101), community development (UCS1000), building community resilience (GGR434 & CHL5126). His research draws on practice theory, work in the resilience of social-ecological systems, qualitative and community-based research approaches.
CQ Teaching
In the past, Blake has taught courses in Community Development, Health Promotion, Social Capital, Dialogical Methods, and the Settings Approach (in health promotion).
Selected Publications
Poland, B., Gloger, A., Morgan, G. T., Lach, N., Jackson, S. F., Urban, R., & Rolston, I. (2021). A Connected Community Approach: Citizens and Formal Institutions Working Together to Build Community-Centred Resilience. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(19). doi:10.3390/ijerph181910175
Buse CG, Poland B, Haluza-Delay R, Wong J. (2021). “We’re all brave pioneers on this road”: Climate change adaptation activities among public health units in Ontario, Canada. Critical Public Health. 31(1): 90-100. https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2019.1682123
Poland, B & R Cohen (2020) “Adaptation of a structured story-dialogue method for action research with social movement activists”. Action Research. 18(3): 353-371. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/1476750317745955
Bisset, S., Frohlich, K., Wright, M., Poland, B., & Tremblay, M.-C. (2017). Can reflexivity be learned? An experience with tobacco control practitioners in Canada. Health Promotion International, 32, 167-176.
Kontos, P & Poland, B (2009) “Mapping new theoretical and methodological terrain for knowledge translation: Contributions from critical realism & the arts”. Implementation Science. 4(1): 1-10.
