Maxwell Hartt
Associate Professor
PhD, Planning (University of Waterloo); MCIP, RPP; MSc, Systems Science (University of Ottawa); HBSc, Mathematics (Saint Francis Xavier University)
School of Urban and Regional Planning
Department of Geography and Planning
Queen's University
Mackintosh-Corry Hall, Room E324
Research Interests
Dr. Hartt’s research focuses on the geographies urban and regional population change, the associated implications for planning and policy, and the potential of embedding positivity and play into the built and social fabric of communities. He is the Principal Investigator of GOLDEN Urbanisms, Aging Playfully, France-Canada Geographies of ShrinkAge, and Co-Principal Investigator of City of Bots and the Student Housing Observatory. You can read more about Dr. Hartt’s research program on the Population and Place Research Lab website.
Supervision
Dr. Hartt is available to supervise students at both the Master’s (Geography or Planning) and Doctoral (Geography) levels. Please review the “Interested in Joining the Lab?” page on the Population and Place Research Lab website if you are interested in pursuing graduate research in any of the following topics:
- Shrinking cities
- Economic decline and/or transformation
- Age-friendly communities
- Play, ludic, and fun geographies/planning
Biography
Maxwell Hartt is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning and the Director of the Population and Place Research Lab. He has published 3 books and over 50 peer reviewed journal articles (for full list see Curriculum Vitae). He is a two-time Fulbright Scholar, Regional Studies Association Routledge Early Career Award winner, and in 2017 was named by the Order of Canada as 1 of 50 Canadians under the age of 35 guiding the future of Canada. Dr. Hartt has held visiting professorships at L'École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in Paris, France, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, USA, and University College Dublin, Ireland. Prior to joining Queen’s, he was a Lecturer in Spatial Planning at Cardiff University.
Dr. Hartt is a Registered Professional Planner, Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners, Associate Editor of the Journal of Planning Education and Research, and on the Editorial Boards of the Annals of the American Association of Geographers, International Planning Studies, and the Journal of Global Ageing. Dr. Hartt is an active member of the wider research community. His research roles outside of Queen’s include but are not limited to being on the Management Board of the Shrinking Cities International Research Network, an Affiliated Researcher in the Health, Access + Planning (HAP) Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University, and a Member of the AESOP-ACSP Collaborative Initiatives Committee.
Dr. Hartt holds a PhD in Planning from the University of Waterloo, MSc in Systems Science from the University of Ottawa, and a Hon BSc in Mathematics from Saint Francis Xavier University.
Links
Selected Publications
Hartt, M. (2026).Aging Playfully: Reimagining the Possibilities of Age-Friendly Community Planning. University of British Columbia Press.
Hartt, M. (2021).Quietly Shrinking Cities: Canadian Urban Population Loss in an Age of Growth. University of British Columbia Press.
Hartt, M., S. Biglieri, M. Rosenberg and S. Nelson (eds). (2021).Aging People, Aging Places: Experiences, Opportunities and Challenges of Growing Older in Canada. Policy Press.
Biglieri, S. M. Hartt. (2024).The ‘Double Risk’ of Aging: Examining Vulnerability and (Un)supportive Built Environments in Canadian Cities.Canadian Journal on Aging, 43 (1): 99-113.
Fernandez, B. & M. Hartt. (2022).Growing Shrinking Cities. Regional Studies, 56 (8): 1308-1319.
Hartt, M. (2019).The Prevalence of Prosperous Shrinking Cities. Annals of American Association of Geographers, 109 (5): 1651-1670.
Hartt, M. (2018).The Diversity of North American Shrinking Cities. Urban Studies, 55 (13): 2946-2959.
Hartt, M., G. DeVerteuil & R. Potts. (2023).Age-Unfriendly by Design: Built Environment and Social Infrastructure Deficits in Suburban Melbourne. Journal of the American Planning Association, 89 (1): 31-44.
Hartt, M. & E. Vincent. (2024).Older Adult Perceptions of Play and Play-Enabling Public Space.Cities Health, 8 (6): 1017-1030.