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AJ Wray, PhD

@wrayaj

Assistant Professor of Community Health Education. Healthy Communities. GIScience. Urban Development. President of Town and Gown Association of Ontario, Board on International TGA.

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17.08.2023
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Latest posts by AJ Wray, PhD @wrayaj

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Kakehashi Conversations: A Discussion with Health Geographer Dr. Alexander Wray In this episode we sit down with Dr. Alexander “AJ” Wray, Assistant Professor of Community Health Education at the University of Tennessee.

I joined the @asiapacificfdn.bsky.social podcast to reflect on my time in Japan supported by the Kakehashi Program.

North America really struggles with how to treat youth in public space, especially in having autonomy and responsibility in public life.

🎧: www.asiapacific.ca/podcast/kake...

18.01.2026 18:57 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Etihad Rail's Dubai to Abu Dhabi high-speed service on fast track to success | The National The 350kph electric line could spur international investment and further development, say experts

These investments are also a signal of an abundant and confident society ready to attract high-value immigrants and global corporate investment.

www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/202...

09.09.2025 14:48 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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In the age of the metro and air taxis, will we still be travelling on buses in Dubai years from now? | The National Evidence from around the world suggests that rail-based urban transit does not squeeze out traditional bus services and may even help them to grow

As a global centre and hub for the Middle East, investments in high-speed rail and even the humble bus are critical to meeting the needs of a growing population in the UAE.

www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/202...

09.09.2025 14:48 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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Dubai's population hits four million – here's what lies ahead for the city that keeps on growing | The National Efforts are under way to make it a more liveable city with traffic-free neighbourhoods and metro expansion

In August, I was interviewed for a series of articles in @thenationalnews.com about Dubai and Abu Dhabi's rapid population growth and construction of large public transit infrastructure.

www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/202...

09.09.2025 14:48 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Redirecting

Therefore, these regulatory changes may be further exacerbating potential vulnerability among these higher-risk populations.

The article is available open access here: doi.org/10.1016/j.dr...

05.09.2025 13:29 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Neighborhoods with a higher prevalence of lone parenthood, low educational attainment, and government transfer recipients exhibited a higher exposure to risky substances compared to the general population.

05.09.2025 13:29 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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In a recent study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, members of the HEAL @westernu.ca found geographic accessibility to alcohol and cannabis increased substantially across the province, while there were minimal reductions in geographic access to tobacco.

05.09.2025 13:29 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

So how did these changes affect geographic access to risky substances, and who is most affected by these changes in access?

05.09.2025 13:29 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

People can now buy takeaway alcohol from any restaurant or convenience store. Cannabis retail sales were privatized. However, external advertising of all tobacco products, especially vapes, were banned.

05.09.2025 13:29 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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Are there more Tim Hortons or cannabis outlets in Ontario?

As of 2022, there were actually more cannabis outlets! Regulations surrounding alcohol, cannabis, and tobacco have substantially changed over the past five years in Ontario.

05.09.2025 13:29 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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I've joined the University of Tennessee Knoxville Department of Public Health as an Assistant Professor of Community Health Education. I am looking forward to being a Volunteer for many years to come!

05.08.2025 22:28 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Urban Transitions | Journal | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier Read the latest articles of Urban Transitions at ScienceDirect.com, Elsevier’s leading platform of peer-reviewed scholarly literature

I am excited to be on the founding Editorial Board alongside colleagues from Canada and around the world. Think about Urban Transitions for your next manuscript, as there are no APCs on submissions made to the journal before December 31, 2026!

www.sciencedirect.com/journal/urba...

07.07.2025 16:48 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Looking for a new publishing venue for work that integrates urban planning, mobility, environment, climate action, and population health?

Urban Transitions, a new multidisciplinary journal with @elsevierconnect.bsky.social may be the right fit.

07.07.2025 16:48 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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How Place Affects Our Health: The Connection Between Geography and Health Promotion with Dr. AJ Wray The NESI Podcast · Episode

Pleasure to join the NESI Podcast to discuss connections between health and place.

Geography is important for health, but an important lesson I have learned is when to "get out of the way" as a geographer and support other health disciplines in taking the lead!

open.spotify.com/episode/0RK5...

07.07.2025 16:45 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

When can we stop taking these programs seriously.
- there is no global capacity to absorb US funding cuts
- nowhere with good funding and scientific environment has a hard time recruiting scientists ever
- nowhere is short of scientists, they are short of resources to do research

30.06.2025 13:52 👍 110 🔁 50 💬 1 📌 3

Arguably, it's a better way to organize local community governance of higher education than other financing models. Have seen these town-gown partnerships work really well among rural state university branch campuses too

30.06.2025 17:52 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The ESM Item Repository needs your help! We're applying for funding 💰and we need people to tell us how they have used the Repository in their work. If you are willing to be contacted ✉️ by the Repository team to tell us more about this, please reply to this post and please share! #OpenScience

23.06.2025 10:59 👍 3 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 1

Exactly. I imagine their new salary with the exchange rate, lower taxes, and better institutional outlook have all more than balanced out any downsides.

Meanwhile, all levels of government here fiddle while the proverbial Rome burns.

22.06.2025 19:45 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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FIRST PERSON | I'm choosing to leave for the U.S. for a unicorn job. Does that make me a traitor to Canada? | CBC News Alice Nelson has a tenured job at an Ontario university. But seeing the impact of tuition freezes and the cap on international students on postsecondary education, she decided it was time for a change...

A handful of new Canada Excellence Research Chairs and hospital-based research positions only open to non-residents (looking at you, UHN) are not going to fix the structural brain drain issue in Canada. It might even make it worse...

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

22.06.2025 19:40 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Oh the DC shenanigans are entirely the province's creation. Zero sum thinking with that one!

19.06.2025 01:42 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

A reminder that Wilmot tried this fake math for decades. It finally caught up to them as a 50.87% tax increase over the next three years just to meet *current* obligations!

www.ctvnews.ca/kitchener/ar...

18.06.2025 17:46 👍 2 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
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Wilmot Township still trying to whittle down proposed property tax hike Councillors in Wilmot are once again working to bring down the proposed increase on the township’s portion of the 2025 tax bill.

This is the same goofy math that Wilmot pulled for decades, which finally caught up to them as a 50.87% tax increase over three years to account for the real cost of capital infrastructure.

www.ctvnews.ca/kitchener/ar...

18.06.2025 17:44 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

That's all fine but the main problem still is using one set of projections to do one side of the equation, and a different set to do the other. They're going to not balance one day, especially when underestimating infrastructure need, which means even steeper tax increases later.

18.06.2025 17:41 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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City hall's really big question: Just how much will London's population grow? Planners have to thread the needle between keeping up with growth while not overbuilding, an expert said.

Canadian municipalities continue to play funny games with their population projections to keep current tax increases low while also inflating long-term land supply requests.

IMO, maybe we should just mandate the use of the provincial expert projection!

lfpress.com/news/local-n...

18.06.2025 02:07 👍 8 🔁 3 💬 3 📌 1

When I need to show up or submit something to a call for public comment

15.05.2025 23:49 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

I’m working on sharing a quarterly community update on initiatives and insights on things happening at the Region that impact Kitchener. What types of information would be useful or insightful to see?

15.05.2025 18:32 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0

Yes, grade-separated, limited access with major street overpasses with good cycle lanes

29.03.2025 20:37 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Article information including DOI, title, authors, abstract and keywords.

Article information including DOI, title, authors, abstract and keywords.

Restaurant survival during the #COVID-19 pandemic: Examining operational, demographic and #LandUse predictors in London, Canada by @wrayaj.bsky.social et al
buff.ly/fpGZ3bN
#OpenAccess #hospitality #tourism

29.03.2025 12:00 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Wray: Why risk-averse London needs a ring road (and the region, too) Building a ring road today is an opportunity for London to fix historical mistakes that have constrained the city, an academic argues

It's time for a ring expressway in London, Ontario

lfpress.com/opinion/colu...

29.03.2025 13:47 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 1
Urban Studies Journal cover. White heading text reads 'Urban Studies' and issue details are listed in fine text a banner below. Background is a map of the world at night with illuminated lights.

Urban Studies Journal cover. White heading text reads 'Urban Studies' and issue details are listed in fine text a banner below. Background is a map of the world at night with illuminated lights.

Urban Studies Journal contents page 1

Urban Studies Journal contents page 1

Urban Studies Journal contents page 2

Urban Studies Journal contents page 2

The April 2025 issue (Volume 62, Issue 5) of #UrbanStudies is out now featuring articles and reviews by @yeonhwalee.bsky.social @kristianruming.bsky.social @wrayaj.bsky.social @agusmartire.bsky.social @yiminzhao.bsky.social and many more

buff.ly/dCjb3ai

27.03.2025 12:00 👍 9 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 1