Dr. Atiya Mahmood is an Associate Professor at the Department of Gerontology at Simon Fraser University. She has a PhD in Architecture/Environment-Behaviour Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her training is in environmental gerontology and her research focuses on health and built environments for older adults with a specific interest in neighbourhood environments, mobility/walkability, active living and pro-social behaviour/social engagement of diverse groups of older adults in community-based and supportive housing. She has over two decades experience in qualitative and mixed methods research in the areas of environment-behaviour studies and aging and built environment.
Dr. Mahmood has served on the Boards of Environment Design Research Association (EDRA) and Housing Education Research Association (HERA). She is also on the editorial board of the Journal of Aging and Environment. Her research interests are in health and the built environment with a focus on aging in the ‘right’ place, housing for older adults, seniors’ housing insecurity and homelessness, neighbourhood urban design, mobility and participation of older adults and person’s with disability. She is an Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation Fellow in the Experienced Researcher Category. She has been PI and co-I on several grants related to aging, mobility, social participation, socio-spatial environment and health. Funders include Social Science and Humanities Research Council, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Vancouver Foundation, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC), CapitalCare Foundation and Coalition of Health Environments Research (CHER). Her current funded projects include: Towards Barrier-Free Communities: A Partnership for Improving Mobility, Access and Participation (MAP) Among People with Disabilities (2020-2027) – Funding Agency- SSHRC; Aging in the Right Place: Building Capacity for Promising Practices that Support Older People Experiencing Homelessness in Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver. (2020-2025) Funding Agency: CMHC-SSHRC.