Helping plan a city that reflects all who live in it
Age: 37
Job Title: Senior Urban Planner for Edmonton Public Schools
Shaminder Singh Parmar grew up in poverty, first in a cockroach-infested New York house shared with six other families, then in Calgary, where his family moved when he was in elementary. He went through school in Calgary and quickly began to notice the disparities faced by racialized people — how people like him were treated differently depending on what they looked like or how long their name was. The experience taught him a profound lesson: that a strong community is built not on wealth but on a foundation of empathy.
Parmar is now a senior urban planner for Edmonton Public Schools, helping to shape the future of our communities. As chair of the Joint Use Land Management Steering Committee, which brings together all of Edmonton’s public planning bodies to collaboratively tackle infrastructure challenges, Parmar focuses on fostering early partnerships with development industry, ensuring that when funding for a new school or park arrives, the ground is ready for shovels.
His volunteer work, as both a former community league president and a staunch animal rights advocate, mirrors his work as an urban planner. As president of the Laurel Community League, Parmar played a role in renaming local parks to honour the strong Filipino and Chilean communities in the neighbourhood, turning previously under-utilized spaces into vibrant cultural hubs and fostering a sense of community ownership.
Parmar has also dedicated thousands of hours to animal rescue, driven by a deep-seated belief in healing. “Regardless of the things you’ve gone through in life, there’s always a way that you can heal some of that trauma with new and exciting things.” It’s a lesson he applies to human communities too.
“We can make amends and reconcile, but we have to put in the work,” says Parmar, for whom the ultimate goal is creating a world where everyone feels like they have a home.
This article appears in the November/December 2025 issue of Edify
