City Building Ryerson is pleased to present a new webinar series featuring multidisciplinary research across campus in city building and urban innovation: City Building Research in Focus. Experiencing ZOOM fatigue? Don’t worry–these engaging, informal sessions will deliver insights in just 30 minutes.
To build great cities, we need to harness ideas from many sectors and practices to ensure urban communities thrive in every sense, using an integrated approach. Research in Focus will showcase timely Ryerson research and thought leadership that adds depth and dimension to core city building concepts. Join us to gain new perspective on critical issues through a multi-disciplinary lens.
Event Details
February 11
11 AM to 11:30 AM, followed by Q&A
Housing Affordability and Immigrant Groups in Canada
With Dr. Vik Singh
Home ownership is part of a typical process of integration for many new immigrants to Canada. However, worsening housing affordability poses an increasing challenge to those wishing to secure the dream of family residence in this country. Dr. Vik Singh, Assistant Professor in the Global Management Studies program at the Ted Rogers School of Management, has investigated Canadian Census microdata to answer the question: how does housing (un)affordability differ across immigrant groups in Canada? Dr. Singh will present his research findings to date, including a preliminary analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this topic. These analyses can facilitate targeted policy measures to benefit the most vulnerable of these groups.
It Takes a Community: Advancing Neighbourhood Businesses
With Dr. Zhixi Zhuang
Local business plays a huge role in a thriving neighbourhood. In this webinar with Dr. Zhixi Zhuang, Associate Professor, School of Urban and Regional Planning, we will discuss the evolving neighbourhood commercial landscape in Toronto, plus trends and innovative business approaches to consider for the future. Dr. Zhuang will present the findings of a recent, wide-ranging study of local businesses, and her actionable recommendations for developing vibrant, inclusive and sustainable commercial spaces across Toronto as the city continues to grow and change.
Professor April Lindgren is the Velma Rogers Research Chair at Ryerson’s School of Journalism. Her current research explores local news poverty, a term she uses to describe situations where the critical information needs of communities are not being addressed by local media. In this webinar, professor Lindgren will share her mapping research that tracks the loss of local community news outlets across Canada, as well as how COVID has played a role in accelerating this trend, focusing on data collected for the Local News Research Project and the COVID-19 Media Impact Map.
Presented in recognition of International Women’s Day, this webinar with Diana Petramala, Senior Economist, Ryerson Centre for Urban Research and Land Development and Hannah Chan Smyth, MPl candidate, will look at a large body of literature that demonstrates how gender biases in city planning can disadvantage women, highlighting the city of Vienna’s experience in undoing its effects. It will also discuss the role that gender mainstreaming in city planning can play in supporting women’s participation in the labour market and overall economic growth. The conversation will provide lessons to cities around the world, including Toronto, for an equitable post-pandemic return to work, as well as longer-term guidelines and inspiration for creating cities that remove barriers faced by women globally.
Join Dr. Josephine Wong, Professor and Research Chair in Urban Health, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing to hear about the capacity-building research she is leading and implementing related to the reduction of pandemic stress and stigma.
