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Urban Studies 

December Newsletter

The Urban Studies Program at Innis College aims to provide students with a multitude of lenses through which to observe, interpret and understand urban life. 

News


The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) called for some serious changes to be made to our environmental practices. In its most recent report, U of T's President's Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability responded by laying out a comprehensive road map that incorporates sustainable ideas and practices into campus life. Read more about it here.  

 
Despite Canada's universal health care policies, cities and marginalized groups face unequal access to health care. Read more here about the initiatives being taken by University of Toronto students to change underserved communities can receive health-related service. 

 
New York-based Sidewalk Labs to begin study on usage of public parks. This partnership has brought forth different responses, including concerns over privacy and transparency issues. Read more about the partnership here


A new study has found that the wealthy are moving into superstar cities' urban cores to gain access to unique amenities; however, this is driving low-income people out. Read more of Professor Richard Florida's piece discussing this 'new urban crisis'.  
Opportunities

Opportunity to Participate in Student Housing Study! 
 
Become a part of the conversation on student housing affordability by participating in a paid 2-hour focus group with StudentDwellTO! We want to hear from you about barriers and strategies to accessing housing, and ask you for ideas on how to make student housing work for you and other students.
 
We are concerned about how rising rents, low vacancy, and inadequate student housing may be affecting students’ academic outcomes and overall well being, and want to make sure that affordable housing interventions involve the people they intend to serve.
 
To sign up to participate in a focus group, please fill out this form. Sign Up!
 
Eligible participants must be:
  • 18 years old or older;
  • Undergraduate, or graduate students registered full-time at OCAD, York, Ryerson or UofT.
 
Both domestic and international students are welcome to participate. All participants will be compensated and light snacks and beverages will be provided. The results of the study will be strictly confidential. If you decide to participate, your name, as well as all of your comments and contributions will remain anonymous.

For more information visit www.studentdwellto.ca
 

Courses on Indigenous Politics 
 
Looking for electives to take next semester? Interested in learning more about Indigenous politics and representation in Canada? Two courses are being offered next term by the Department of Political Science. See details below: 
 

POL 308H1 S, Indigenous Politics in Canada

Schedule:  Wednesday 12 pm – 2:00 pm

Location:  LA 341

Instructor:  Evan Habkirk

Explores key issues in Indigenous politics in Canada. Provides students with an overview of historical and contemporary socio-political issues in Indigenous societies and institutions such as Indigenous self-governance, land claims and treaty negotiations.

Prerequisite: INS201Y1/​ POL214Y1/​ POL214Y5/​ POLB50Y3/​POL224Y1 
Exclusion: INS353H1INS354H1/​ JPA308H1 



 

POL 490H1 S, Topics in Canadian Politics I (Public Education as Truth and/or Reconciliation?)

Schedule:  Monday 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. 

Location:  OI 7192

Instructor:  Evan Habkirk

This course investigates the intersection of public education and politics in Canada. It will focus on  the historical use of state sponsored education systems as a tool of oppression in Canada with reference to Indigenous education (including residential and day schools) and  the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action 6-12 regarding education as a way forward in healing the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian state. A key question for the course is whether publically-funded education systems are equipped to handle the social and political challenges of the TRC’s recommendations.

 

Prerequisite: POL214Y1/​ POL214Y5/​ POLB50Y3/​ POL224Y1; 1.0 other POL credit in Canadian politics. 


  

 
Combining Two Cultures Conference

Combining Two Cultures is an annual conference celebrating interdisciplinary education. Bringing together a community of individuals, who want to use knowledge from difference perspectives to create solutions for complex problems in the world today. 

This conference is an amazing opportunity for students interested in problem solving to discover new avenues with interdisciplinary education through engagement with other students and professionals from across North America. 

Date: January 25-27, 2019

Location: MacKinnon Hall, University of Guelph 
 

Map the System Competition

The Centre for Community Partnerships, in collaboration with the Presidential Advisor on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability, and the Centre for Critical Development Studies at UTSC, presents an exciting global initiative to students at all three University of Toronto campuses. Please share the opportunity widely with your graduate and undergraduate students. 

Map the System is a global competition hosted by the University of Oxford, which challenges students to analyze issues of social or environmental change. In the competition, individuals or groups of up to five people will research a social or environmental topic important to them, and present their findings to the world. At least one member of the team must be a current or recent graduate of U of T. Submissions will consist of three components: a visual map or chart of the social or environmental issue (PowerPoint, Prezi, PDF, etc.); an essay (max. 3,000 words); and a bibliography supporting the research. Instructors can use this opportunity as an assignment as well.

There will be a local competition at the University of Toronto April 10, 2019: 16h00-19h00, followed by a Canadian Final in the province, most likely in Toronto: May 3-4, 2019. Two winners of the Canadian Final will receive a $2,500 cash prize per team and a free trip to the Map the System Global Final on June 7-9, 2019 at the University of Oxford, UK.

Registration deadline is January 28, 2019

For questions, inquiries or more information contact Catie Thompson at catie.thompson@utoronto.ca at the Centre for Community Partnerships with any questions about Map the System. 
 
Student Research Awards at the Asian Institute

2018-2019 Call for Ideas 

Insights Through Asia Challenge: Mobilities 


This is a call for all University of Toronto students who want to connect classroom learning to fieldwork in Asia. ITAC welcomes proposals to create policy reports, journal articles, documentary films, large-scale events, or something else entirely. 

Deadline: January 10, 2019 (Draft submission) 



Big Ideas Competition: Exploring Global Taiwan 

Carry out your outstanding research and creative projects in Taiwan. Whether you are in the humanities, social sciences or sciences, the Big Ideas Competition is an opportunity to create an experiment in a new environment. The possibilities are endless! 

Deadline: January 10, 2019
 

 
Community-Engaged Initiatives Grant for Students 

Do you have a great idea for a community-engaged learning project? Apply for a $1000 grant!

Applications for the Community-Engaged Initiatives Grants are open to individuals, groups of students, or campus clubs that hope to develop or expand community partnerships, community-engaged learning opportunities, and/or civic engagement activities.

Deadline to apply is January 25th, 2019!

Students can come to Grants Information Session on January 8th from 6:00-7:00pm in the Multi-Purpose Room, Multi-faith Centre. RSVP by registering at the link here.

For more information, you can check out our website linked here.
 
 
Alternative Reading Week
 

During ARW week, hundreds of U of T students immerse themselves in three days of volunteering on various projects with local community organizations. Students make meaningful contributions, build relationships and learn more about the City of Toronto. 

Alternative Reading Week (ARW) takes place during the February Reading Week. 

*Our annual ARW is made possible by local community-based organizations. Up to 30 community organizations welcome us to their spaces and communities. 

Register for Alternative Reading Week 2019

More information can be found at the Centre for Community Partnerships website linked here
 
Park People Conference Call for Proposals

Park People has just launched a Call for Proposals for the Heart of the City national conference taking place in Montreal on June 12-14, 2019.

The theme of the conference is balance, exploring how our shared public spaces are often at the centre of struggles to find the right balance. Balance can be about working with different interests, users, stakeholders, and partners; promoting mental health, social inclusion, and intercultural dialogue; creating a balanced park system; balancing tradition and innovation, nature and culture, public and private investment.

Park People is interested in about how you would promote a sense of balance in your work in and with city parks. They are especially interested in proposals that demonstrate the value of partnerships between organizations, community groups, professionals, academia, and government from across Canada.

The deadline to receive proposals is December 19 (midnight).

For any question, you can contact directly the conference manager, Fanny Martin, at fmartin@parkpeople.ca.
 
 
Call for Submissions: Medusa Graduate Conference

The Anthropology Graduate Student Union (AGSU) is now inviting submissions for the 6th annual Medusa Graduate Conference. The conference will take place on Thursday, March 28th and Friday, March 29th, 2019 in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto, St. George campus.

The theme of Medusa 2019 is “Futures”. We encourage inventive and thought-provoking submissions of quality student research from both graduate students and advanced undergraduates. Applicants working in all sub-disciplines of anthropology and related fields are welcome to apply. Our committee gratefully receives all submissions, but especially those that creatively engage with themes of temporality, futurity, historicity, uncertainty, risk, “progress”, prediction, imagination, and hopefulness.
 
We ask that interested applicants submit an abstract of no more than 300 words to medusaconference@gmail.com by Monday, January 21st, 2019
 
Please refer to the attached call for papers for more details. In the instance that you require further clarification, please contactmedusaconference@gmail.com.

 

Graduate Studies in Urban Innovation 


Considering graduate studies? 

The new Master of Urban Innovation (MUI) program offered within the Institute for Management & Innovation (IMI) at UTM is designed to provide a new generation of practitioners with an in-depth understanding of the role that innovative, vibrant, liveable and supportive city-regions play in sustaining the quality of life and economic well-being of Canadians. Successful communities and dynamic regional economies do not happen by chance. They are the product of conscious efforts to strategically manage the innovation resources of their local economies and the understanding that collaborative governance institutions are an essential part of that process. This program offers a unique and specialized interdisciplinary preparation for students with a strong interest in urban issues and economic development to play a critical policy and leadership role in implementing strategies that promote innovative, equitable and sustainable cities and city-regions.


The MUI program will prepare specialized professionals to help support this process in different types of organizations (government, not-for-profit organizations and corporations). The specialized education and training provided by the MUI program will be of interest to many organizations concerned with innovation based economic development in the 21st century, including: municipal and regional governments, community-based organizations as well as industry partners, that focus on supporting start-ups and innovation activities, and both social and environmental sustainability.
 

ADMISSION CRITERIA 

Applicants to the MUI program must meet the following requirements: 
- An appropriate bachelor's degree from a recognized university in social sciences (including political science, urban economics, urban planning, urban studies and geography), management/commerce, or a related field such as architecture or civil engineering, with a standing equivalent to at least a mid-B in the final year of the program; 
- successful completion of 0.5 full-course equivalent (FCE) in an undergraduate statistics course; 
- letter of intent 
- three (3) letters of reference; and 
- a writing sample. 


For more information see program details here or contact mui@utoronto.ca / (905) 828-3861
 

Are you in your last year of your undergraduate degree and applying to a Masters program in the Geography and Planning department? 

The department is now accepting applications for September 2019 admission to graduate programs! Please see the Graduate Geography and Graduate Planning pages for more details. The deadline to apply for all programs is January 21, 2019. 

For more information on Graduate Geography visit here
For more information on Graduate Planning  visit here

 


DenCity Journal Call for Content and Layout Editors 
 
The denCITY Undergraduate Journal is calling for submissions on academic papers, photography and poetry! DenCITY is the undergraduate journal of the Urban Studies Students Union, and aims to showcase the multidisciplinary nature of Urban Studies as a field.

Submit by Friday, January 11th, 2019 directly to dencity.journal@gmail.com.

 If you have any questions about denCITY or the application process, please don’t hesitate to contact at dencity.journal@gmail.com.
 

Landmarks: The Journal of Undergraduate Geography

The Toronto Undergraduate Geography Society (TUGS) is excited to announce their call for paper submissions for the third annual edition of Landmarks: The Journal of Undergraduate Geography.

Landmarks is a peer-reviewed publication featuring some of the outstanding work by undergraduate students who have taken courses GGR, JGI, and JGE with the Department of Geography and Planning. This is a great opportunity for you to share your work and gain experience with the process of editing for publication.
 
For more information, please email: landmarks.journal@gmail.com.

Article submission deadline: January 13, 2019 

 
 
2019 DesignTO Festival: Urban Design Events, Exhibits and Installations
49 Circles
Date: Friday, January 18, 2019 to Sunday, January 27, 2019
Type: Window Installation
Admission: Free 
Location: 405 Roncesvalles Avenue

'49 Circles’ is a visual representation of Toronto streets that are classified with the suffix “Circle.” The piece explores the relationship between the realities of landscape, lapses of perception and the power of names. The disconnect between these three elements are more often imperceptible. While travelling, slight turns, dead ends and preconceived notions of space belie the true nature of the anthropo‘scenic’ route. A global map in everyone’s pocket has increased the primacy of cartography in our everyday lives, while also desensitizing us to the inbetweens of our journey.
Architecture Tours at the Aga Khan Museum
Date: Friday, January 18, 2019 to Sunday, January 27, 2019 
Type: Event
Admission: General Museum Admission $20 + Architecture Tour $10 (Student/Senior Rates Available)
Location: Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Drive

The award-winning Aga Khan Museum is one of Toronto’s most breathtaking sites. Inspired by light, architect Fumihiko Maki centred the Museum around an open-air courtyard where white granite surfaces catch the movement of the sun. Enjoy an architecture tour to discover key features of this architectural gem.
 
Community Wellbeing
Date: Tuesday, January 22, 2019 @ 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Type: Events 
Admission: Free (RSVP Required) 
Location: OCAD University, Waterfront Campus, 130 Queens Quay East 

DIALOG, in partnership with the Conference Board of Canada, have developed a framework that measures community wellbeing. This session, moderated by Antonio Gomez-Palacio, will divulge the methodological process undertaken by both designers and researchers to develop the Community Wellbeing Framework, a tool for design professionals. Joined by a panel of experienced professionals, the conversation will evolve towards an understanding of how the framework applies to the work of participant.
 
Design Wo/ManiFest T.O
Date: Thursday, January 24, 2019 @ 6:30 - 8:30 PM 
Type: Events 
Admission: Free 
Location: Open Space Gallery at OCAD University, 49 McCaul Street 

Design is both an evolving and evocative creative process permeating all aspects of social, economic, and political life, and it is shifting the way our city operates, and functions. With human-centred values and diverse perspectives, advocacy, and calls to action, we are collectively and individually changing the social and physical fabric of Toronto, often with design as the catalyst. As we approach 2020, ‘Design Wo/ManiFesT.O.’ asks that we reflect on how design has supported (or not), the process of city-making over the last decades, and where it can lead in the next wave of social, demographic, and technological change. This panel discussion and open-microphone invites Toronto to share vision(s) for the city, ideas for a reimagined Toronto—from big concepts to neighbourhood-centred dreams.
Eco-Design Symposium
Date: Saturday, January 19, 2019 @ 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM 
Type: Events 
Admission: $25 
Location: The Bakery, 2 Fraser Avenue
 

The ‘Eco Design Symposium’ will bring together designers, architects, landscape architects, engineers, and students around the theme of ecological design within the context of the unfolding eco-crisis.

Each action we take, as designers, engineers, architects, is amplified by a thousand, a million times when our designs are realized as buildings, roads, earthworks, sewers, products, and more. We have a unique opportunity to positively and directly intervene in the eco-crisis. We can deploy ideas that promote ecosystems and encourage biodiversity.

The goals of this symposium are to:
– Foster conversations about designers role in the eco-crisis
– Share examples of ecological design in action
– Facilitate networking among likeminded people.

ReflectLive
Date: Friday, January 18, 2019 to Sunday, January 27, 2019 
Type: Exhibitions 
Admission: Free
Location: Delisle-St. Clair Parkette, 17 Delisle Avenue

We imagine forests as spaces for exploration and discovery, spaces for contemplation, spaces where we, as humans, are insignificant. Forests offer nature at her best, thriving with no intervention. When we bring a small fraction of the wild into our urban environment, we look for the benefits of the forest but in a tamed and manicured design. We ask our domesticated urban forests to survive in potted format. Urban forests are part of the life-cycle of the city – they are subject to the lifespan of development rather than their natural lifespan.

At Delisle-St. Clair Parkette, superkül reflects on the role of the urban forest, both as infrastructure offering relief to the urbanity that surrounds them, and as spaces in which we, as animals, can regain our senses of adventure and playfulness. We ask the question – what if this bit of forest wasn’t so contained?

Urban Sensorium
Date: Monday, January 7, 2019 to Saturday, January 26, 2019 
Type: Exhibitions 
Admission: Free
Location: Urbanspace Gallery, 401 Richmond Street West

‘Urban Sensorium’ explores the future of the built environment in cities through the lens of sensory experience. Using sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste, the project anticipated potential energy, ecology, climate, transit, and food scenarios for five major cities chosen for their projected economic growth and international influence. The methodology for the project included fieldwork and the gathering of indicators from current design and planning projects to identify major drivers of change within each city. We found New York might get brighter, Houston might become more fragrant, San Francisco may be drier, Los Angeles might get quieter, and Shanghai might be spicier, the implications of which were drawn citywide in a type of “future mapping.”

Work/Life
Date: Friday, January18, 2019 to Sunday, January 27, 2019 
Type: Exhibitions 
Admission: Free (RSVP Required)
Location: Umbra Store, 165 John Street

Half of the world’s population now lives in urban centres where real estate is expensive and space is hard to come by. In Toronto alone, average condo sizes have shrunk by over 100 square feet over the last ten years. This has resulted in a trend towards making small spaces more livable and efficient. At the same time, the nature of work has changed drastically. We no longer work 9-5 in standard office spaces. For the knowledge industry, co-working spaces and home offices have proliferated. The boundaries between work, home, and “life” are hard to define.

‘Work/Life’ is an exhibition that explores fresh and original prototypes for contemporary life, showcasing the work of nine Canadian designers and studios, including Allstudio, Andrew Ferrier, Rachelle Bugeaud, Dear Human, Claire Hamilton Studio, Half-day, mpgmb, Sisley Leung, and Studio Knowhow.

List, descriptions, and photographs of urban design events, exhibits and installations courtesy of DesignTO website.

To find more events check out the DesignTO Festival schedule

Upcoming Events

TTC Board Welcome Party 
December 18, 2018 -- 12:15 - 1:00 PM @ Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen St. W
No registration required


An Evening with Author Robyn Maynard 
January 10, 2019 -- 5:30 - 8:00 PM @ 326 Adelaide St. W, Suite 600 
Registration required


From Rage to Action: Leading Legislative Change from the Margins
January 15, 2019 -- 5:30 - 8:00 PM @ 326 Adelaide St. W, Suite 600 
Registration required


T
he Ethics of Citizen Selection of Refugees for Resettlement 
January 16, 2019 -- 12:30 - 2:00 PM @ Centre for Ethics, 15 Devonshire Place, Larkin Building, Rm. 200
Registration required


From Aspiration to Reality: Open Smart Cities 
January 16, 2019 -- 4:00 - 6:00 PM @ Centre for Ethics, 15 Devonshire Place, Larkin Building, Rm. 200
Registration required


Daughters of Dust Screenings
January 16-19, 2019 -- See event page for range of times @ Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West
Tickets Available 


I
ndigenous Knowledge Gathering 2019: Building Resurgence
January 17-19, 2019 -- See event page for range of times @ Aboriginal Resource Centre (Humber College), 205 Humber College Boulevard, Rm. LRC 2137 
Registration required


2019 DesignTO Festival  
January 18-27, 2019 -- See schedule for range of events, exhibitions, and installations

Urban IQ Test: Home and Away Lecture Series
January 18-19, 2019 -- See event page for range of times @ 1 Spadina Crescent, Main Hall
Registration required


Scapegoat: Architecture, Landscape, Political Economy 
January 23, 2019 -- 10:30 - 11:30 AM @ 1 Spadina Crescent, Main Hall 
No registration required


Experiences of Homeland, Conflict and Forced Migration 
January 25, 2019 -- 4:00 - 6:00 PM @ Toronto Initiative for Iranian Studies, Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, 4 Bancroft Ave., 2nd Floor 
No registration required


Queering Decolonization
January 25, 2019 -- 5:30 - 9:00 PM @ Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre, 439 Dundas Street East
No registration required


Pathways to Sustainability Conference 2019 
January 26, 2019 -- 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM @ MaRS Discovery District, 101 College Street
Registration required


Doing the Work: Allyship, Anti-Oppression + Meaningful Inclusion
January 30, 2019 -- 6:00 - 9:00 PM@ Daniels Spectrum, 585 Dundas Street East
Registration required


Moving Toward a Disability Justice Revolution by Sarah Jama 
February 6, 2019 -- 7:00 PM @ Great Hall, Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle
Registration required


2018-2019 Hart House Global Commons 
February 7, 2019 -- 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM@ Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle
Registration required


Black Futures: Building and Beyond Interactive Lego Workshop
February 13, 2019 -- 4:00 - 6:00 PM@ Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle
No registration required
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Copyright © 2018 University of Toronto
Urban Studies Program

Room 233, Innis College, University of Toronto
2 Sussex Ave, Toronto, ON M5S 1J5
Prepared by Lena Sanz Tovar, Urban Studies student
All rights reserved.






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Urban Studies Newsletter · 2 Sussex Avenue · Toronto, ON M5S 1J5 · Canada

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