Research

Report

The Affordable Housing Challenge Project report, published December 2022, features contributions from more than 30 scholars, practitioners, and activists.

Affordable Housing Challenge Project (2022) “Advancing the Right to Housing In Toronto: Critical Perspectives on the GTA’s Housing Crisis and How to Solve It.” University of Toronto School of Cities Report.

Read The Report

Publications

Articles published by members of the Affordable Housing Challenge Project in scholarly journals.

  • Grisdale, S. (2021). Displacement by disruption: Short-term rentals and the political economy of “belonging anywhere” in Toronto. 42(5). Urban Geography. https://doi-org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/10.1080/02723638.2019.1642714.
  • March, L and Lehrer, U (2021) Public space and COVID-19: New social practices, intensified inequalities, in R. Van Melik, P. Filion and B. Doucet (eds) Global Reflections on COVID-19 Urban Inequalities: Public Space and Mobility (Volume 3). Bristol: Bristol University Press. https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/volume-3-public-space-and-mobility.
  • Bunce, S.; Livingstone, N.; March, L.; Moore, S. and Walks, A. (eds.) (2020) Critical dialogues of urban governance, development and activism: London & Toronto. London: UCL Press. https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/126992.
  • Hawes, E. and Grisdale, S. (2020). Housing crisis in a Canadian global city: Financialization, buy-to-let investors and short-term rentals in Toronto’s rental market. In Bunce, S., Livingstone, N., March, L., Moore, S. and Walks, A. (Eds.). Critical dialogues of urban governance, development and activism: London & Toronto. UCL Press. https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/126990.
  • March, L (2020) DIY: Making space in Toronto’s ‘Creative City’. In Critical dialogues of urban governance, development and activism: London & Toronto, edited by S. Bunce, N. Livingstone, L. March, S. Moore and A. Walks. London: UCL Press. https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/126992.
  • Bain, A. & March, L. (2019) Urban redevelopment, cultural philanthropy, and the commodification of artistic authenticity in Toronto. City & Community, 18(1), 1-22. doi: 10.1111/cico.12359.
  • Lehrer, U. & March, L. (2019) Vertical urbanism: high-rise buildings and public space. Yhdyskuntasuunnittelu-Lehti, 57(4), 37-42. https://journal.fi/yhdyskuntasuunnittelu/article/view/88628.
  • March, L. & Lehrer, U. (2019) Verticality, Public Space and the Role of Resident Participation in Revitalizing Suburban High-rise buildings. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 28(1), 65-85. https://cjur.uwinnipeg.ca/index.php/cjur/article/view/201.

Reports & Working Papers

Reports published by members of the Affordable Housing Challenge Project.

  • Grisdale, S. (Under Review). The role of public land in affordable housing. Affordable Housing Challenge Project Policy Report.
  • Katie MacEntee, Paula Braitstein, and Alex Abramovich (2021) “Distinct solutions for a distinct population: A community-based approach to affordable housing for young people experiencing homelessness in Toronto.” University of Toronto Affordable Housing Challenge Project. Full report available on our website here.
  • Paula Braitstein, Victoria Haldane, Angela Mashford-Pringle, Yina Shan, and Danielle Toccalino. “Sustainability and Affordable Housing: Harnessing the Potential of the Sustainable Development Agenda.” University of Toronto Affordable Housing Challenge Project. Full report available on our website here.

In the News

Opinion pieces, interviews, and other news articles featuring members of the Affordable Housing Challenge Project.

Presentations

Recent conference presentations and talks given by members of the Affordable Housing Challenge Project.

  • Grisdale, S. (2020). Planning Toronto the Smart City: Sidewalk Labs, Financialization, and the ‘Smart City’; Presented to: Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Annual Conference; Toronto, ON, CA. November 2020.
  • Grisdale, S. (2019). Displacement by Disruption: Airbnb and the Political Economy of “Belonging Anywhere” in Toronto; Presented to: The Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting; Washington DC, USA. April 2019.
  • Grisdale, S. (2018). Democratizing capitalism”: Unpacking discourses of precarity and community in Toronto’s regulation of Airbnb; Presented to: The Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting; New Orleans, USA. April 2018.
  • Grisdale, S. (2017). Belong anywhere: The “peer to peer” economy and urban transformation in Toronto; Presented to: The Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting; Boston, USA. April 2017.

Other Resources

Thoughtful and informative articles recommended by members of the Affordable Housing Challenge Project.

  • Coming soon

Affordable Housing Challenge Project

The Affordable Housing Challenge Project is an initiative of the University of Toronto School of Cities. The AHCP collective brings together scholars from across the University of Toronto, who are researching issues related to housing affordability from different disciplinary perspectives, with the objective of working together to research, discuss and debate the causes, processes, policies and consequences of declining housing affordability.