StudentDwellTO / en U of T, Ryerson, York and OCAD address student housing challenges, solutions at StudentDwellTO symposium /news/u-t-ryerson-york-and-ocad-address-student-housing-challenges-solutions-studentdwellto-symposium <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T, Ryerson, York and OCAD address student housing challenges, solutions at StudentDwellTO symposium</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/main--1140-x-760.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=6xGo4Rcu 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/main--1140-x-760.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=onR4Yl_- 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/main--1140-x-760.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=s8QYK5MP 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/main--1140-x-760.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=6xGo4Rcu" alt="Photo of students walking at U of T Scarborough"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Romi Levine</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2019-05-03T13:34:18-04:00" title="Friday, May 3, 2019 - 13:34" class="datetime">Fri, 05/03/2019 - 13:34</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Students at all four Toronto universities struggle with housing affordability, researchers say (photo by Ken Jones)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/romi-levine" hreflang="en">Romi Levine</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/four-corners" hreflang="en">Four Corners</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cities" hreflang="en">Cities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/housing" hreflang="en">Housing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/john-h-daniels-faculty-architecture" hreflang="en">John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ontario-institute-studies-education" hreflang="en">Ontario Institute for Studies in Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/president-gertler" hreflang="en">President Gertler</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/studentdwellto" hreflang="en">StudentDwellTO</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">U of T Mississauga</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">U of T Scarborough</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Affordability has become a primary concern for Toronto residents – from the rising value of homes to soaring rents. But in conversations about affordable housing, one group is often left out: post-secondary students.</p> <p>The presidents of Toronto’s universities – the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, OCAD University and York University – are pooling their resources and expertise to address this fundamental issue faced by students through the StudentDwellTO initiative.</p> <p>Since 2017, faculty and students at the four universities have been working together to conduct an extensive literature review, teach studio courses, hold focus groups with students, analyze data and look for solutions to student housing issues.</p> <p>Their work converged this week at StudentDwell+, a two-day symposium held at York University where groups presented their findings and scholars from around the world shared their expertise.</p> <h3><a href="/news/u-t-ocad-ryerson-york-collaborate-massive-joint-research-project-affordable-housing">Read more about StudentDwellTO</a></h3> <p>The symposium began with a panel discussion with senior leaders from the four universities: U of T President <strong>Meric Gertler</strong>, OCAD President and Vice-Chancellor Sara&nbsp;Diamond, York President and Vice-Chancellor <strong>Rhonda Lenton</strong> and Ryerson Vice-President of Research and Innovation Steven Liss.</p> <p>President Gertler told symposium attendees that universities can achieve more by working together.</p> <p>“We are all in this big, expensive city, we all have many, many students that have complicated lives. Many of them commute, many of them have part-time jobs, many of them have family obligations and many of them are on financial aid,” he said.</p> <p>“This is a theme that is common to all four universities.”</p> <p>More than 60 per cent of undergraduate students are on needs-based financial aid, continued President Gertler, adding that the numbers are higher at U of T Scarborough and U of T Mississauga.</p> <p>“Our students face growing challenges in terms of their financial situation,” he said.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__10835 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/StudentDwell-embed-750-x-500.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px; margin: 10px;" typeof="foaf:Image"><br> <em>U of T President Meric Gertler&nbsp;participates in a panel discussion on student housing with representatives from Toronto’s other universities&nbsp;(photo by Romi Levine)</em></p> <p>The four universities had previously worked together on StudentMoveTO, a large-scale survey of student travel behaviours. The results detailed the sacrifices students were making by paying a premium to live close&nbsp;to campus or&nbsp;commute long distances to get to school.</p> <p>“The StudentMove data is amazing because you really see that the longer the commute, the more students try and concentrate their learning and their research experience and their on-campus work experience into a couple of days,” said Diamond.</p> <h3><a href="/news/studentmoveto">See the results from StudentMoveTO</a></h3> <p>At the symposium, members of StudentDwell’s core team presented some of the initial findings from 26 focus groups conducted&nbsp;with 116 students on six campuses. They&nbsp;included concerns about: limited on-campus housing options; predatory landlords; high&nbsp;transportation costs;&nbsp;and limited ability to participate in extracurricular activities if students lived far away from&nbsp;their classes.</p> <p>Students also said their physical and mental well-being had taken a toll because of housing-related stress, including feelings of isolation from not being able to participate fully in campus life.</p> <p>In speaking with students and reading literature on student housing, it became clear that one of the key issues is that students are rarely consulted in the decision-making processes around student housing, said Shelagh McCartney, an assistant professor at Ryerson’s School of Urban and Regional Planning and a StudentDwell member.</p> <p>“There's a lot of perspective from parents and from developers in these discussions, but there are very few from actual students,” she told <em>U of T News</em>.</p> <p>When it comes to finding solutions for student housing challenges, it’s not about finding a silver bullet, but “trying to understand how you can leverage positive and negative things to actually come up with an opportunity to do something,” said <strong>Mauricio Quirós Pacheco</strong>, an assistant professor, teaching stream at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design who is also part of StudentDwell.</p> <p>The StudentDwell team&nbsp;suggested ways for universities to get started on addressing students'&nbsp;housing needs.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Marcelo Vieta</strong>, assistant professor at U of T’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, said universities should look beyond developers&nbsp;to forge housing partnerships with non-profits, governments and co-operatives. He also said it was important to amplify student voices by teaming up with organizations such as student unions.</p> <p>While design solutions are also being looked at, changing policy is also an important part of the equation, said Vieta.</p> <p>“It's this unregulated private market with abusive landlords that's a major issue that's directly impacting [students’] education,” he told <em>U of T News</em>.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__10842 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/2018-08-12-Spadina%20sussex-resized2_0.jpg" style="width: 317px; height: 453px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image">During the presidents’ panel discussion, President Gertler echoed these challenges.</p> <p>“The status quo is clearly not working here,” he said. “We do need to find creative alternatives that depart from the standard private market model.”</p> <p>One of the ways the U of T is doing so is through its <a href="/news/four-corners-u-t-unveils-development-strategy-campus-housing-other-key-services">“four corners” real estate strategy</a>, according to President Gertler.</p> <p>The&nbsp;strategy, which includes new residences like the proposed tower at Spadina and Sussex Avenues (left),&nbsp;focuses on “how we can utilize our land assets in particular in ways that generate value for the university and enhance our academic vision, and, at the same time, enhance the livability of everyone in the Greater Toronto Area,” President Gertler said.</p> <p>U of T is in conversations with “socially-minded” developers who have a “shared goal of ensuring the continued dynamism of the city by ensuring people who live there are diverse in every sense of the word, including their socioeconomic position,” President Gertler added.</p> <p>All four university leaders stressed the important role universities play in quality of life for Toronto residents and in addressing urban challenges.</p> <p>“You see an increasing awareness of the importance of understanding the impact universities are actually having in bringing together multiple sectors, in bringing together not-for-profits or private industry to collaborate together and really leveraging individual strengths, and how to make a maximum difference or a maximum impact with a particular problem we're dealing with,” said Lenton.<br> <br> In holding an event like StudentDwell+, Quirós Pacheco said those conversations between stakeholders can begin to take place.</p> <p>“It's one of the few times where you really understand the breadth of the problem, but also the breadth of the expertise that are at the table and just how global the problem is.”</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 03 May 2019 17:34:18 +0000 Romi Levine 156557 at StudentDwellTO: U of T, Toronto universities’ student housing initiative begins to take shape /news/studentdwellto-u-t-toronto-universities-student-housing-initiative-begins-take-shape <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">StudentDwellTO: U of T, Toronto universities’ student housing initiative begins to take shape</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/student-dwell-via-unsplash-1140-x-760.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=gjgbQFWO 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/student-dwell-via-unsplash-1140-x-760.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=WZkLTr8z 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/student-dwell-via-unsplash-1140-x-760.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=xrtll_NP 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/student-dwell-via-unsplash-1140-x-760.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=gjgbQFWO" alt> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Romi Levine</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2018-02-07T00:00:00-05:00" title="Wednesday, February 7, 2018 - 00:00" class="datetime">Wed, 02/07/2018 - 00:00</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Researchers are collecting data and case studies in order to find solutions to Toronto's student housing problems (photo by Filip Mroz via Unsplash)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/romi-levine" hreflang="en">Romi Levine</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/factor-inwentash-faculty-social-work" hreflang="en">Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-students" hreflang="en">Graduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/housing" hreflang="en">Housing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/john-h-daniels-faculty-architecture" hreflang="en">John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ontario-institute-studies-education" hreflang="en">Ontario Institute for Studies in Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/studentdwellto" hreflang="en">StudentDwellTO</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Researchers at the University of Toronto, Ryerson, OCAD and York are beginning to understand just how large and complex the student housing issue is in Toronto.</p> <p>Students and faculty from the four universities are working together on an initiative called StudentDwellTO – a joint research project established by the universities' presidents&nbsp;that will identify causes and propose possible solutions to the housing-related challenges students face.&nbsp;</p> <h3><a href="/news/u-t-ocad-ryerson-york-collaborate-massive-joint-research-project-affordable-housing">Read more about StudentDwellTO</a></h3> <p><strong>Marcelo Vieta</strong>, an assistant professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and <strong>Mauricio Quirós Pacheco</strong>, an assistant professor, teaching stream at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design – the project’s faculty leads at U of T – updated <em>U of T News</em> on StudentDwellTO’s progress.</p> <p>“We're at the breaking point where we have most of the foundation for the project to really jump into actual work,” says Quirós Pacheco.</p> <p>Researchers have already reviewed 150 academic articles to get an idea of best practices from around the world.</p> <p>One of their early findings is that design greatly affects student experiences, says Vieta.&nbsp;</p> <p>“How the living space of a student is designed and shaped shapes their educational experience and performance,” he says.</p> <p>Equally as important is the length of student commutes, says Vieta.&nbsp;“The distance they have to travel to go to and from home and school intimately matters with how well they do.”</p> <p>These findings echo the results of the massive survey of Toronto student travel conducted in 2016 – <a href="/news/studentmoveto">StudentMoveTO</a> – which found that long commutes affected students’ class and extracurricular choices. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>The StudentDwellTO team is currently collecting&nbsp;census data with the help of faculty including <strong>David Hulchanski</strong>, professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, and will be conducting focus groups with students and stakeholders to get a clearer picture of the current landscape and future possibilities.</p> <p>In addition, faculty members are incorporating the study of student housing into their curricula, says Vieta.</p> <p>A number of his master’s students are exploring case studies of successful student housing from around the world, including student co-operative housing in Edinburgh, Montreal and Michigan.</p> <p>And in the fall term, students at Daniels will use the data and case studies collected in an undergrad studio class exploring and designing options for student housing, says Quirós Pacheco.</p> <p>Vieta and Quirós Pacheco say they’ve been getting valuable input from industry and community leaders. They have regular meetings with an advisory committee that includes members from community housing, private development, policymakers, architects and urban planners.</p> <p>“The whole dynamic of the city is affected by this,” says Quirós Pacheco.</p> <p>The next task is to put together a website, and begin to host events where experts can share their research on student housing, he says.&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 07 Feb 2018 05:00:00 +0000 Romi Levine 128910 at U of T, OCAD, Ryerson, York collaborate in massive joint research project on affordable housing /news/u-t-ocad-ryerson-york-collaborate-massive-joint-research-project-affordable-housing <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T, OCAD, Ryerson, York collaborate in massive joint research project on affordable housing </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Kearon-1140-x-760.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=lXyCM2Sp 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/Kearon-1140-x-760.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=9Qib9clj 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/Kearon-1140-x-760.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=7RbyNyt2 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Kearon-1140-x-760.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=lXyCM2Sp" alt="photo of student"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lanthierj</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-09-22T13:57:04-04:00" title="Friday, September 22, 2017 - 13:57" class="datetime">Fri, 09/22/2017 - 13:57</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Kearon Roy Taylor is one of the student leads for StudentDwellTO (photo by Romi Levine)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/romi-levine" hreflang="en">Romi Levine</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Romi Levine</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cities" hreflang="en">Cities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/studentdwellto" hreflang="en">StudentDwellTO</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/affordable-housing" hreflang="en">Affordable Housing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/collaboration" hreflang="en">Collaboration</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/john-h-daniels-faculty-architecture" hreflang="en">John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/oise" hreflang="en">OISE</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">StudentDwellTO builds on StudentMoveTO</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>It takes University of Toronto student <strong>Syed Imam </strong>about an hour and a half on public transit to get to the university’s downtown Toronto campus from his home in Mississauga.&nbsp;</p> <p>That’s almost three hours of daily commuting, five days a week, for Imam, who studies civil engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering.</p> <p>“I'm spending a little over $250 a month on commuting. If there was something reasonably close to campus, I would definitely choose to stay there,” says Imam, who spends almost 12 hours a day downtown to “optimize commuting times.”</p> <p>Imam’s commuting woes aren’t unique – they’re a symptom of a larger issue facing post-secondary students in the Greater Toronto Area: the lack of affordable housing.</p> <p>Recognizing the urgency of the issue, the presidents of Toronto’s four universities – the University of Toronto, OCAD, York and Ryerson – are teaming up for a new initiative called StudentDwellTO, bringing together almost 100 faculty and students to take an in-depth look at student housing in the GTA.&nbsp;</p> <p>“It’s yet another example of how the impact of our collective efforts can be far greater than the sum of individual contributions,” says <strong>Shauna Brail</strong>. An associate professor, teaching stream, Brail is U of T's presidential adviser on urban engagement and director of the urban studies program in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science.</p> <p>This follows a previous collaboration among the four presidents – <a href="/news/uoftbts16-u-t-research-student-transportation">a massive survey of student travel behaviour called StudentMoveTO</a>. That survey uncovered an unsettling narrative – students said a lack of housing affordability led to longer daily commute times, lower levels of campus engagement and, in some cases, hidden homelessness.</p> <p>Considering the number of post-secondary students in the GTA – more than 180,000 spread across seven campuses – these findings are a big deal, says Brail, who will be U of T’s representative for StudentDwellTO’s steering committee.</p> <p>University of Toronto president <strong>Meric Gertler</strong> agrees, emphasizing the importance of a rich co-curricular life for undergraduate and graduate students.</p> <p>“We want our students to be able to take full advantage of all the opportunities offered by a U of T education,” the president says. “The university experience extends far beyond the classrooms, laboratories and lecture halls. By providing the research needed to develop innovative policy on student housing, this project has the potential to help students participate more fully in university life and make the cost of attending university more affordable.”</p> <p>The new project will look at affordability from a multidisciplinary perspective. Researchers in architecture, education, engineering, psychology and geography will collaborate with GTA community partners.&nbsp;</p> <p>“The opportunities for knowledge exchange are pretty incredible,” says<strong> Kearon Roy Taylor</strong>, a graduate student at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design and one U of T’s two student leads on the project.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__6103 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/Mauricio-2-750-x-500.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px; margin: 10px;" typeof="foaf:Image"><br> <em>Mauricio Quiros-Pacheco is one of the faculty leads of StudentDwellTO (photo by Romi Levine)</em></p> <p>Results of the 18-month initiative, which will include a heavy research component, and data collection from a wide-scale survey and focus groups, will be made public. The subject matter will also be incorporated into courses, which will look at case studies from around the world on how to make housing more affordable. &nbsp;</p> <p>The collaborative nature of StudentDwellTO across a variety of disciplines will encourage creative thinking, says <strong>Mauricio Quiros-Pacheco</strong>, an assistant professor, teaching stream, at the Daniels Faculty and one of the project’s academic leads. And because there’s no particular outcome expected, the teams will be able to experiment with a variety of ideas.&nbsp;</p> <p>“We can be a bit more daring, going deeper into studies, trying to understand the potential of the city and the four institutions to address the crisis,” he says.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Marcelo Vieta</strong>, an assistant &nbsp;professor at U of T’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, is looking forward to applying this kind of out-of-the-box thinking to StudentDwellTO research.&nbsp;</p> <p>“With me, it's around how to live differently and how to live better. How do we address some of the social ills we face by influencing policy and practices?”&nbsp;<br> StudentDwellTO has the potential to positively influence the affordable housing landscape in Toronto, but in order to do so, it’s crucial that students play a central role in both their input and research contributions, says Brail.</p> <p>“Our students are leading-edge thinkers who bring \insight and intelligence to bear on this work,” she says. “As rising researchers, their understanding of the conditions, challenges and possibilities and their ability to shape the outcomes – potentially for future generations of students – is exciting.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 22 Sep 2017 17:57:04 +0000 lanthierj 116426 at