Student-Housing, Privatization, and Urban Change

The Village, The University, and the Community

July 2, 2020 @ 4:15pm, La Ville hosts Assistant Professor Jenny Foster and Urban Planner and OPPI candidate Shannon Holness to discuss spatial development patterns in York University Heights, an area previously encompassed by the Jane-finch Area. The podcast will delve into the geographical manifestations of core-periphery relations, and the intersections between the Village, York University, and the Jane-Finch community shaping these relations. The discussion will be centred around the means/methods by which Village Residents, York University, and YVHA connect to the Jane-Finch community. Finally, La Ville will look at the City of Toronto, the role of gentrification, and the impact it is having on the Village and the JaneFinch community.

The Future of [Student] Housing [Part 2]

For [Part 2] on June 25, 2020 @ 5:00pm, YVHA will host Professor Luisa Sotomayor, Assistant Professor Marcelo Vieta and Ryerson Graduate Shameeza Gafoor to overview the future of student-housing in the City. We will be following up on our discussion on the role that the marketization & commodification of housing has played in producing precarious physical and material living conditions in communities like the Village across Toronto. From the perspective of urban planning, design, and education, we'll look at how new policies, infrastructure developments, and urban planning practices are going to impact the Village, and the City’s rationale for moving forward with their decisions. Finally, we’re going to explore the  alternative models of housing and student-housing, and how they can be applied in the Village.

The Future of [Student] Housing [Part 1]

For June 25, 2020 @ 3:30 pm, La Ville's The Future of [Student] Housing podcast will be divided into two parts. In The Future of Student Housing [Part 1], YVHA will be joined by Professor Jeremy Bowes and Dr. Shelagh McCartney for a discussion focused on the design and the architectural background underlining student-housing in the City of Toronto. We will be looking at the role that  marketization/commodification of housing has played in producing precarious physical and material spaces/living conditions in communities like the Village across Toronto. We’ll touch on how new policies, infrastructure developments, and urban design and planning practices impact the Village, and the City’s rationale for moving forward with their decisions. Finally, we’re going to explore the  alternative models of housing and student-housing, and how they can be applied in the Village.

The Village and the "New" Jane-Finch

On June 23, @ 3:30pm, YVHA will be joined by professors Yasir Hameed and Eizadirad Ardavan to overview some of the socio-spatial developments and processes in the Jane & Finch community in North York, Toronto. The podcast will look at the relationship between the Village, York University, and the Jane-Finch community over the course of the last few decades, and how the rise of York University has impacted the broader community. Our goal is to identify the social and political barriers separating the Jane and Finch community from the Village and York University, and to analyze the pervasive effects of urbanization in the City of Toronto, and it’s direct/indirect impact on the Jane-Finch community.

Student-Housing, Privatization, and Urban Change

June 16, 2020 @ 3:30, YVHA will be joined by guests Allison Evans, Jamilla Mohamud, and Tristain Laing, for an episode centred around the role institutions, organizations, and activism play in shaping the student-housing experience for students. In particular, we’ll be discussing the role of the neoliebral university, and the broader social, economic, and political developments that have contributed to the development of student-housing. Our guests will help-us determine how these developments are linked to the on-going housing crisis in the City of Toronto, with a critical analysis focused on potential alternatives for student-housing/multi-tenant housing in the City of Toronto. The podcast concludes with a discussion of how these alternatives can be implemented in the Village at York University.