Environment (Faculty of)

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Condocracy: The con-dos and the con-don'ts of condo community
(University of Waterloo, 2021-01-28) Turman, William Nicholas; August, Martine
Condo development, as a form of housing, currently comprises almost half of all housing starts in Ontario. This type of development is aided by policy directives (Lehrer and Wieditz, 2009), and it is what Rosen and Walks (2014) are identifying as a transformation of social, cultural, and political life, what they call ‘condo-ism’. This thesis aims to explore this transformation in the framework of Harvey’s conception of the right to the city (2012), exploring resident experiences of life in and around a condo in four ways: how the condo provides a sense of home and ontological security, how the condo supports a sense of community identity and entitativity, how the physical design of the condo facilitates the two previous concepts, and how the formal community, expressed in its rules and regulations, impacts residents’ ability to control their environment. The research involved seven semi-structured interviews with renters, resident owners, non-resident owners, a condo board member, and the condo manager for a single condo in a mid-sized city in Ontario. It was found that the physical design and the formal rules of the condo disempower residents. However, the identity of the condo and the area in which it stands reinforced residents’ identities. Notably, there was no connection between the residents of this condo and an adjacent condo. Dogs and dog ownership were found to be an unexpected source of social connections within and beyond the condo, and online social media groups were important, but controversial, sources of information.
Decommodification Now: Planning for a decommodified housing future
(University of Waterloo, 2023-01-25) Scott-Frater, Charlotte; August, Martine
Canada is experiencing a housing affordability crisis. Rising housing costs in cities over the last two decades have driven increasing gentrification and displacement, forcing lower-income residents into inadequate and unaffordable housing, or out of cities altogether. The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened this phenomenon, as evictions, homelessness, and number of households in core housing have risen sharply over the past year. These interlocking issues are underpinned by a single idea: that housing is a commodity. This notion holds that housing is both a store of value, and a necessity. This tension is usually resolved in favour of building housing that can generate maximal capital for its investors, as opposed to housing that serves community need. This creates the conditions leading to nationally increasing core housing need. A reorientation of housing planning and policy around the idea that housing is a necessity outside of the drive for profit is required. One promising avenue for this revisioning is decommodification. This project seeks to answer (1) how decommodified housing has existed in Canada in the past, (2) what kinds of decommodified housing exist, and are currently being produced in peer nations, and (3) what are the existing barriers and opportunities to greatly expand the stock of decommodified housing in Canada.
"Everybody should have choice": Municipal & Regional Planning, Social Policy, and Housing Options for Disabled Persons in Waterloo Region, Ontario
(University of Waterloo, 2021-01-13) McCulley, Amanda; August, Martine
The purpose of this study was to analyze how municipal planning impacts housing options for disabled people in the Waterloo region of Ontario. Through analysis of relevant local and provincial planning-related documents as well as key informant interviews, it is determined that despite increased focus on ‘accessibility’ and ‘inclusion’ in high level planning documents, that group homes for disabled residents continue to be subject to minimum separation requirements within some area municipalities. Alarmingly, despite an increasingly broad definition of disability at the provincial and federal levels of government, many municipal planning documents focus primarily on accessibility for wheelchair users – excluding a significant proportion of disabled individuals. While regional and municipal planners may play an indirect role in the provision of housing for disabled people, they are restricted by provincial legislation that limits municipal powers. Thus, planning is best understood as a local layer of social policy in a complicated web of disability-related legal frameworks, including housing and accessibility policies. Evidence demonstrates that demand for publicly subsidized housing for disabled people far outstrip supply, a phenomenon exacerbated by the rising cost of housing across Canada and government retrenchment from social service provision. True universal access, or a right-based approaches to housing, healthcare, and social services, would drastically improve housing choices for disabled individuals.
The financialization of Transit Oriented Development in York South Weston, Toronto, Ontario
(University of Waterloo, 2023-05-29) Manu, Michael; August, Martine; Moos, Markus; Filion, Pierre; Cockayne, Daniel
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is a form of planning that has dominated the discourse around sustainable development in cities. Where transit investment is met with higher density housing and commercial land uses, there has been little attention given to the actors who participate in this form of development. This thesis aims to explore the link between TOD and the financialization of housing, commercial land uses, and development in general. The purview of this study is based on the presence of the new Line 5 – Eglinton Crosstown, a new Light Rail Transit line in Toronto, Ontario. The line passes through a ward in the city that has various indicators suggesting various social issues, York South Weston (Ward 5). In this area, there has been material development activity to warrant discussion on who TOD really serves. This study is based on quantitative and qualitative information available pertaining to developments and properties in proximity to the new transit line. Using City of Toronto development information, information about the Landlords and property owners who have submitted development applications in and around the transit line is analyzed, with various factors considered. Additionally, information about REITs and other financialized players (Private Equity, Development companies, etc.) is analyzed to determine if there is heightened activity related to TOD in Toronto, and potentially within York South Weston. The findings from this study aim to add to the discourse on TOD and namely if financialized players view this style of development as favourable and profitable. The main research questions are centered around how TOD affects lower income people in these areas, and what can be done to curtail any intended or unintended negative externalities generated.
Planning for Decolonization: Examining Municipal Support of Indigenous-led Initiatives within the Settler Colonial Context of Canada
(University of Waterloo, 2022-08-30) Niehaus, Skylar; Barry, Janice; August, Martine
As a western cultural practice, planning is tethered to settler colonial logic, which results in the dispossession and harm of Indigenous peoples. Yet, within the context of ongoing recognition and enactments of reconciliation, planning has become increasingly invested in detangling the colonial logics embedded within itself, specifically when it’s been called upon by Indigenous communities to do this work. Illuminating this is O:se Kenhionhata:tie, Land Back Camp, a local Indigenous-led initiative that has organized around the provision of space by and for Indigenous communities within Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. In their organizing O:se Kenhionhata:tie has responded to the needs of local Indigenous communities by creating space for Two-Spirit and IndigiQueer youth, increasing the visibility of local Indigenous communities, participating in solidarity work, and engaging with municipalities to produce conditions that support their work such as the provision of land, funding, and administrative support. O:se Kenhionhata:tie’s work inspires the direction of this thesis, as it examines four case studies of municipalities within Canada that have engaged in reconciliation practices relating to the provision of space for Indigenous-led initiatives. In the cities of Edmonton, Alberta; Lethbridge, Alberta, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; and Kingston, Ontario, Indigenous communities have engaged with urban municipalities regarding the provision of space by and for Indigenous communities. The purpose of this examination is to produce knowledge about the ways planning can aid in life making practices, instead of being a source of world ending for Indigenous futures. Through a content analysis, this thesis finds both moments within planning that support Indigenous futurity, along with the continuation of settler colonial logic. The latter of which results in a failure to support just Indigenous futures, decolonization, and Indigenous life-making practices. Along with building understanding about planning, the findings of this thesis also provide the basis for how municipalities can facilitate the creation, governance, operation, and funding of Indigenous spaces in manners that are supportive for Indigenous sovereignty, self-determination, and futurity.

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Browsing Environment (Faculty of) by Author "August, Martine"