The School of Cities understands why cities matter – for sustainability, prosperity, inclusion, and justice. Providing public access to the research and analysis that informs change is one of our primary objectives. Here you will find a growing set of insights into the most pressing issues of our time, in the form of publications, maps and videos and created in collaboration with affiliated faculty, visiting scholars, expert practitioners, students, and community organizations.
In the spotlight
Multidisciplinary Approaches to Urban Homelessness: Data & policy
The School of Cities hosted a multidisciplinary seminar on current research in urban homelessness, focusing on data and policy. The discussion considered spatial challenges with bylaws that restrict sleeping in parks and designing human-centred algorithms for homelessness services.
Volume 5: Issue 1 | Creative cities, sustainable pARTnerships: Collectively imagining future artistic livelihoods
This City Research Insight reports on Sustainable pARTnerships: Collaboration and reciprocity in creative cities (“Sustainable pARTnerships”), a multi-faceted initiative that brings together the cultural and academic sectors to explore artists’ lived experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, imagine a future in which artists can have thriving artistic livelihoods, and illuminate a role for the academy in supporting a precarious sector.
Mapping Tariffs
Article with charts and maps on the potential local impacts of U.S. tariffs on jobs and businesses across Canada
Mapping Tariffs
Ranking Canadian urban areas by their potential direct exposure of U.S. tariffs
Mapping Tariffs
Interactive map showing potential local impacts of U.S. tariffs on jobs and businesses across Canada
Mapping household GHG emissions in the Greater Golden Horseshoe
View maps and charts at both regional and neighbourhood scales
Mapping household GHG emissions in the Greater Golden Horseshoe
View maps and charts at both regional and neighbourhood scales
Who are streets for?
More than 80% of street space in Toronto is inequitably dedicated to motor vehicles. How can this be fairly re-designed?
Toronto Dot Density Map
Interact with dot density maps by population, gender, age, income, ethnicity, immigration, commute mode, and commute times.
Data Storytelling for Equitable Development
Case studies from the 2023-24 EDDIT cohorts
Investing in affordable housing to support inclusive downtowns
A case study of Worcester, Massachusetts from Equitable Development Data Insight Training
Seeking a new definition of affordability in a resource economy
A case study of Wood Buffalo, Alberta from Equitable Development Data Insight Training
Projects
Canada’s Infrastructure Deficit
A series of chapters, commissioned from experts and researchers across Canada, addressing a looming crisis in deferred maintenance and construction of critical infrastructure and how it must be addressed in order to bolster global competitiveness, place-based prosperity, and democracy.
Downtown Recovery
The Covid-19 pandemic renewed debates about the future of downtowns in North America. Downtowns emptied out as people were forced to stay at home, and even as life returned to malls and neighbourhood commercial corridors, the urban core is no longer a bustling centre of activity. This trend has led many to wonder: is this the death of downtown?
Learning from What Works
This is a time of extraordinary uncertainty in Canada, but there are already great ideas at the local level for how to address our economic, social, environmental, and cultural challenges. This project from the Canadian Urban Institute and the School of Cities will feature local ideas that work and identify effective approaches to solving place-based challenges.
The Metropolitan Mindset
The Metropolitan Mindset initiative, led by Don Iveson and Professor Gabriel Eidelman, aims to cultivate the metropolitan mindset in Canada through research, education, partnerships, and advocacy.
Affordable Missing Middle
This initiative explores and advances ways to add gentle density to our residential neighbourhoods in an effort to achieve affordability and equity.
Housing Innovation Scaling Hub
The Housing Innovation Scaling Hub program empowered CMHC Level-Up Housing Supply Challenge semi-finalists to scale their innovative housing solutions. Through research, events, and entrepreneurship consulting in partnership with University of Toronto Entrepreneurship, the program offered tailored support to drive impactful change.
Climate Displacement & Cities
Global Research Network on Climate-Induced Displacement, Resettlement, Adaptation, and Resilience for Cities is a research partnership hosted by the School of Cities that connects international social and physical scientists and practitioners to refine our understanding of human decisions about adaptation and migration, as well as the adaptive capacities of different groups and infrastructures across contexts.
Products
Maps & Data Visualization
We create public-facing and accessible interactive maps and data visualizations aimed at disseminating academic research to a broader audience, visual storytelling focused on important urban issues, and creating new modes for understanding our cities.
Knowledge Café
Knowledge Café is a monthly speaking opportunity for the tri-campus community of U of T faculty and researchers to present analysis and highlights of their research on a theme that is important and relevant to cities.
City Beats Blog
The City Beats Blog invites experts affiliated with the School of Cities to publish essays, responses, and reflections in a variety of formats and at any stage in the development of new ideas or research.
Videos
The School of Cities is committed to mobilizing knowledge in innovative and accessible ways. We work with communities, scholars, policymakers, and visual creators to make videos that are informative, impactful, and approachable.
Exhibitions
The School of Cities has created high-quality, public-facing exhibitions on pressing urban issues that showcase the work of academics, students, and practitioners.
Publications
City Research Insights
City Research Insights is an occasional policy brief series that translates academic research into impactful solutions and leverages our community of urbanists and urban-oriented researchers to create a rich, multidisciplinary community of urban faculty, researchers, and students across disciplines and perspectives.
Policy briefs
School of Cities publishes occasional policy briefs, which aim to distill research findings and data, make recommendations, and draw links to policy initiatives.
Working papers
School of Cities publishes occasional working papers, often authored by affiliated faculty from other departments or universities and intended as starting points for discussion, debate, and data analysis.
Reports
This selection of reports is based on research and projects undertaken by School of Cities faculty, researchers, postdoctoral fellows and/or affiliated faculty, or that has been funded in part or in whole by the School of Cities.
Books & journal articles
This is a selection of recent books and journal articles by School of Cities faculty, researchers, and postdoctoral fellows.