Urban Studies Innis

Subway Life & Transit Expansion During Toronto's Automobile Age

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 17:08:00 +0000

Subway Life & Transit Expansion during Toronto's Automobile Age
October 30, 2012, 7 to 9 p.m.
Speaker Dr. Jay Young will lead the discussion on the political debates surrounding the city’s subways during these decades of growth and their impact on the metropolitan area.

Tickets are $12 + tax

Location:

Spadina Museum: Historic House & Gardens

285 Spadina Road
Paid parking at Casa Loma
416-392-6910

spadina@toronto.ca
facebook.com/spadinamuseum

This salon is part of the series Game of Thrones: Toronto and the Queen's 60-year Reign. This fascinating series of participatory talks and debates focuses on topics that highlight how Canada and Toronto have evolved over the past 60 years under Her Majesty's reign. Tuesdays from 7 to 9 pm. Tickets are $12 per salon or $40 for all four. Taxes not included.

Please go to http://www.toronto.ca/spadina_salon for details on all the salons.

Urban Studies Graduate Profile

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 16:45:00 +0000

An Urban Studies graduate is profiled in the article "Toronto's Neighbourhood Needs Effective Leaders" (The Toronto Star).

Urban Studies Orientation

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:15:00 +0000

Please join us on Wednesday September 12th from 4:30 - 6pm at the Innis College Cafe for our annual Urban Studies Orientation! The orientation is an opportunity to meet Urban Studies faculty and staff members, learn more about the Urban Studies Program, get to know fellow students and enjoy a snack. This is a fun and casual event and we look forward to welcoming you back to campus on September 12th.

Future Models of Urban Mobility

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:40:00 +0000

The event will be taking place at the Consulate General of Germany (2 Bloor St. E., Toronto) on Friday, March 23rd from 4-6pm. Details on the event are found in the poster below.

Registration for this event is required and can be done at:

http://urbanmobility.eventbrite.ca/?ebtv=C

Free Screening - Payback

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:43:00 +0000

URBAN STUDIES STUDENTS…YOU ARE INVITED

Thursday, March 15, 2012 • Town Hall, Innis College • Free If you are unable to view the invite below, visit: www.utoronto.ca/innis/alumni/Payback.html

Free Screening
Payback

Based on Margaret Atwood’s Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth.

Q&A follows with acclaimed director Jennifer Baichwal.

Thursday, March 15, 2012
6:30 pm (doors open at 6:00 pm)
Town Hall, Innis College, 2 Sussex Ave

Please RSVP to rsvp.innis@utoronto.ca

For more information on Innis College upcoming events please visit our events page.

Margaret Atwood’s visionary work Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth is the basis for this riveting and poetic documentary on “debt” in its various forms—societal, personal, environmental, spiritual, criminal, and of course, economic.

Filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal (Manufactured Landscapes) strikingly interweaves these (sometimes surprising) debtor/creditor relationships: two families in a years-long Albanian blood feud; the BP oil spill vs. the Earth; mistreated Florida tomato farm workers and their bosses; imprisoned media mogul Conrad Black and the U.S. justice system.

With stunning cinematography and insightful commentary from renowned thinkers Raj Patel, Louise Arbour and Atwood herself, Payback is a brilliant, game-changing rumination on the subject. Also appearing in the film: Conrad Black, Karen Armstrong, among others.

IN THEATRES MARCH 16

Movie trailer: www.nfb.ca/film/payback_trailer

If you are a person with a disability and require an accommodation please contact 416-978-3424 by March 9, 2012.

The University of Toronto respects your privacy. We do not rent, trade or sell our mailing lists.

Canadian Premiere of Unfinished Spaces

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:10:00 +0000

The Design Exchange is proud to announce the Canadian premiere of Unfinished Spaces with introduction by Co-director Benjamin Murray.

January 19, 2012 at the DX

234 Bay Street

6.30 pm - 9.00 pm

ABOUT

“Cuba will count as having the most beautiful academy of arts in the world.” —Fidel Castro (1961)

Cuba's ambitious National Art Schools project, designed by three young artists in the wake of Castro's Revolution, is neglected, nearly forgotten, then ultimately rediscovered as a visionary architectural masterpiece.

In 1961, three young, visionary architects were commissioned by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara to create Cuba's National Art Schools on the grounds of a former golf course in Havana, Cuba. Construction of their radical designs began immediately and the school's first classes soon followed. Dancers, musicians and artists from all over the country reveled in the beauty of the schools, but as the dream of the Revolution quickly became a reality, construction was abruptly halted and the architects and their designs were deemed irrelevant in the prevailing political climate. Forty years later the schools are in use, but remain unfinished and decaying. Castro has invited the exiled architects back to finish their unrealized dream.

Unfinished Spaces features intimate footage of Fidel Castro, showing his devotion to creating a worldwide showcase for art, and it also documents the struggle and passion of three revolutionary artists.

FILMMAKER BIOS

Alysa Nahmias, Co-Director, Co-Producer
Alysa Nahmias is founder and executive director of Ajna Films. Unfinished Spaces is her feature directing debut. Her producing credits also include The Listening Archive and Outside the Giardini. She has received numerous grants and awards from government agencies and private foundations, including the New York State Council on the Arts, the Jerome Foundation, and the Graham Foundation. Nahmias holds a Masters degree in architecture (M.Arch) from Princeton University and a B.A. from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

Benjamin Murray, Co-Director, Co-Producer, Director of Photography
Benjamin Murray started his post production company, The Room, in 2010 and currently partners with Technicolor through two Flame Premium suites. His regular clients include major networks and numerous independent production companies. Murray’s recent projects include: No Direction Home, directed by Martin Scorsese; Capitalism: A Love Story, directed by Michael Moore; The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town, directed by Thom Zimny; Client 9, directed by Alex Gibney; Reagan, directed by Eugene Jarecki; Fog of War, directed by Errol Morris; My Architect, directed by Nathaniel Kahn; Born Into Brothels, directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman; and Once In a Lifetime, directed by Paul Crowder. Murray holds a BFA in Film and Television Production from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

www.unfinishedspaces.com

Click here to register

Click here to watch trailer

For more information contact Noa Bronstein at noa@dx.org

Summer Abroad in Berlin, Germany, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:39:00 +0000

Do you want to spend a summer in a city that is “hip, creative, young and dynamic…with an exciting mix of nature, history and worldliness…”

And earn a full course credit at the same time?

Sure you do.

The city: Berlin, Germany.

The course: The City as Problem and Promise: Berlin, a Case Study offered through the University of Toronto’s Summer Abroad Program, 2012.

Like all world cities, Berlin suffers from social, economic and physical problems. These problems are aggravated because it was divided for almost fifty years – and for much of that time by an impenetrable wall. This division created two distinct societies with different and often conflicting perceptions of the city.

Berlin is now rebuilding and in the process must redefine itself and reunite its two disparate parts. This course examines how Berlin deals with these challenges in the following areas: urban development and economic competitiveness, neighbourhood revitalization, ethnic minorities, and social movements.

The course includes a four day trip to Leipzig and Dresden.

This course can be used toward a Geography, a Political Science, or an Urban Studies full course credit.

Some financial help is available to cover the cost of the course.

Attend the information sesssion:

Tuesday January 24, 2012

4:30 – 6:30 PM

Woodsworth College Residence, Waters Lounge, [SE corner of St. George and Bloor]

For more information contact:

www.summerabroad.utoronto.ca

email: Summer.abroad@utoronto.ca

Or the course instructor:

Dr. Patricia Petersen

Patricia.petersen@utoronto.ca

International Forest Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:18:00 +0000

On Wednesday, November 30th, 2011, the Faculty of Forestry will be celebrating the first “International Forest Film Festival”. The event is in celebration of the International Year of Forests and we will be screening films focusing on forests across North America. The event is taking place at Innis College in the Town Hall.

Poster

Students for International Development

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Dear Urban Studies students,

Students for International Development is seeking passionate and committed individuals who want an intensive field-based introduction to international development to lead our initiatives in agriculture and rural economics, commerce, child welfare and healthcare in Kenya and Peru during the summer of 2012. For example, some of our past Agriculture projects include training farmers in advanced agricultural techniques through outreach, and initiatives to help farmers gain market access by promoting sustainable agricultural processing microindustries.

SID is a volunteer-run non-profit that offers the most affordable international volunteer program in Canada, including a comprehensive training program in overseas community project management.

The application deadline is 11:59pm, November 21st. A comprehensive Information Package and Application Form are available at www.sidcanada.org.

For more information please contact info@sidcanada.org or edyer@atmosp.physics.utoronto.ca

Hope to hear from you!

Welcome Session for Urban Studies Students - Fall 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone, I hope this finds you well. September is upon us once again and we have an amazing group of new students coming into the USP this year (I acknowledge that we also have many amazing returning students!!). In order to welcome students into the USP we are holding a small reception in the Innis Cafe on September 13th from 4 to 6 pm. All USP students, and those in our courses, are welcome to attend. We will serve some light snacks and refreshments, hear from instructors and from URSSU. Please pass the word. I look forward to seeing you there.

Best regards, Prof. D.

Tutoring Program for Students Grades 1-12 of Portugues & Spanish speaking descent

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:42:00 +0000

The On Your Mark Tutoring Program is a tutoring program that offers academic assistance to students of Portuguese-speaking descent and students of Spanish-speaking descent.

(volunteer opportunity to anyone interested over the age of 16)

An ideal Volunteer Tutor would posses the following criteria:

• Student or graduate of a secondary or post-secondary institution

• Excellent Communication skills in English (knowledge of Portuguese and/or Spanish an asset but NOT necessary) Volunteers do not have to be of Portuguese or Spanish speaking descent to become a tutor or tutor supervisor.

• Interest in the field of education and/or social services

• Some experience working with children at the elementary and/or high school level

• Flexible, innovative team player and self-motivated

Also, if you know of a parent looking for educational assistance for their child(ren) (of Portuguese-speaking descent or Spanish-speaking descent) please feel free to refer them to the On Your Mark Tutoring Program.

When Michael Ornstein’s analysis of “Ethno-racial Inequality in the City of Toronto” was released in March of 2000, the report cited the Portuguese and the Spanish-speaking communities as two groups experiencing extreme disadvantage in the educational system. The report noted that the situation of the Portuguese community and the Spanish-speaking community involves a unique combination of factors including a high proportion of non-high school graduates and very few university graduates.

The On Your Mark Tutoring Program, an initiative established in 2001, was a direct response by the community to those stark statistics and has proven the community’s ability to organize and work together to support its youth and address student academic underachievement and drop out rates. The program, which is free to parents, will be marking its 10th year of service to the community for the 2011/2012 school year. On Your Mark annually serves close to 250 students of Portuguese-speaking descent and Spanish-speaking descent. The program welcomes close to 150 volunteer tutors and site supervisors a year and operates out of 10 schools, with 68 schools involved from various school boards, including the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, and the Dufferin-Peel District School Board.

Students in the program are in grades 1 to 12, are having significant difficulties in one or more subjects and are referred by a teacher. Eligible students work one-on-one with a tutor or in small groups of two with a tutor. Tutors focus the tutoring sessions on the students area(s) of academic difficulty, assist student(s) with their homework, help student(s) develop their basic learning skills and help students establish goals for their education. Tutoring sessions are held after school at one of eight school sites in the Metro Toronto Area and is in partnership with the TDSB & TCDSB. The On Your Mark Tutoring Program also offers Saturday morning tutoring at a high school in the community of Dufferin & Bloor.

Please feel free to contact Sonia Neves (Portuguese ext.34) sneves@workingwomencc.org or Zuzuky Diaz (Spanish ext.46) zdiaz@workingwomencc.org at the Working Women Community Centre (416) 532-2824 if you have any questions or concerns.

USP Alumnus, Ian Hepburn-Aley

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:07:00 +0000

After graduating from Innis College with a double major in Urban Studies and Environmental Studies, Ian Hepburn-Aley worked for 4 years with the Toronto-based non-profit, FoodShare. Here he worked as a community food animator, building community capacity in low-income neighbourhoods to run community kitchen, markets, and gardens. His main focus was on supporting urban farms, helping start a one-acre teaching farm at Bendale BTI high school in Scarborough, and a non-profit farm called FoodCylces. (Read More...)

Urban Studies Office Closed August 15-26

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:11:00 +0000

The Urban Studies Office will be closed for summer holidays from August 15-26. In case of emergency, please email the Director, Professor Richard DiFrancesco (see his contact info on the Faculty page). Thank you.

Cancellation of INI309H1S

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:08:00 +0000

Due to lower than expected enrolment, the USP is regrettably cancelling INI309H for this coming academic year. Given that INI309H is not a core course for any USP Subject POSts, this should not cause undue upset in terms of students’ time to completion. Please accept our sincere apology for this last minute cancellation.

Regards,
Richard J. DiFrancesco, Ph.D., M.C.I.P., R.P.P.

Graduate Coordinator & Associate Professor,
Department of Geography & Program in Planning

Director,
Urban Studies Program
Innis College
Phone: 416-978-2935
Fax: 416-946-3886
e-mail: http://www.utoronto.ca/innis/urban/richard.difrancesco@utoronto.ca

Centre for Social Innovation jobs

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 17:38:00 +0000

The Centre for Social Innovation is accepting applications for three roles

Part-time Community Animator, Spadina
The part-time community animator is CSI's frontline barista for social change! You are the first face people see when they walk in and your skills and presence set the tone of the space and everyone’s day. This position is a tightrope act of juggling a million different things and getting them done, while also welcoming people so they immediately feel at home... read more
Application Deadline: July 10, 2011

Full-time Event Coordinator, Both Locations
Thousands of people attend events every year at the Centre for Social Innovation. From capacity-building workshops to press conferences and book releases, CSI is home to events that educate, convene and inspire Toronto’s social mission sector. The Event Coordinator will take a lead role in developing CSI's event space services, maximizing its rental revenues, and diversifying its programming options... read more
Application Deadline: July 10, 2011
Desk Exchange Community Animators, Either Location
CSI's Desk Exchange Community Animator (DECA) program trades time for space. You give us one day a week of volunteer desk support and we give you unlimited Hot Desk space plus access to our dynamic community and programming. But we won't accept just anyone! We're looking for those of you that are super-organized, love people and can't get enough of CSI. The work involves front desk reception, helping tenants and guests, cleaning and managing the space and everything else needed to keep the space and its members humming...read more
Application Deadline: August 15, 2011

Please share this posting far and wide!

Q&A with USP Alumnus Patrick Adler

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:26:00 +0000

USP alumnus Patrick Adler (HBA 2008) took some time out of his busy work schedule to talk to us about his research with the Rotman School’s Martin Prosperity Institute, as well as his experiences as an Urban Studies student. Heading to UCLA this Fall as a PhD candidate, Patrick also gives current USP students some advice on how to make the most out of their time in the program. (Read more...)

Alumni Profile: Jeff MacOsei (HBA 2009)

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:29:00 +0000

“Se e hya broni..wo be di fufu.” This Ghanaian-Twi quote contextually translates into : “When the appealing is not available, the available becomes appealing.”

This quote was the one thing from Ghana that resonated with me throughout my internship with Ghana’s Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA). The reason for this is, when I initially graduated in 2009 with my Honours BA in Political Science and Urban Studies, I did not picture my career beginning in Africa. (Read more...)

Important Note regarding program changes for 2011-2012

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:26:00 +0000

Dear students of the Urban Studies Program (USP), as you know students in the Specialist POSt must take the pairing (INI338H+INI430H) in order to complete the program. Students in the Major POSt can take this same pairing OR INI437Y to complete their program. For the coming academic year, I will be introducing a new pairing (INI336H+INI433H) that will be taken as equivalent to (INI338H+INI430H) for all students. So, if you were planning on taking (INI338H+INI430H) this coming year, these will not be offered, but instead the pairing (INI336H+INI433H) will be offered. So, as far as your program of study is concerned, this will be a simple seamless substitution. If you already have the pairing (INI338H+INI430H) you can still take either or both of (INI336H+INI433H) but priority will be given to those students who need the courses for their program requirements.

The course descriptions have not been finalized but their titles and descriptions are as follows:

INI336H - CREATIVE CITIES: this course will examine contemporary conceptualizations of urban growth and change through the lens of the "Creative Capital" thesis. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the tenets of this thesis and how they compare to more traditional interpretations.

INI433H - SPECIAL TOPICS IN URBAN STUDIES: CREATIVE CITIES PRACTICUM: this course will focus on in-depth applied research into how the benefits of creative cities can be (or have been) cultivated in various parts of Toronto (and other places). The objective will be to determine what, if anything, can be done "on-the-ground" to facilitate the creation of a creative city.

For those students ENROLLED IN THE USP SPECIALIST OR MAJOR POSts who have completed INI338H and had intended to complete INI430H in 2011-2012, you can step directly into INI433H WITHOUT TAKING INI336H. INI338H will serve you well as background for the course. Of course, if you have already taken INI338H you are still free to take INI336H (space permitting) and I can count INI338H as 0.5 FCES in breadth requirements. So, there is no need to worry about this causing you extra time. Indeed, my intention in making this change is to enrich the program. I am quite sure everyone will benefit tremendously from these new additions.

Note: If you have taken INI430Y in the past, your program requirements are likely already met (or they will be with the completion of INI437Y). As such, admission to these courses can only be accommodated if space remains after all priorities have been met.

Best regards, Prof. D.

Urban Studies (INI437) Trip to NYC – Reading Week 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Urban Studies) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:13:00 +0000

As part of INI437 (Urban Experiential Learning) a group of 7 students, along with Dr. Shauna Brail, were able to travel to New York City during reading week to meet with numerous community groups, learn about the urban environment of a city outside Toronto, attend a lecture at the Milano New School, and meet some students in a course similar to INI437 from New York University. Of course, since this was reading week we did have some free time to experience New York on our own, which included everything from wandering the streets to shopping and sightseeing. The trip was funded in part through the Faculty of Arts and Science’s Internationalized Course Module fund.
Notable Urban studies-related excursions included a visit to the museum of New York, where an introduction to the development of New York was provided in an interesting multimedia presentation. A visit to the Lower East-Side Tenement Museum the following day also provided us insight into the living conditions that tenement dwellers faced at the turn of the century. Also, participating students went on an interesting (if somewhat unorthodox) walking tour of Harlem, where we were shown many of the community-based organizations that operate to serve the local impoverished residents. Church programs, neighbourhood activists, and children’s educational initiatives all come together to serve the needs of the population.

Of particular note were our visits to the Project for Public Spaces (PPS) and a book lecture by Jacqueline Novogratz, where alternative ways to plan cities and facilitate economic development in third-world countries were presented. However, to me, two statements serve to summarize the learning experience of the entire trip: PPS’s statement that “You must make planning your own”, and Novogratz in saying “Schools must stop telling their students that they are the leaders of the future, and start telling them that becoming a leader is a lifelong journey”. It is experiences such as this New York Trip that are indeed part of this journey.