Canadian society is facing a marked demographic shift as the baby boom generation ages. By 2031 almost 25 percent of Canadians will be over sixty-five; many of those will be north of eighty and the oldest boomers will be turning eighty-five. One person in four will be a senior. The lack of acceptable intermediate solutions between independence and institutionalization has been pointed out as one of the significant problems facing elderly persons; traditional ‘institutional’ care which keeps older people apart and medicalizes old age, is no longer desirable. Likewise, the ‘golden ghettoes’ model may be appealing to those who can afford it but does not contribute to producing diverse, inclusive urban places. This thesis is an exploration of an alternative strategy. It investigates how architecture can provide a platform for social connection in a residential environment that allows in equal measure both independence without isolation, and informal community with safety and security. The design proposal establishes five architectural strategies which address the fundamental spatial implications of encouraging aging-in-place. This exploration is supplemented with a cohousing strategy, providing a formal organizational tactic that encourages groups of residents to mutually support each other, strengthening social inclusion and reducing the use of formal care and support only where absolutely necessary. The methodology employed examines the mutually dependent and interactive scales of City, Neighbourhood, Building, and Dwelling in conceiving of housing for an aging population that becomes a catalyst of urban integration and community regeneration.

This thesis presents a portrait of cultural diversity filtered through a lens of memory, experience and architecture. What does diversity look like? Where do we experience diversity? How unrestrained is our experience of it? Although cultural identity is tied to both personal experience and memory, Toronto’s experience of diversity has evolved with the growth of the city. Consequently, Toronto’s cultural diversity is today experienced through a limited and problematic architectural and marketing-based framework. These frameworks make ethnicity more accessible, but also limit our experience of it. I propose to release these limitations by highlighting the frameworks within which we view our various ethnicities. These are 1) the marketing of ethnic products to consumers (specifically Loblaws Presidents Choice, No Name and Memories Of…products) and 2) architectural uniformity. I examine these issues by recounting personal experiences with my family in South Western Ontario; by conducting a typological study of Toronto’s storefront restaurants – a portrait of a city which expands on the representation of industrial landscapes made by Bernd and Hilla Becher and the study of social types made by August Sander; and through my own experience of the street food and outdoor markets of Thailand. However, to highlight such constraints did not seem enough. So I created a white, unmarked model of a typical Toronto restaurant façade (formerly a shop front.) This tabula rasa suggests the possibility for an alternative strategy by showing the limitations of the channels through which we are forcing cultural diversity. The blank shop front model brings us back to a starting point from which cultural diversity can be reconsidered.

The goal of this thesis is to investigate and propose housing that increases density while offering a better quality of life for citizens inhabiting Toronto’s Avenues. This thesis compares three different building prototypes, all of varying scales and typological characteristics. The viability of each prototype is discussed with regards to the current economic and regulatory conditions within the city, as well as the varying quality of life that each prototype creates.

The historic connection between homelessness and severe economic depression has disappeared as a shortage of affordable decent housing prevails even during periods of strong economic growth. New factors such as the reduction of low skill careers in manufacturing in favour of higher paid higher skilled positions are causing an increasing gap between the highest and lowest earning populations in Canada. Furthermore, shifting taxation rates have reduced the federal government’s ability to provide funding for affordable housing. As a result, current market based solutions are failing to meet the diverse housing needs of our communities, leaving some homeless and many others at imminent risk. Policy plays a large role in finding a solution to this crisis; however the means of applying any solution is intrinsically an architectural issue. This thesis examines the state of homelessness in the city of Toronto and proposes a new and inclusive urban housing typology to better meet the city’s housing needs. The thesis is structured by three forms of inquiry: Firstly, an analysis of homelessness in Canada is used to identify the historic causes of homelessness. As well, the principle obstacles faced by key demographics are highlighted. Secondly, the thesis investigates existing responses to homelessness to identify the difference between reactionary responses and a more effective integrated city making approach. Finally, the lessons learned from earlier research are applied through the design of an inclusive housing typology, which, through a city making strategy, blends together residential, cultural, and commercial programming. The goal of this design proposal is to foster a richer urban community, which better serves the needs of the entire city.

Suburban Centres were established in the Toronto region as the population dispersed beyond the city’s borders. Intended as a set of delivery points for municipal services and concentrations of commercial and social program serving local suburban residents, government policy and market forces are now encouraging these centres to accumulate a greater range of program, and absorb a significant share of population growth. They have a mandate to orient new residents toward improved public transit routes as a relief for overburdened road infrastructure, but their fundamental role as a suburban downtown requires continued accessibility by car. The structure of the suburbs is fixed, dominated by the car as the primary element of an extensive mobility system that has generated its own spatial protocols and building typologies. The morphology of older urban areas was developed in response to the parameters of streetcar service and human abilities, and also shows a resistance to change. The two mobility systems co-exist, each with their own associated territories, creating an intermodal metropolis. In suburban centres, the intensive urban mobility extends into the reach of the suburban territory, creating a threshold condition that requires a hybrid morphology to serve both. The design adopts Scarborough Centre as a test site, proposing a morphology that accommodates urban and suburban mobility by embracing the suburban planning paradigm that separates vehicle traffic from public space. The interaction between the two networks is managed to create variations in accessibility characteristics that determine programmatic distribution. The public realm is compartmentalized into differentiated spaces that support a highly permeable pedestrian network integrated with the central transit station. The proposal allows Scarborough Centre to expand its public space network without compromising its function as a highly accessible suburban downtown.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Women's Studies. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:NR39025

Thesis (D. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2002. / Includes abstract. Portions of appendices in Mandarin Chinese. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 211-226).

Workplace learning and training is often explicitly or implicitly planned to serve the economic interests of the organization. Furthermore, training planning and processes are generally determined by managers, instead of those who will be engaging in the learning. What happens to learning in the workplace when workers themselves determine its content and methods? As seen in the Community Training Plan (CTP), implemented at the Toronto Community Housing Corporation in 2003, control over workplace training by frontline staff has resulted in profound changes in many facets of working and community life. Using testimonials from a recent participatory evaluation of the CTP as well as a series of promotional videos, all of which were created by participants in the CTP, I demonstrate that the CTP has created new forms of engagement and participation; new learning foci; new spaces in the workplace; and finally a sense of staff ownership over learning.

This thesis examines the problem of low educational attainment rates of Portuguese- Canadian students in the areas of “Little Portugal” and West Toronto. Interviews were conducted with former students, teachers, administrators, and community leaders who have all experienced or are linked to the public education system in those areas of Toronto. The question, “why has there been a low educational attainment rate among Portuguese-Canadian students in Toronto?” was asked of the interviewees. The first three chapters provide background information regarding the struggles of the Portuguese in their homeland as well as Portuguese immigrants in Toronto in order to contextualize the information garnered through the interviews. The final two chapters present the thoughts of the interviewees, regarding the subject matter, which were collected during the study.

This thesis examines the problem of low educational attainment rates of Portuguese- Canadian students in the areas of “Little Portugal” and West Toronto. Interviews were conducted with former students, teachers, administrators, and community leaders who have all experienced or are linked to the public education system in those areas of Toronto. The question, “why has there been a low educational attainment rate among Portuguese-Canadian students in Toronto?” was asked of the interviewees. The first three chapters provide background information regarding the struggles of the Portuguese in their homeland as well as Portuguese immigrants in Toronto in order to contextualize the information garnered through the interviews. The final two chapters present the thoughts of the interviewees, regarding the subject matter, which were collected during the study.