Canadian Journal of Urban Research
Not a member yet
174 research outputs found
Sort by
A Profile of Families in the Emergency Family Homeless Shelter System in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Full text linkCompared to the wealth of research on single homeless adults, there is little known about homeless families. This paper describes a study of 75 homeless families in Ottawa, Ontario, conducted in 2012-2013. This sample of homeless families includes a large number of newcomer families, including immigrants and refugees. Participants are poor and unemployed, but many are educated, and there is little evidence of alcohol or substance abuse. Nonetheless, participants report poor mental health and high levels of family stress. Whereas newcomer families tended to be larger and include more two-parent families than did Canadian-born families, there were no differences in the physical and mental health of the participants. These findings add to our growing understanding of homeless families and point to notable similarities and differences in homeless families in this city in Canada, and in the United States
The Death and Life of the Single-Family House: Lessons from Vancouver on Building a Livable City
Full text linkWritten by Nathanael Lauste
The Effect of Labour Market Characteristics on Canadian Immigrant Employment in Precarious Work, 2006-2012
Full text linkUsing data from the Canadian Labour Force Survey for 2006 through 2012, I examine the effects of characteristics of Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) on the likelihood of recent and established immigrants and the Canadian born to be employed in precarious work. Using multi-level models, I find that employment in temporary jobs and multiple jobs by both recent and established immigrant males is affected by a CMA’s median hourly earnings as well as the immigrant representation in a CMA. Also, cross-level interactions reveal recent male immigrants to be less likely to be employed in multiple jobs in CMA in which the median wage is higher
Citizen Participation in the Public Transportation Policy Process: A Comparison of Detroit, Michigan, and Hamilton, Ontario
Full text linkThis paper provides a comparative analysis of citizen participatory mechanisms used within transit planning. This research focuses on two cities that institutionalized citizen participation through a Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) in Detroit, Michigan, and a Citizens’ Jury (CJ) in Hamilton, Ontario. The paper analyzes their overall representativeness of the general population, their operation and level of ‘policy learning’ that occurs within their group, and their impact on subsequent transit policies. We find that these participatory mechanisms are generally regarded as important and useful by both the participants and the politicians that established them. In spite of this, the conclusion reached is that neither mechanism had a significant impact on transit policies. In both cases, the policy decisions were affected by a range of factors and particularly the local and regional political contexts. Indeed, it can be argued that both cities are plagued with regional divides which potentially no amount of citizen participation can solve
Cycling, Performance and the Common Good: Copenhagenizing Canada’s Capital
Full text linkThis article explores how bicycle travel is changing Ottawa. I argue cycling is transforming Ottawa’s unique production of urban mobility, as a capital and a city of people. Challenging behavioural research on cycling and neoliberal approaches to its expansion, which emphasize individual responsibilities and intentions to bike, this article analyzes the changing moral worth of cycling and its embodied performance. I draw on research by Laurent Thévenot and Luc Boltanski to show how the morality and performance of cycling are interconnected. My analysis draws on a larger mixed methods study on urban mobility in Ottawa undertaken between 2007and 2012, and recent follow-up analysis on changes in cycling policy and cycling infrastructure between 2012 and 2015
Critical Research Note - Faith Missions and Church Redevelopment in Ottawa, Ontario
Full text linkIn certain Christian denominations in North America, as church offi cials cope with shrinking and aging congregations, opportunities to repurpose church properties have come to the fore. Understood within an urban planning context, churches provide solutions to challenges faced by municipal sustainability planners,infill developers, and social housing providers. The following commentary focuses on Anglican and United Church activists in Ottawa, Ontario and their accomplishments in drawing attention to the possibilities for simultaneously rejuvenating churches, congregations and neighbourhoods. This paper spotlights an emerging social phenomenon: faith-based redevelopment of urban church properties, a topic not yet fully explored in the academic literature