Place and Infrastructure

The design and development of places and infrastructure largely determine the integration of newcomers to Canada. Without effective social and physical infrastructure in place, new Canadians may be at risk of social isolation, homelessness, and/or excluded from the available settlement and other public services. A more active role of newcomers in the place and infrastructure decision and policy-making processes will alleviate the existing barriers such as access to housing, transit, health, and other needs.

This research program considers new Canadians as active agents of change and place-making. A place is where people co-create the material and cultural conditions of  a close geographical locale. Immigrants actively contribute to place-making as they settle, including through their transnational connections. Whether a community is welcoming is based on its capacity as a place to attract, support, and retain immigrants who can access public resources to support their settlement, nurture meaningful social interaction with local residents, and cultivate a sense of belonging. To better understand the challenges and opportunities of place-making as it relates to infrastructure, we are studying the following research sub-themes:

• Social infrastructure encapsulates a number of interrelated topics such as changing demographics, ethnic neighbourhoods and their role in immigrant integration, social isolation among newcomers, and the risk of homelessness due to lack of affordable housing particularly in large cities. New and emerging frontiers such as climate mobility and the use of new technologies will also be a part of this sub-theme.
• Cyber-physical service infrastructure will investigate the role of cyber-physical infrastructure in facilitating or thwarting accessibility, opportunity, and capacity building for new Canadians.
• Housing markets and migration aims to develop an understanding of the housing market behaviour of new Canadians and create a comprehensive set of tools to aid policymakers and builders to proactively explore strategies and policies that can address issues such as housing affordability, alternative ownership models, accessibility, and availability.
• Pilot projects will take advantage of ADT and emerging smart infrastructure technologies in providing on-demand, high-availability services and will partner with municipal and industry partners to evaluate the role of new digital technologies in service delivery.