Mapping the crisis of affordable rental housing in Toronto
Article updated on June 18, 2020.
On June 15, 2020, Crystal Fung (CF), Sahil Parikh (SP), and Piotr Zulauf (PZ) represented Toronto Metropolitan University as 1 of 31 Post-secondary Institutions from 16 countries participating in the 2020 Map the System (MTS) Global Finals, hosted by the University of Oxford. Prior to the Global Finals, the team successfully placed in the top 6 at the 2020 MTS Canadian Finals. Their project, The Crisis of Affordable Rental Housing in Toronto, uses a systems thinking approach to examine the ongoing affordable rental housing crisis in Toronto, its social and economic impacts, and its proposed solutions.
In the lead up to the Global Finals, we spoke with the team about their project, experience participating in the MTS 2020 program, and what they were looking forward to as they prepared for the Global Finals. We also learned more about their journey working as a collaborative team, from playing in a high school band to teaming up to explore Toronto’s affordable housing crisis.
To start, can you tell us a bit about yourselves and how you started working together?
PZ: So, the way that we all met each other was actually through a band that Sahil and I started in high school, we ended up meeting Crystal through friends in the band and Crystal was the one who told us about MTS! Right now, I am a Policy Advisor for the Ministry of Education. Before that, I studied International Relations in the UK at the University of Aberdeen.
CF: I study Geography and Environmental Studies at Queens and am finishing my credits in Toronto. I've always been really interested in systems thinking and have been looking for ways to further explore the process. MTS caught my interest because it seemed to combine what I was looking for.
SP: I'm completing my Masters of Spatial Analysis at Toronto Metropolitan, and I'm working with Dr. Murtaza Haider on transportation issues in Toronto. I also work full time for an information technology company based in Alberta.
I have to pause for a moment and ask, what kind of music did you play in your band?
PZ: It was very ‘Radiohead.’
SP: We still actually play together - but we’ll tell you more about that later!
I have worked with other students in housing advocacy and have learned a lot about the variety of ways people can be exploited through rental housing, forcing them to live in very precarious situations."
Can you tell us a bit about your project, The Crisis of Affordable Rental Housing in Toronto? What made you want to further explore this topic through systems mapping?
PZ: We're all at the age now where we are starting to look for housing or a place of our own. Going through this process myself, I realized that there is a big issue with housing in Toronto and that it is hard to find anything remotely near downtown that's relatively affordable.
CF: As students, we have had a lot of experience on the rental side of housing. I have worked with other students in housing advocacy and have learned a lot about the variety of ways people can be exploited through rental housing, forcing them to live in very precarious situations.
SP: I'm in the same boat as Crystal and Piotr; I also wanted to learn more about housing, because it's related to what I'm particularly interested in, which is urban planning and transportation planning. Researching this topic gave us the opportunity to further explore and understand why Toronto is experiencing a housing crisis.
What did you learn from taking part in the 2020 MTS program? How did taking part in the National Finals help you to further your research and approach?
PZ: In the initial stages, we were looking more at the causes of what was happening and a lot of data. Going into the Canadian Finals, we narrowed our research down to the core of the issue, thinking of housing more as a commodity versus as a human right.
CF: Going to the Canadian Finals was a really great opportunity, not just to be able to refine our work, but also for ourselves in clarifying our research and better communicating what we had to say. We've been able to connect our research with the larger global housing system and develop our topic in a way that makes it more accessible.
In the coming weeks, you will be moving forward to the MTS Global Finals hosted by the University of Oxford, what are you looking forward to in getting to present your research to an international audience?
SP: We are looking forward to getting a global perspective on our particular issue and potentially hearing from teams that are not in Canada and have their own housing issues.
PZ: I think just looking at what different cities are doing globally might give us some clues on what might work or might not work in Toronto. That opportunity to exchange ideas will be really interesting!
Through taking part in MTS, what are some key learnings and/or new understandings you’ve discovered about the affordable rental housing crisis in Toronto?
CF: I think some of the key things that stood out were how we ended up in this situation in the first place. For example, exploring why there is such a backlog in terms of affordable housing. I think we have also learned that we should be questioning more the way that things get presented to us, especially when it comes to housing issues!
SP: Speaking to the systems mapping approach, for me, coming from a research background, it was rewarding to have this different approach to looking at a particular issue. We are going to try and apply that going forward with not just research but everything we do.
"Go into MTS with an open mind, leave your preconceptions and biases at the door! The intention is to map a system - it’s not to look at a particular issue with the background knowledge that you already have."
What advice would you give to a student or team looking to participate in next year’s MTS program?
SP: Go into MTS with an open mind, leave your preconceptions and biases at the door! The intention is to map a system - it’s not to look at a particular issue with the background knowledge that you already have. Take a broad look and be open to learning!
PZ: Having a very diverse team also helps. With our different skills and backgrounds, we were able to bounce ideas off each other and have different research approaches.
CF: I’d also add to take the time to go through the available MTS resources before getting started.
One last thing, any updates on your band?
SP: We were recording music before COVID-19, and then we had to put that on hold, but we’ll have some songs to share eventually!
With the 2020 Map the System program now at a close, Crystal, Sahil (external link) , and Piotr (external link) are looking into additional opportunities to further their research. The team has also adopted an ‘official slogan,’ fitting to the Global Final’s Oxford hosts, “Keep Calm and Map the System.”
"We feel pretty proud of our work. None of us expected to get this far when we signed up for the competition in February, so it's an understatement when we say that participating in MTS has been an incredible experience."
You can read their full report and visual map for The Crisis of Affordable Rental Housing in Toronto here (opens in new window) .