Professor Zhixi Zhuang appointed academic director of TMU’s Centre for Immigration and Settlement

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) School of Urban and Regional Planning professor Zhixi Zhuang was recently appointed as academic director of the Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement (TMCIS). TMCIS is a university-wide research centre that brings together leading experts from around the world to advance policy-related research and scholarship on international migration, integration, and diaspora and refugee studies.

“I am very honoured and humbled for such a great opportunity to lead the Centre,” said professor Zhuang. “The research community at TMU, and especially our migration studies scholars, are producing cutting-edge research. I’m very excited to work with these very talented and innovative colleagues to strengthen collaboration and promote migration studies and research.”

Professor Zhuang is a registered professional planner and the founder and director of the DiverCity Lab, which focuses on working with diverse communities and addressing social and spatial inequities. As TMCIS’s new academic director, she will focus on developing the centre as a community hub to engage researchers, emerging scholars and students from various disciplines and sectors to promote research, foster collaborations and share knowledge. Engaging and listening to Indigenous voices and supporting Indigenous initiatives and leadership is also an important aspect of the centre’s work.

“A foundational piece of our work is to emphasize collaboration with Indigenous communities around issues of migration and settlement such as health, city building, placekeeping and Indigenous sovereignty,” said Zhuang.

Professor Zhuang’s research addresses the impacts of global migration on local governance and inclusive city-building by examining how values of equity and inclusion can be incorporated into planning policies and practice. With a particular focus on the experiences of immigrant and racialized communities, she seeks to understand how the intersections of individual characteristics, such as ethnicity or age, can affect the lived experiences of cities.

“I’m thrilled to share the news of professor Zhuang’s appointment. Professor Zhuang is an expert in inclusive community-building and equity-based approaches to planning,” said Steven N. Liss, TMU’s vice-president, research and innovation. “Under her leadership, the Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement will continue its trajectory of research excellence and add to the university’s expertise in migration studies.”

Learn more about the Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement (TMCIS).