Housing
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COVID-19 pushing homeless into encampments
According to a 2018 Toronto Street Needs Assessment, there were 533 “rough sleepers” in Toronto — that is to say, those homeless Torontonians...
By John Clapp -
PODCAST: Spacing Radio 046, Toronto City Council is buffering
There have been two full, virtual City Council meetings since the COVID-19 outbreak in Toronto. Those meeting saw near-unanimous votes about building...
By Spacing Radio -
REID: Spotting (and reviving?) the neighbourhood corner commercial building
Like so many people during the current pandemic lockdown, I’ve started to get to know my neighbourhood much more closely on daily walks for exercise...
By Dylan Reid -
Why isn’t there more proactive testing for COVID-19 in the shelter system?
As of May 14, Toronto Public Health (TPH) and the Shelter, Support and Housing Administration (SSHA) have identified over 299 cases of the COVID-19 among...
By John Clapp -
Change and continuity in the COVID-19 city
Everything has changed and nothing has changed since the arrival of the COVID19 pandemic. Understanding the new dynamics of cities is the first step...
By Brian Doucet -
City officials obfuscate while COVID-19 cases spike in homeless shelters
On April 8, Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s medical officer of health, and Mary-Anne Bedard, general manager of the City’s shelter, support and housing...
By John Clapp -
PODCAST: Spacing Radio 045, What matters in a pandemic
In a time of snitch lines, and shuttered park space, we dive into what we’re prioritizing in this pandemic, and what, and especially who, is...
By Spacing Radio -
COVID-19 is a wake-up call for Toronto to act on housing and homelessness
In order to flatten the COVID-19 curve, Canadians have been advised to stay home as much as possible and, when going out, to engage in social distancing...
By John Clapp -
LORINC: Paying rent in a pandemic
It’s the first of the month, which means, for many Toronto tenants, that rent’s due – a perennial transaction that was already imbued with stress, and...
By John Lorinc -
In face of Covid-19, what if Canada’s health system looked like our housing system?
Covid-19 is making everyday life feel like dystopian fiction. But imagine an even more apocalyptic scenario: what if Canada’s health system looked like...
By Emily Paradis -
LORINC: Downsview offers city-building opportunity with a long runway
The key take-away in the Metrolinx business case report released last week, on the economics of the Scarborough subway, is as simple as can be: the vast...
By John Lorinc -
LORINC: Burning down the (laneway) house
In recent months, I’ve found myself wondering whether Toronto City Council’s much-touted laneway suites policy, circa 2018, was nothing more than an...
By John Lorinc