In 2017, StudentDwellTO began in response to the “University Student Housing: Addressing the Affordability Challenge” set forward by the presidents of the four Toronto universities. The call expressed the need for a collaborative research initiative to address the unique housing affordability challenges faced by students attending Toronto universities. Toronto’s housing market remains unaffordable for many households, and while at the time, data on housing security, affordability, and poverty for the city’s general population was widely available, there was a need for research that captured the distinct housing experiences, needs, and trajectories of Toronto’s post-secondary student population. This research was driven by the collective understanding of the Toronto Universities that a lack of affordable housing options for their students had led to hidden homelessness, economic precarity, long commutes, lower levels of campus engagement, and health and safety challenges. The cost of housing was seen as a barrier that also contributed to intergenerational financial challenges, acting as a barrier to University attendance, and a related increase of employment opportunities for students from low-income families. 

StudentDwellTO was grounded in a multi-university and multidisciplinary partnership between students, faculty, and a broad team of partners and experts in the housing field across the public, private and nonprofit sectors. StudentDwellTO’s methodology centered student voices in an exploration of population-specific housing affordability solutions–producing and mobilizing knowledge, promoting broad student and public engagement, and advancing creative approaches to addressing housing issues. 

Cross-disciplinary engagement enabled the project team to explore emerging and dynamic models of student community, and the affordable housing typologies that might best support them. Learnings demonstrated a series of geographies and configurations that may differ from the standard residential assumptions associated with University and College campuses and nearby housing options. StudentDwellTO took a holistic approach towards student housing in Toronto, exploring relationships between emerging technologies and networks of mobility, affordability of land and housing types, the changing needs, expectations and sensibilities of students, and their combined potential to support new forms of student community in Toronto.

Guided by curiosity, the project began by asking: 

What are the socio-economic and socio-political dimensions to the student housing crisis? How is housing crisis reflected in post-secondary students’ lives? What are students’ preferences and patterns in their housing trajectories? How are students navigating or negotiating housing crisis? What decision making parameters do students use to decide housing solutions? What solutions to the student housing crisis are being proposed and tried in Toronto?

Who was involved?

The project team was made up of academics and students collaborating across four universities: Toronto Metropolitan University, University of Toronto, York University and OCAD University. Students from each school were engaged across multiple campuses in focus groups to learn about student housing needs and support the development of housing solutions.