Photo by C.S. Cosco
I love cities. I love the complex issues that impact our urban centres: transportation, affordable housing, immigration, growth management policies and complicated governance structures. Living in many different cities has made me somewhat of a philosopher about them: what makes them similar? What makes each unique? Are Canadian cities really that different from their counterparts in the US and Europe? Check out my blog for more thoughts on these and other urban issues.
I recently completed my Ph.D. at the School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) at the University of British Columbia. My dissertation, Resiliency in Housing and Transportation Choices: The Experiences of Filipino Immigrants in Toronto, examined how structural changes in immigration policy, housing policy, transportation infrastructure and the labour market have impacted Filipinos’ housing and transportation choices in Toronto. During my M.A., I researched the transportation patterns of young people aged 17-25 in Metro Vancouver.
I have taught at UBC (click on Teaching for more details) and worked in the public, private and non-profit sectors. My experience includes housing research (BC Non-Profit Housing Association, Social Planning and Research Council of BC, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation), transportation planning (TransLink, Federation of Canadian Municipalities), and market research (Mustel Group). [download my c.v. or contact me at planningutopia(at)gmail.com.]
All the artwork on this site is mine, except the portraits taken by the very talented C.S. Cosco. The website was designed by bricoleurbanism.org, whose writing on urban design issues has been published on Spacing Toronto.