Subdivided

How do we build cities where we aren't just living within the same urban space, but living together? Greater Toronto is now home to a larger proportion of foreign-born residents than any other major global metropolis. Not surprisingly, city officials rarely miss an opportunity to tout the region’s ethno-cultural neighbourhoods. Yet there’s strong evidence that the GTA is experiencing widening socio-economic disparities that have produced worrisome divisions. We say that ‘diversity is our strength,’ but has a feel-good catchphrase prevented us from confronting the forces that seem to be separating and isolating urban communities? Through compelling storytelling and analysis, Subdivided’s contributors – a wide range of place-makers, academics, activists and journalists – ask how we can expand city-building processes to tackle issues ranging from transit equity and trust-based policingto holistic mental health, dignified affordable housing and inclusive municipal governance. Ultimately, Subdivided aims to provoke the tough but pressing conversations required to build a truly connected and just city. Contents Introduction - Jay Pitter Identity and the City: Thinking Through Diversity – Beyhan Farhadi Doing Immigrant Resettlement Right – Doug Saunders Wasauksing–Vancouver–Toronto: My Path Home – Rebeka Tabobondung How We Welcome: Why Canada’s Refugee Resettlement Program Undermines Place-making – Sarah Beamish and Sofia Ijaz Finding Space for Spirituality – Fatima Syed Navigating the City with an Invisible Illness: The Story of Dorothy – Denise DaCosta Culture and Mental Illness – Karen Pitter Neighbourhood Watch: Racial Profiling and Virtual Gated Communities – Asmaa Malik Accessing Education: An Immigrant’s Story – Nicholas Davis Policing and Trust in the Hyper-Diverse City – Nana Yanful Three Questions about Carding – Idil Burale An Overburdened Promise: Arts Funding for Social Development – Ian Kamau, Paul Nguyen and Ryan Paterson, with John Lorinc Designing Dignified Social Housing – Jay Pitter Walking Through Loss: A Critical Visit to an Old Neighbourhood – Photography by Taha Muharuma Reconsidering Revitalization: The Case of Regent Park – Jay Pitter in conversation with Sandra Costain Model Citizens – Andrea Gunraj A Tale of Two – or Three – Cities: Gentrification and Community Consultations – Mariana Valverde Mobility in the Divided City – Eric Mann Toward MoreComplete Communities: Business Out of the Box – Alina Chatterjee Going Beyond Representation: The Diversity Deficit in Local Government – John Lorinc Brampton, a.k.a. Browntown – Noreen Ahmed-Ullah Life in the City In-Between – Shawn Micallef Conclusion – J. David Hulchanski