Five Yan P. Lin Centre Members part of 2.5$M SSHRC inter-University Grant on Housing in Canada
Five members of the Yan P. Lin Centre and Research Group on Democracy, Space and Technology (RGDST) were one of 13 teams in the successful “Quality in Canada's Built Environment: Seeking Equity, Social Value and Sustainability” SSHRC Partnership Grant worth $2,500,000. This unprecedented grant will assure the collaboration of a total of 14 universities, 70 researchers and 68 public and private organizations from every level of government across the country.
The partnership will stimulate a vital dialogue demonstrating how those active in considering and creating the built environment across Canada can contribute to a redefinition of quality that moves us to heightened equity, more social value and greater sustainability at a critical moment for our societies and for our planet.
The program has three aims:
- Analyzing the current limitations of environmental norms and sustainability models to bring us closer to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Co-designing new paths to equity, diversity and inclusion in the built environment.
- Defining new frameworks for the definition of quality so as to enhance the social value of the built environment through roadmaps to quality.
To achieve these objectives, the partnership brings together methodologically 4 sets of stakeholders concerned with the use, scientific study, planning, design, construction and management of built environments:
- Citizens (representatives of communities including minorities and underrepresented populations).
- Cities (national, provincial and municipal actors in the public procurement of built environments).
- Organizations assessing quality (professional associations, award granting institutions, councils, cities).
- Universities (interdisciplinary research teams).
All partners will join in a conversation pertaining to 4 thematic clusters to address urgent considerations on quality relative to:
- Spatial justice and heightened quality of life.
- Integrated resilience, material culture and adaptative reuse.
- Inclusive design for health, wellness, aging and special needs.
- processes and policies supporting the reinvention of built environments.
McGill will be receiving 100,000 cash funds from this grant as part of its share to support the McGill project “Night-time Design for /with Marginalized Communities” In turn, RGDST has committed to provide $8,400/year over 5 years from its annual budget(total of 42K) to support this team project which has an overall budget of $224,032.
Team members include Dr. Ipek Tureli (PI, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Architectures of Spatial Justice, School of Architecture), Dr Will Straw (James McGill Professor, Department of Art History & Communication Studies), Dr. Alanna Thain (Associate Professor, Department of English) and Bobby Benedicto (Assistant Professor, Department of Art History & Communication Studies) as co-applicants and Dr. Anna Kramer (Assistant Professor, School of Urban Planning) as a collaborator on the partnership grant.
Congratulations to all!
For more information, visit the Living Atlas of Quality - Atlas vivant de la qualité