New findings and solutions for Toronto student housing crisis
TORONTO, April 29, 2019 – Learn what students at Toronto’s four universities experience when they look for somewhere to live and discover alternatives to the increasingly unaffordable housing options they face as the primary findings of the two-year StudentDwellTO study are released at York University on May 2.
What StudentDwellTO is all about
Initiated in 2017 by the presidents of Ryerson University, OCAD University, the University of Toronto and York University, the effort had researchers at the four universities examine the affordable-housing challenge that has become a crisis for many of the 180,000 postsecondary students who attend their institutions.
Why it’s important
Data about students has traditionally been hard to access as it has been held by each institution. By compiling data across the GTA, researchers are able, for the first time, to provide insight into where students live, the cost and condition of their housing, their commuting patterns and how all of this impacts their academic lives.
What it’s been doing
StudentDwellTO has engaged students in discussions about housing affordability throughout the project, promoting connections across the campuses and offering students unique experiential-education opportunities. The project team has also included partners from government, non-profit, community and the private sector.
 WHAT:          StudentDwell+: Re-Imagining Student Housing
WHEN: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â May 2-3, 2019 (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
WHERE: Â Â Â Â Â Â Second Student Centre, Room 215, York University Keele Campus
MAP: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Second Student Centre, 15 Library Lane
 PROGRAM:
Thursday, May 2
- Presidents’ Panel followed by summary of research findings (9:15-10:45 a.m.)
- Universities and student housing in global(izing) city regions (10:45am-12:15 p.m.)
- The student housing affordability crunch (1:15-2:45 p.m.)
- Students transforming neighbourhoods: youthification, gentrification, informality (3-4:30 p.m.)
- Housing and the student experience (4:30-6 p.m.)
 Friday, May 3
- Student housing development: planning and partnerships (9-10:30 a.m.)
- Re-imagining a more inclusive student living: innovative design and the social economy (10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.)
- Roundtable discussion: Mobilizing policy on student housing (1:15-2:45 p.m.)
- Roundtable discussion: The role of universities, sharing best practices (3-4:30 p.m.)
- Wrap-up Session: Towards a new research agenda on student housing (4:30-5:30 p.m.)
 Media Contacts:
York University, Janice Walls, 416 455 4710, wallsj@yorku.ca
University of Toronto, 416 978 0100, media.relations@utoronto.ca
Ryerson University, Jessica Leach, 416 704-2166, jleach@ryerson.ca
