Abstract

FEMINIST APPROACHES TO HOUSING AND COMMUNITY: APPLICABILITY TO THE CANADIAN URBAN CONTEXT

Marika Morris

We have recently seen an increased focus on housing, social inclusion, community-building and urban issues. This presentation outlines whether historical and contemporary feminist models of community can be applied to modern urban housing contexts and how. The presentation will touch on the current process of downloading responsibility for social housing from the Province of Ontario to the City of Ottawa, and how this may affect social housing models, particularly housing co-ops. Finally, it discusses how and why feminist approaches can be incorporated into social housing in Ottawa, and what the specific challenges and barriers are. Solutions for change will be discussed and solicited.

Bio

Marika Morris is Research Coordinator for the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW). Her main areas of research and publication in the past 15 years have been how to best use participatory action research for social change; women, poverty and public policy; the social and economic determinants of health; violence and peacebuilding; and Aboriginal women. Her research focus is now housing and community, particularly how to build socially inclusive communities in Canadian urban settings.

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