The city after COVID-19: Comparing vulnerability and urban governance in Chicago, Toronto, and Johannesburg

Project Investigators: Roger Keil (York), Xuefei Ren (MSU) and Philip Harrison (WITS) Funding: Urban Studies Foundation Term: 2022-2023 This is a pilot study of a larger comparative project on the complex effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on urban governance intended to initiate a systematic comparison of vulnerability and governance in post-pandemic city regions. At the

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How COVID-19 lockdown measures — and their outcomes — varied in cities around the world

by Roger Keil, Philip Harrison and Xuefei Ren During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese cities have repeatedly imposed lockdowns following their central government’s stubborn pursuit of Zero-COVID. But lockdowns weren’t limited to authoritarian regimes such as China. Many democracies also imposed some form of lockdowns to curb the virus transmission. How effective were they? Was it worth

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Peripheral centralities: Lost, past, present and future

Co-Principal Investigators: Roger Keil with Nicholas Phelps (PI, University of Melbourne) and Paul Maginn (Co-PI, University of Western Australia). Funding: Urban Studies Foundation Seminar Series Award. Term: 2021-2022. The seminar series brings together a multidisciplinary mix of scholars and practitioners including urban historians, sociologists, geographers, planners, architects, urban designers and property developers to consider the

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Research shows urban sprawl can be vertical or horizontal

Usually when people think of urban sprawl, it’s rows of houses spread out horizontally from a city centre, but in a new paper, York University researchers say vertical sprawl is equally an issue. Roger Keil Sprawl is tied to the lack of accessibility, how houses are commodified and financed, and the current housing crisis, which

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What makes a city a city, officially? Kelowna and Sudbury might be in for a surprise

A new international definition, endorsed by the UN, would leave some Canadian communities off the list – if the definition had any legal standing The good folks of Kelowna believe they live in a city. In fact, local tourism boosters bill the place as “the largest city in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley.” But under a

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I Ain’t Nobody’s Suburb

Interview with Prof Roger Keil PUBLISHED ON AUGUST 30, 2021 BY RALPH BENMERGUI This week on our Imagine Burlington podcast, I had a great conversation with suburban expert Roger Keil of York University. He has spent many years studying suburbs. After all, the majority of Canadians live in them. At one point, he asked the question, “Is

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Conversation to action: Urban planning resource to address anti-Black racism in cities

Spurred by the death of George Floyd, York University alumna, award-winning placemaker and author Jay Pitter brings her work in urban planning policy and anti-Black racism to the University to create a new resource – Engaging Black People and Power. This powerful resource, developed in a Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change (EUC) graduate-level urban planning course of

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The future of cities in the wake of the pandemic: What will change? What should change?

In late spring 2020, the premier of Ontario, alongside the mayor of Toronto, lifted the first COVID-19 lockdown in this city. Stores re-opened, restaurants re-gained some business via patio dining. The warm weather spurred Torontonians, tired of being cooped up in their homes, to venture outside. In fact, they flooded the streets. But the virus

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The future of cities in the wake of the pandemic: What will change? What should change?

In late spring 2020, the premier of Ontario, alongside the mayor of Toronto, lifted the first COVID-19 lockdown in this city. Stores re-opened, restaurants re-gained some business via patio dining. The warm weather spurred Torontonians, tired of being cooped up in their homes, to venture outside. In fact, they flooded the streets. But the virus

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Webinar looks at how cities are best positioned to respond to pandemics, COVID-19

Multi-jurisdictional, multi-municipality and diverse cities, while especially vulnerable to emerging infectious disease, can play a significant role in the public health response to pandemics like COVID-19. An upcoming webinar, “Why Pandemics, Such as COVID-19, Require a Metropolitan Response,” hosted by York University’s Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change (EUC) and NYU’s Marron Institute of Urban

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