Hallo everyone,
Welcome to the return back to campus! After the COVID-19 two year hiatus, the City Institute is pleased to offer a hybrid set of offerings for the forthcoming year.
Our seminars (in-person) include:
- Sep. 30 - Cities of Migration and the Spatial Politics of Non-Integration, by Brenda Yeoh, Raffles Professor of Social Sciences, Department of Geography, National University of Singapore. This talk is co-sponsored by the Geography Graduate Program Colloquium 2022-2023 and the City Institute.
- Oct. 28 - Time and Race in Postwar Urban America, by Prof. Paul Lawrie, Department of History at York University.
- Nov 25 - Power to the People: Electricity and Urban Life in Nineteenth-Century Nigeria, by Prof. Damilola Adebayo, Department of History, York University.
- Jan 13 – TBD, by Dr. Araby Smyth, Postdoctoral researcher at the City Institute, working with GenUrb.
- Feb. 24 – TBD
- March 31 – TBD
- April 14 - Art in the Korean Smart City, by Dr. Melanie Wilmink, Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at Yonsei University, Seoul. (This meeting will be held virtually, via Zoom, at 6pm because Melanie will be in Seoul.)

Also this semester we have our Meet and Greet on September 16 from 3:00pm to 4:00pm, at the 7th Floor of Kaneff Tower (lounge area). Do come along and join us.
We have two book launches:
- By Us! For Us! Activism in Jane-Finch, A Working Class Community. By Dr. Wanda MacNevin. This book launch will take place after CITY’s Meet and Greet, from 4:00pm to 5:00pm, at the 7th Floor of Kaneff Tower (lounge area).
- Smart Cities. Critical Debates on Big Data, Urban Development, and Social Environmental Sustainability, edited by Dr. Negin Minaei.
We also go into the second year of our Graduate Student Professional Training Program. The City Institute Fortnight Fridays (CIFF) are a major part of this program. (Approximately) once a fortnight CITY will hold writing sessions, monitored by a faculty member or a Post-Doctoral Fellow, who will provide writing tips and feedback. Every other fortnight a CITY faculty member will give a talk on an aspect of professional training. CIFF events will run virtually, via Zoom and no registration is required for York University students. Students can participate in as many sessions as they like but we encourage you to try to attend them all.
Date | Time | CIFF sessions (virtual, via Zoom) |
Fall 2022 | ||
Sept. 9 | 4pm–5.30pm | Sit-down and write! (1) - Dr. Amanda de Lisio, Health |
Sept. 23 | 4pm – 6pm | Professional Training Talks (1) *The politics of daily life: work balance; EDI; and community – Prof. Linda Peake, EUC *Writing your CV - Prof. Amanda de Lisio, Health |
Sept. 24 | 11am | Brunch (Dim Sum) - Social event for students and faculty participating in the CIFF program |
Oct. 7 | 4pm – 6pm | Professional Training Talks (2) *Developing a course proposal - Prof. Syed Harris Ali, Sociology, LA&PS *Writing research proposals - Prof. Stefan Kipfer, EUC |
Oct. 21 | 4pm–5.30pm | CIFF - Sit-down and write! (2) – Dr. Araby Smyth, EUC |
Nov. 4 | 4pm – 6pm | Professional Training Talks (3) *Writing grant applications - TBD *Using urban data bases - TBD |
Nov. 18 | 4pm–5.30pm | CIFF - Sit-down and write! (3) – Dr. Araby Smyth, EUC |
Dec. 2 | 4pm – 6pm | Professional Training Talks (4) *Devising a research data management plan – Prof. Linda Peake, EUC *Intellectual property and copyright - TBD |
Dec. 16 | 4pm–5.30pm | CIFF - Sit-down and write! (4) – Dr. Araby Smyth |
Winter 2023 | ||
Jan. 13 | 4pm–5.30pm | CIFF - Sit-down and write! (5) – TBD |
Jan. 27 | 4pm – 6pm | Professional Training Talks (5) *Research ethics – Prof. Linda Peake, EUC *Writing abstracts and papers for publication – Prof. Shubhra Gururani, LA&PS |
Feb. 10 | 4pm–5.30pm | CIFF - Sit-down and write! (6) – Prof. Ann Marie Murnaghan |
Mar. 3 | 4pm – 6pm | Professional Training Talks (6) *Publishing in urban journals and open access - Prof. Roger Keil, EUC *KMb and social media in research dissemination – Prof. Ann Marie Murnaghan, Humanities, LA&PS |
Mar. 10 | 4pm–5.30pm | CIFF - Sit-down and write! (7) – TBD |
Mar. 24 | 4pm – 6pm | Professional Training Talks (7) *Job etiquette: cover letters and interview skills - Prof. Liette Gilbert, EUC *Applying for academic jobs- Prof. Liette Gilbert, EUC |
Apr. 14 | 4pm – 6pm | Professional Training Talks (8) Work paths outside academia, speakers: - Prof. Zachary Spicer, School of Public Policy and Administration LA&PS - TBD - TBD |
Apr. 21 | TBD | Annual General Meeting of the City Institute |
TBD | TBD | Student Conference (4000 level undergraduate and graduate students), includes awarding of Urban Essay Prizes. |
We also welcome to the City Institute three new Visiting Scholars:
- Martina Loi. PhD. student of Civil Engineering and Architecture at the University of Cagliari, Italy, working with Prof. Roger Keil.
- Dr. Sonay Bayramoğlu Özuğurlu. Professor of the Faculty of Law, Vocational School of Justice at the University of Ankara, Turkey, is also working with Prof. Roger Keil.
- Kamya Richard Lukenge. PhD. student at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, who will be working with Prof. Jeffrey Squire.
- We also welcome back our CITY based Postdoctoral Fellows:
- Dr. Araby Smyth, working with Prof. Linda Peake on the GenUrb project.
- Dr. Murat Ucoglu, working with Prof. Ute Lehrer, and awarded a Mitacs Accelerate grant to conduct research on "How to Create Affordable Housing Models in Toronto? The Discussion on Missing Middle and Financing Redevelopment".
Next semester is also a busy one as we continue with our seminars and CIFF. CIFF will culminate with a one-day student conference in April 2023 at which we will also present the City Institute Best Urban Essay Award for both upper-level undergraduate and graduate students.
In late May we also host the Summer Institute in Urban Studies (SIUS) alongside the University of Toronto and Manchester University. The SIUS brings 25 of the most promising Ph.D. and early career scholars in Urban Studies together for a week of activities with globally recognised urban scholars, including those urban scholars based in Toronto.
So, we have a busy year ahead of us and we look forward to your engagement in it.
With all best wishes,
Linda Peake
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Previous
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Prof. Linda Peake's 2021-2022 Director's message
Prof. William Jenkins' 2020-2021 Interim Director's message
Prof. Linda Peake's 2018-2019 Director's message
Prof. Linda Peake's 2017 Director's message
Dr. Alison Bain's (2015-2016) Acting Director's message
Prof. Linda Peake's 2014 Director's message
Prof. Linda Peake's 2013 Director's message
Vice-President Shapson's 2006 CITY Institute launch speech
Prof. Roger Keil's 2006 CITY Institute launch speech
Prof. Engin Isin's 2006 CITY Institute launch speech