
How can community housing best support vulnerable groups?
The NHS emphasizes that all Canadians have a right to housing and prioritizes those who are most vulnerable due to disadvantage or marginalization.
The Cross-Cutting Theme research cluster is not an Area of Inquiry; rather, its role is to support and advise the preceding five cluster to ensure their research is attentive to the needs of vulnerable groups. It mirrors the structure of the NHS, where concern for vulnerable groups ‘cuts across’ all objectives and programs.
Members of this cluster provide expertise, advocacy and skills to projects under the Areas of Inquiry.
Area Leads

Yushu Zhu | Simon Fraser University
Dr. Zhu’s research focuses on housing and community issues against the backdrop of urbanization and globalization. She pays special attention to communities of immigrants, low-income populations, and ethnic minorities.

Meg Holden | Simon Fraser University
Dr. Holden’s research and professional work examines how cities and urbanites change in relation to demands, plans, actions, and new concepts related to sustainable development and community wellbeing.
Co-Investigators

Jaqueline Gahagan | Dalhousie University
Dr Gahagan’s specializes in evaluating policy interventions, with a focus on gender and LGBTQ issues, particularly concerning health-promotion.

Edward Hall | University of Dundee
Dr Hall specializes in disability, learning disability, social inclusion/exclusion, and belonging.

Katie MacDonald | Athabasca University
Dr MacDonald is an interdisciplinary community-engaged researcher focused on learning in encounters with difference.

Cynthia Puddu | Macewan University
Using community-based participatory research methods, Dr Puddu works closely with homeless youth in Edmonton, sharing their stories of difficulty and success.

Marianne Touchie | University of Toronto
Dr. Touchie’s research focuses on improving the energy performance and indoor environmental quality of existing buildings to make them more comfortable, healthy and sustainable through comprehensive retrofits.

Rob Wilton | McMaster University
Dr. Wilton’s research is broadly concerned with the social geographies of exclusion. Much of his research has focused specifically on the experiences of people with disabilities.

Andy Yan | Simon Fraser University
Andy Yan is the director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University. Mr. Yan specializes in the fields of urban regeneration, applied demographics, Geographic Information Systems, neighborhood development, public outreach, social media and quantitative research.

Ellie Han | Simon Fraser University
Ellie’s research includes community building and social cohesion. She would like to delve into the research of housing vulnerability in the Community Housing Canada project. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Asian Area Studies from the University of British Columbia, Ellie entered the Master of Urban Studies program at Simon Fraser University to explore her passion for urban transformation and housing policies.
Community Partners

Publications
Housing Vulnerability and Well-Being in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A B.C. Survey on the Secondary Effects of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions
Cross-Cutting Theme Year 1 Report: Toward a Better Understanding of Housing Vulnerability
This report provides a valuable contribution to thinking further and differently about
housing vulnerability in Canada and that it stimulates many new partnerships and projects toward operationalizing Canadians’ right to housing in a way that recognizes the intersectional dimensions of housing vulnerability
Andy Yan was quoted numerous times in national or local news outlets on housing issues | |
Building better with feedback loops, April 2021 | Hey Neighbour Collective |
Building community into the bottom line, April 2021 | Hey Neighbour Collective |
Building community into the bottom line, June 2021 | Michelle Hoar, Hey Neighbour Collective |
Mainstreaming socially connected, affordable multi-unit housing across British Columbia – Hey Neighbour Collective, Oct 2021 | Hey Neighbour Collective |
Who is in your emergency kit? June 2021 | Hey Neighbor Collective |
Fostering preparedness and community in multi-unit buildings | Hey Neighbor Collective |
A Picture is Worth 1000 Words: A photovoice exploration into social connections at home, Dec 2021 | Lainey Martin and Meg Holden |
Density proposal is making room, but for whom?; housing is more than just a unit count, says Andy Yan. Feb 2022 | Andy Yan; The Vancouver Sun |
“New study reveals intensified housing inequality in Canada from 1981-2016,” The Conversation. Published on Dec. 23, 2021 | Yushu Zhu |
Social housing in comparison: Montreal and Vancouver metropolitan areas. In S. Breux & M. Holden (eds.), Regards croisés sur les études urbaines au Québec et en Colombie-Britannique | Crossing Paths, Crossing Perspectives on Urban Studies in Quebec and British Columbia, Presses de l’Université Laval (Quebec City). Forthcoming. | Yushu Zhu, Hélène Bélanger |
Housing vulnerability and well-being in the COVID-19 pandemic: A B.C. survey on the secondary effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), forthcoming | Yushu Zhu, Meg Holden, Dorin Vaez Mahdavi, Amy Zeng, Ellie Han |
How sociable is life in multi-unit rental housing? Feb 2022 | Ghazaleh Akbarnejad, Meg Holden, Lainey Martin, Atiya Mahmood, Meghan Winters |