Name: The Struggle (Podcasting) by Vernon Glyn Bowerman
Duration: 38 s
Description: A very NSFW peek behind the scenes of recording a podcast. Music by TrackEightyTwo (check his SoundCloud for more fine music).

The City of Toronto has been named a "role model city" by the United Nations Environment Program for Supporting Urban Ecosystems. It's part of an initiative the UN calls "Generation Restoration," part of their Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

To find out why Toronto has been named a role model, and what that city can teach others across the world about fostering and protecting their urban ecosystems, we speak to Kim Statham, director of Toronto Urban Forestry, and Wendy Strickland, project manager for the Toronto Ravine Strategy.

Listen to the episode to hear how cities can play a role in ecosystem restoration.

The Future Fix: Generation Restoration

O Little Town of Buffalo Gals

This time of year, with the temperature below freezing, it feels appropriate to talk about housing. So, we're bringing you two conversations with two authors who have both recently written about that very topic.

Carolyn Whitzman is the author of Home Truths: Fixing Canada's Housing Crisis.

And Mitchell Cohen wrote Rhythms of Change: Reflections on the Regent Park Revitalization.

The first book provides a macro view of housing in Canada, and the second provides a look at a specific development in Toronto.

Episode 84: Two Housing Carols

With Justin Trudeau stepping down as Prime Minister and the very real possibility of an federal election, Premier Doug Ford mulling over a snap provincial election, and President-elect Trump threatening a trade war, it's almost impossible to predict what 2025 will hold.

And yet, Toronto and other municipalities in Canada must muddle through as best they can and create an annual budget. That process has already started in Toronto.

To rate Trudeau's legacy (for better or worse) in Toronto, and to identify possible pitfalls and goals for the megacity's newest budget, we've put together a panel discussion featuring CivicAction CEO Leslie Woo and Spacing Senior Editor John Lorinc.

Episode 85: City Accounting for Global Chaos

For renters, security of tenure — the ability to stay in a home without fear of being destabilized by eviction — is essential. When you have that security, you can put down roots in your neigbhourhood for you and your family.

But evictions occur all the time. They may be the result of lack of payment, but there are different legal avenues for landlords to pursue "no-fault evictions," such as renovations or moving in a family member. Sometimes these are simply loopholes being exploited, but that's difficult and costly to prove for the renter. Because housing is such big business, there is plenty of incentive to evict current tenants and name a new, higher price.

Alina McKay is Research Manager for the Housing Research Collaborative the the University of British Columbia and Sean Grisdale is a PhD Candidate in Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto. They have both been conducting research on evictions and security of tenure.

The Overhead: Security for Renters

In a snap election called ostensibly to decide which Ontario provincial party leader can take on Donald Trump, we sure have spent a lot of time talking about highways.

In this episode, we speak to Emma McIntosh, reporter for The Narwhal, about the various election promises made about highways in Ontario. Do we expand them, remove their tolls, or simply tunnel them under ground at an unimaginable expense? We break down what the party leaders are saying about solving highway congestion.

And, it's either the end of an era in Winnipeg, or the beginning of a new chapter. After over 45 years, the barriers preventing pedestrians from crossing the iconic downtown intersection of Portage and Main are coming down. We ask CBC Manitoba senior reporter Bartley Kives what led to this politically-charged change, and what it means for the future of Winnipeg's downtown.

Episode 86: Lost Highways

Evictions are a problem for renters across the country. As we explored in the last episode: part of tackling the housing crisis requires improving "security of tenure" for the many people who rent their homes.

But evictions are difficult to quantify. Many of them are not reported. And each province has different processes, legislations, and tribunals surrounding evictions and landlord/tenant disputes.

How do we get a picture of evictions across the country?

Alexandra Flynn is an assistant professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. She's been tracking eviction data from province to province. We asked her about her findings.

And David Wachsmuth an associate professor at McGill University's School of Urban Planning and Canadian Research Chair in Urban Governance. He's been conducting meta analysis and qualitative research on evictions in Canada. He tells us a startling fact about people who experience homelessness after an eviction.

What can we learn about eviction policy by comparing provinces and municipalities?

The Overhead: Tracking Evictions Across Canada

We can learn a lot about evictions and the housing crisis from cities in other countries, all over the world. Often, we draw comparisons to our neighbour just south of the border: the United States. Just like us, renters in the States are dealing with soaring rent prices, a lack of security of tenure, and the threat of eviction. But they're also dealing with a second Trump presidency that threatens to remove protections for renters, scrap housing programs, and defund research into solving the housing crisis

Tim Thomas is Research Director of the Urban Displacement Project at University of California, Berkeley. He tells us about the hurdles renters in America face, the racial bias inherent in many of the laws governing evictions and displacement, and how housing advocates and academics are scrambling to come to terms with Trump 2.0.

The Overhead: The Housing Crisis in Trump's America

Episode 87: Building Housing With Election Planks

In the federal election just passed, we heard many big ideas about how to tackle the housing crisis. And we could sure use a major effort from our new federal government. But there is also a lot of research and advocacy done about smaller-scale approaches that would have outsized impact on housing affordability and availability. And we examine two of them.

First, we speak to two people from the advocacy group Vivre En Ville: Director of Housing Adam Mongrain and housing advisor Ines Zerrouki about the role non-profit housing can play in this crisis. 

And we spoke to McGill University Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning Nik Luka and LGA intern architect Conrad Speckert about how adding gentle density or missing middle hosing to existing neighbourhoods can increase supply, if we just allow it to be built (as many Canadian cities did in the past).

How can small-scale housing fixes make big impact in Canada?

The Overhead: Non-Profit Housing and Gentle Density

A very NSFW peek behind the scenes of recording a podcast. Music by TrackEightyTwo (check his SoundCloud for more fine music).

The Struggle (Podcasting)

Vernon Glyn Bowerman

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