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The York University Keele Campus is a public space that is primarily used by students, faculty, and staff and at any given moment there can be thousands of individuals on the University campus. With a student population of just over 50,000, York University is one of the largest universities in Canada and resembles a small city. Much like a city, the Keele Campus of York University has been impacted by incidents of sexual assault, robberies, hate crimes and criminal activity that have produced caution amongst those who interact with the Campus. The incidents that have occurred on the Campus have affected many individuals ability to establish a sense ofplaceand cause them to restrict their use of space. On a university campus where incidents are publicized by the socialization between students, media reports, and notification emails, concerns regardingpersonal safetymanifest intoperceptionsofplacethat are highlygendered. Through alensofpersonal safety, this thesis seeks to understand studentsperceptionsofplaceon the Keele Campus, identifying how the built environment, students gender identity, and the reputation attributed to space contribute to studentsperceptions. Moreover, it will explore how theperceptionsofplaceheld by students affect their daily geographies of the Keele Campus and challenge the gender normative direction of the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design model that exists in the governing and operation of the Keele Campus.

Increasing levels of business disruptions and disaster events on one hand while local, national and international campaigns on the other have increased businesses’ awareness, attention and demand for the need for business continuity management. As more and more businesses are looking to integrate disaster risk and business continuity management into their business operations and decision making processes, the need for such expertise has also increased. Despite these needs, many business schools around the world have not fully identified, realized or addressed them. While there are several models for integrating disaster risk and business continuity management in business education, York University has established undergraduate and graduate level disaster and emergency management programs in a business school setting to address these growing needs. Through this integration, considerable numbers of business students enroll in disaster risk management, and business continuity courses. Knowledge and skills that students acquire through these courses make them informed and knowledgeable players in business continuity management teams in their varied work places. Mientras que por un lado los niveles de disrupciones en los negocios y los eventos desastrosos son crecientes, por el otro, las campañas locales, nacionales e internacionales han incrementado la consciencia, atención y demanda de las empresas con respecto a la necesidad de la gestión de la continuidad de negocio. En la medida en que más empresas buscan integrar la gestión del riesgo de desastres y de la continuidad de negocio en sus operaciones y procesos de toma de decisiones, la necesidad de dicho conocimiento también ha aumentado. Sin embargo, a pesar de estas necesidades, muchas escuelas de negocios alrededor del mundo no las han identificado, no se han dado cuenta de ellas, ni las han abordado. Si bien hay diferentes modelos para integrar la gestión del riesgo de desastres y de la continuidad de negocio en la educación de negocios, York University ha establecido programas de pregrado y posgrado sobre la gestión de desastres y emergencias en una escuela de negocios para hacer frente a estas crecientes necesidades. A través de esta integración, un número considerable de estudiantes de negocios se matriculan en cursos de gestión del riesgo de desastres y de continuidad de negocio. El conocimiento y las capacidades que los estudiantes adquieren a través de estos cursos, los convierten en actores informados y conocedores para los equipos de gestión de la continuidad de negocio de sus diferentes lugares de trabajo.

After forty-eight years of teaching—and some 8,000 or so nights in the theatre—Don Rubin, now a professor Emeritus, recalls how he became an actor, a critic and, then, accidentally stumbled into a most satisfying career in academe.

Jane and Finch is notoriously known in the City of Toronto as a high profile “Priority Neighbourhood” characterized by poverty, crime and violence. And yet, it is situated in close proximity to York University, a place of higher learning characterized by modernism, order, multiculturalism, and innovation. Using a spatial analysis, the first half of this essay traces the social, cultural, and historical development of Jane and Finch and York University, contrasting the rapid development and expansion of York University in relation to the slow growth and deteriorating living conditions of Jane and Finch. The second half of the essay explores the racialization of physical and social differences between York University and Jane and Finch. In particular, I explore how interlocking systems of domination produce, maintain, and (re)produce an invisible fence that constitutes York University as a civilized space and Jane and Finch as a spectacle of violence and delinquency. Overall, this article uses York University as a case study to argue that the university, as an extension of the State, participates in a neoliberal and colonizing project that constructs York University as a safe place of higher learning at the expense of social marginalization, stigmatization, and exclusion of the Jane and Finch community and Othering of its residents. By the racialization of Jane and Finch and Othering of its immigrants and visible minorities, York University exemplifies the processes by which whiteness is protected and privileged and the university’s perpetuation of poverty and violence in Jane and Finch are masked.

This portfolio consists of four sections written as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters in Environmental Studies (MES) degree. Section 1 consists of my research and written contributions towards a report co-written with Sean Hertel and Roger Keil entitled Switching Tracks: Towards Transit Equity in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (Hertel et al, 2015). My contribution comprises Parts 3-7, where a definition of transit equity is advanced, how inequity impacts different publics is highlighted, and some solutions used to address transit inequities are explored. The contents of Section 1 sets the stage for each subsequent section. Section 2 is a long abstract and presentation prepared for an academic conference, co-written and presented with Sean Hertel, intended to situate and connect the work conducted in Section 1 within an academic milieu. The presentation in Section 2 closes with questions posed for further research on how to identify symptoms of transit equity and how to situate transit equity objectives within the planning profession. A proposed methodology towards future research was proposed as a launching point for the research project contribution in Section 3. Finally, Section 2 is intended to help continue the dialogue on transit equity sparked by the Greater Toronto Suburban Working Group (GTSWG), co-chaired by Roger Keil and Sean Hertel, presented by The City Institute of York University (CITY) and hosted by Metrolinx, bringing together academics, planners, community activists, representatives from the development industry and non-profit service sector. Section 3 consists of a research project conducted as a contribution towards a report co-written with Sean Hertel and Roger Keil entitled Next Stop: Equity: Routes to Fairer Transit Access in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (Hertel et al, 2016). I used a case study approach anchored by the literature review conducted in Section 1 to explore five specific neighbourhoods in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) to illustrate how transit inequity manifests in various ways at the neighbourhood scale. Section 4 of the portfolio is an article co-written with Sean Hertel to engage with the planning profession, published in the Ontario Planning Journal. Section 4 presents a synopsis of the work on transit equity in Section 1, Section 2, and Section 3. The article establishes the imperative for planners to be active participants in achieving transit equity. The article advances a working definition of transit equity as it applies to transit planning, why equity in transit planning is important for achieving provincial planning objectives, and how transit equity objectives are situated within the planning regime in Ontario.

Increasing levels of business disruptions and disaster events on one hand while local, national and international campaigns on the other have increased businesses’ awareness, attention and demand for the need for business continuity management. As more and more businesses are looking to integrate disaster risk and business continuity management into their business operations and decision making processes, the need for such expertise has also increased. Despite these needs, many business schools around the world have not fully identified, realized or addressed them. While there are several models for integrating disaster risk and business continuity management in business education, York University has established undergraduate and graduate level disaster and emergency management programs in a business school setting to address these growing needs. Through this integration, considerable numbers of business students enroll in disaster risk management, and business continuity courses. Knowledge and skills that students acquire through these courses make them informed and knowledgeable players in business continuity management teams in their varied work places., Mientras que por un lado los niveles de disrupciones en los negocios y los eventos desastrosos son crecientes, por el otro, las campañas locales, nacionales e internacionales han incrementado la consciencia, atención y demanda de las empresas con respecto a la necesidad de la gestión de la continuidad de negocio. En la medida en que más empresas buscan integrar la gestión del riesgo de desastres y de la continuidad de negocio en sus operaciones y procesos de toma de decisiones, la necesidad de dicho conocimiento también ha aumentado. Sin embargo, a pesar de estas necesidades, muchas escuelas de negocios alrededor del mundo no las han identificado, no se han dado cuenta de ellas, ni las han abordado. Si bien hay diferentes modelos para integrar la gestión del riesgo de desastres y de la continuidad de negocio en la educación de negocios, York University ha establecido programas de pregrado y posgrado sobre la gestión de desastres y emergencias en una escuela de negocios para hacer frente a estas crecientes necesidades. A través de esta integración, un número considerable de estudiantes de negocios se matriculan en cursos de gestión del riesgo de desastres y de continuidad de negocio. El conocimiento y las capacidades que los estudiantes adquieren a través de estos cursos, los convierten en actores informados y conocedores para los equipos de gestión de la continuidad de negocio de sus diferentes lugares de trabajo.

Community engagement has been a core element of York University’s mandate for several years. However, does a conceptual gap prevent university-community engagement from being actualized? The purpose of this project is to embark on an iterative exercise that brings the Jane-Finch community’s engagement concerns directly to the University administration, thus advancing the understanding of challenges and opportunities that exist with respect to community-university partnerships at York University. By focusing on the implications of upcoming development projects on the Keele campus, this project investigates the scope of community engagement concerning land use planning for the Jane-Finch neighbourhood adjacent to York University. Despite measures taken to create a dialogue between the University and the Jane-Finch community – initiated on both the University and community fronts – this project revisits the discussion as a review and re-evaluation to spot opportunities for improvement and progress. With the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension nearing completion, alongside York’s renewed commitment to community engagement, it is now more important than ever to review the University’s community engagement approach. As York University enters a new era with large-scale land-use development occurring on the Keele campus, the current condition of community-university engagement must be evaluated to identify challenges and opportunities for improvement.