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Housing New Canadians
Research Working Group - Toronto
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Publications, Conference Papers and Other Presentations

HOUSING EXPERIENCE OF NEW CANADIANS

(a) PAPERS IN REFEREED JOURNALS

Immigrants, Housing and the Rental Affordability Problem

by R.A. Murdie
Canadian Housing, Vol. 20, No. 2, 2003, pp. 23-25.


Housing Affordability and Toronto’s Rental Market: Perspectives from the Housing Careers of Jamaican, Polish and Somali Newcomers

by R.A. Murdie
Housing, Theory and Society, Vol. 20, No. 4, 2003, pp. 183-96.

Abstract

A key housing issue in Toronto is affordability, especially in the rental market. Since the mid-1990s rents in the private sector have increased at almost twice the rate of inflation with the result that it is extremely difficult for new immigrant households with limited resources to acquire adequate housing. In this paper the rental experiences of three recently arrived immigrant groups – Jamaicans, Poles and Somalis – are evaluated using a housing career strategy. The paper focuses on changes through the housing career and between the three groups for a variety of characteristics related to affordability. The results show that the Poles experienced the least affordability problems and the Somalis had the greatest difficulty affording adequate accommodation. Reasons are suggested for these differences and conclusions reached about the importance of adequate and affordable rental housing in the immigrant integration process.

The Housing Careers of Polish and Somali Newcomers in Toronto’s Rental Market

by R.A. Murdie
Housing Studies, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2002, pp. 423-43.

Abstract

This paper evaluates and compares the housing careers of two recent immigrant groups, the Poles and Somalis, in Toronto’s rental market. Both groups first arrived in Toronto in the late 1980s but under different circumstances and with different outcomes in the housing market. The study is situated in a general conceptual framework focusing on factors affecting the housing careers of households. The analysis is based on a questionnaire survey of sixty respondents from each group who arrived in Canada between 1987 and 1994. Information was collected about the search for three residences: the first permanent residence, the one immediately before the current one, and the current residence. The analysis considers the individual and household characteristics that differentiate the Polish and Somali respondents, the characteristics of Toronto’s rental market that potentially act as barriers in the search for housing, the housing search process and the outcomes of the search. The latter includes the nature of the dwelling and its surroundings as well as satisfaction with the dwelling and neighbourhood. The results confirm that the Poles have been more successful than the Somalis in establishing a progressive housing career. The reasons relate to differences in individual and household characteristics and the nature of the local housing market. Specific variables include socio-economic status, household size, community resources, the housing situation before coming to Canada, Toronto’s tight rental market and perceived discriminatory barriers in that market. The paper concludes with a brief evaluation of the housing career concept as used in this study.


Immigrants’ Perceptions of Housing Discrimination in Toronto: The Housing New Canadians Project

By K. Dion
Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 57, No. 3, 2001, pp. 523-39.

Abstract

The Housing New Canadians project investigated recent immigrants' perceptions of discrimination in finding rental housing since arriving in Toronto, Canada. Respondents from three immigrant communities Jamaicans, Poles, and Somalis indicated how much housing discrimination they had personally experienced and how much discrimination they perceived to have been directed toward their group. They also rated how much each of several factors, including race, income level, source of income, immigrant status, language, ethnic or national background, religion, and family size, contributed to each type of perceived discrimination. Jamaican and Somali immigrants perceived greater personal and group discrimination and also showed a greater discrepancy between personal and group discrimination than did Polish immigrants. Implications are discussed.

Ethnicity and Perceived Discrimination in Toronto: Another Look at the Personal/ Group Discrimination Discrepancy

By K. Dion and K. Kawakami
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, Vol. 28, 1996, pp. 203-213.


(b) PAPERS IN REFEREED CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Immigrants and Access to Housing: How Welcome are Newcomers to Canada?

By J.D. Hulchanski
Metropolis Year II, The Development of a Comparative Research Agenda––Proceedings of the Second National Conference and of the Thematic Seminar “Housing and Neighbourhood”, Montréal, Québec, November 23-26, 1997, pp. 263-274.

Housing Issues Facing Immigrants and Refugees in Greater Toronto: Initial Findings from the Jamaican, Polish and Somali Communities

By R. A. Murdie, A. Chambon, J.D. Hulchanski, J.C. Teixeira
E. Komut (editor). Housing Question of the ‘Others’. Ankara: Chamber of Architects of Turkey, 1995, pp. 179-190.


(c) RESEARCH BULLETIN

A Comparison of the Rental Housing Experiences of Polish and Somali Newcomers in Toronto

By R.A. Murdie
Centre for Urban and Community Studies, University of Toronto, Research Bulletin #9, 2002.
http://www.urbancenter.utoronto.ca/pdfs/researchbulletins/09.pdf


(d) PAPERS PRESENTED AT CONFERENCES

"House as Home" as a Measure of Immigrant Integration: Evidence from the Housing Experiences of New Canadians in Greater Toronto Study

by R.A. Murdie
Seventh National Metropolis Conference, Montréal, March, 2004

Immigrants, Refugees and Homelessness in Toronto

By J.D. Hulchanski
Keynote address, Living on the Ragged Edges: Immigrants, Refugees and Homelessness in Toronto, a forum organized by the Joint Centre of Excellence for Research in Immigration and Settlement – Toronto, March, 2003.

Housing Affordability and Toronto’s Rental Market: Perspectives from the Housing Careers of Jamaican, Polish and Somali Newcomers

By R.A. Murdie
Sixth International Metropolis Conference, Rotterdam, November 2001 and European Network for Housing Research Conference, Vienna, June, 2002.

The Housing Careers of Jamaican, Polish and Somali Newcomers in Toronto’s Rental Market: A Dynamic Perspective on Residential Satisfaction

By R.A. Murdie
European Network for Housing Research (Housing in the 21st Century: Fragmentation and Reorientation), Gävle, Sweden, June 2000.

Policy Advice on Improving the Rental Housing Prospects of Immigrants and Refugees in Toronto

By J.D. Hulchanski
Fourth National Metropolis Conference, Toronto, March, 2000

The Housing Careers of Polish and Somali Newcomers in Toronto's Rental Market

by R.A. Murdie
European Network for Housing Research Conference (New European Housing and Urban Policies), Balationfüred, Hungary, August 1999 and the Fourth International Metropolis Conference, Washington, D.C., December 1999.

Immigrants and Access to Housing: How Welcome are Newcomers to Canada

by J.D. Hulchanski
Keynote Presentation, Housing and Neighbourhoods Workshop, Metropolis Year II Conference, Montreal, November, 1997.

Access to Housing in a Canadian City: Experiences of Three Immigrant Groups

by A.S. Chambon, J.D. Hulchanski, R.A. Murdie, C.Teixeira
Urban Affairs Association Conference, Toronto, May 1997.

Housing Issues Facing Immigrants and Refugees in Greater Toronto: Initial Findings from the Jamaican, Polish and Somali Communities (1995)

by R.A. Murdie, A.S. Chambon, J.D. Hulchanski, C.Teixeira
UN Habitat II conference on The Housing Question of the 'Others', Ankara, Turkey, November 24, 1995. Published in: E.M. Komut (1996) Housing Question of the 'Others', Ankara: Chamber of Architects of Turkey, pp. 179-190.


(e) DISCUSSION PAPER

Differential Incorporation and Housing Trajectories of Recent Immigrant Households: Towards a Conceptual Framework (1999)

by R.A. Murdie, A.S. Chambon, J.D. Hulchanski, C. Teixeira
A discussion paper outlining the Housing new Canadians research team's conceptual framework for analysing and understanding the housing experience of newcomers.


DISCRIMINATION: MINIMUM INCOME QUALIFICATIONS

Discrimination in Ontario's Rental Housing Market: The Role of Minimum Income Criteria (1994)

by J.D. Hulchanski
Report for the Ontario Human Rights Commission, for the Kearney et al. v. Bramalea Limited et al. case.

How Households Obtain Resources to Meet their Needs: The Shifting Mix of Cash and Non-Cash Sources (1994)

by J.D. Hulchanski and J.H. Michalski
Background Report #1 for the Ontario Human Rights Commission, for the Kearney et al. v. Bramalea Limited et al. case.

The Use of Housing Expenditure-to-Income Ratios: Origins, Evolution and Implications (1994)

by J.D. Hulchanski
Background Report #2 for the Ontario Human Rights Commission, for the Kearney et al. v. Bramalea Limited et al. case.

The Concept of Housing Affordability: Six Contemporary Uses of the Housing Expenditure-to-Income Ratio (1995)

by J.D. Hulchanski
Housing Studies, 10(4), October, 1995, 471-491.

Abstract

In recent years ‘housing affordability’ has become a commonly used term for summarizing the nature of the housing difficulty in many nations. But what is the ‘housing affordability’ problem? This paper questions ‘affordability’ as a concept for analysing housing problems and as a definition of housing need. With a focus on North American usage, the paper identifies six distinct ways in which the housing expenditure-to-income ratio is being used as an assumed measure of affordability: (1) description of housing expenditures; (2) analysis of trends; (3) administration of public housing by defining eligibility criteria and subsidy levels; (4) definition of housing need for public policy purposes; (5) prediction of the ability of a households to pay the rent or the mortgage; and (6) as part of the selection criteria in the decision to rent or provide a mortgage. Each of the six uses is assessed based on the extent to which it is a valid and reliable measure of what it purports to measure.

The Use of Minimum Income Qualifications by Landlords in Selecting Tenants: Recent Human Rights Litigation in Canada (1997)

by J.D. Hulchanski
International Sociological Association Conference, Housing in the 21st Century, Alexandria, Virginia.

The Use of Minimum Income Criteria: Summary of Evidence for Ontario Human Rights Commission (1999)

by J.D. Hulchanski
for Sinclair and Newby v. Bexon Investments Ltd. et al., Ontario Human Rights Commission Board of Inquiry.


DISCRIMINATION

Housing Discrimination in Canada: What Do We Know About It? (2002)

By S. Novac, J. Darden, J.D. Hulchanski and A.-M. Séguin
Centre for Urban and Community Research, University of Toronto, Research Bulletin #11
http://www.urbancenter.utoronto.ca/pdfs/researchbulletins/11.pdf

Housing Discrimination in Canada: The State of Knowledge on Housing Discrimination (2002)

By S. Novac, J. Darden, J.D. Hulchanski and A.-M. Séguin
Research carried out for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Immigrant Enclaves and Residential Segregation: Voices of Racialized Refugee and Immigrant Women (1996)

by Sylvia Novac
Research carried out for the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women.


THE HUMAN RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING

The Human Right to Adequate Housing: A Chronology of United Nations Activity, 1945 to 1999 (2000)

by J.D. Hulchanski and S. Leckie
A report prepared for the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, Geneva, for the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 25: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being including housing. "


RESIDENT PARTICIPATION

Cultural and Ethno-Racial Variables Affecting Resident Participation in Assisted Housing: A Literature Review (1996)

by J.D. Hulchanski, J. Michalski, B. MacLaurin, and Y. Gebre-Selassie for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

 

 
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