Barbara Dick
Assistant Vice-President, Alumni Relations
University of Toronto

cordially invite you to attend a reception for University of Toronto alumni and friends, featuring a special presentation.

Understanding the Rising Global Pressures on Housing and Society

by

Professor J. David Hulchanski
Dr. Chow Yei Ching Chair in Housing, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
University of Toronto

Housing is more than just a place to live—it shapes our sense of stability, identity, and belonging, and connects us to opportunity through our communities. Yet today, housing is also treated as a financial asset, shaped by complex systems of land, financing, policy, and investment.
In many countries, this shift has contributed to rising costs, housing insecurity, and growing inequality. These challenges are not accidental—they reflect how our housing systems are designed and governed.

In this talk, Professor Hulchanski will explore the forces behind today’s housing pressures, the tension between housing as a home and as an investment, and what is required to create more stable, affordable, and equitable housing systems.

About the Speaker

J. David Hulchanski

David Hulchanski is a professor of housing and community development at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, where he holds the Chow Yei Ching Chair in Housing. He is also cross-appointed with the university's geography and planning program and is a former director of the Centre for Urban and Community Studies. He earned his PhD in urban planning from the University of Toronto in 1981. In 1986 he was a visiting professor at Kyoto University’s Housing Lab (with Dr. Kazuo Tatsumi), funded by a fellowship from The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Nihon Gakujutsu Shinkō Kai.

His research and teaching focus on the social and human rights dimensions of housing, neighborhoods, and community development. Since 2005, he has served as the principal investigator for the Neighbourhood Change Research Partnership, which examines 40-year trends in social, economic, and ethno-cultural changes in Canadian cities, with international comparisons. In the 1980s, Dr. Hulchanski was a professor of community planning at the University of British Columbia, where he also served as director of the UBC Centre for Human Settlements.