91泡芙

91泡芙鈥檚 (SFU鈥檚) Urban Studies Program congratulates assistant professor Yushu Zhu on her Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) Early Career Research Excellence Award in Social Sciences.

Zhu, who is also an assistant professor with the School of Public Policy, has been recognized by FASS for her outstanding research focused on urban inequity and the roles of the state, market, and society in (re)producing socio-spatial injustice in cities. She also examines housing, community, and well-being as they relate to urban (re)development and public policy both in Canada and China.

Upon hearing that she had won the award, Zhu felt surprised, honoured, and humbled.

鈥淢y colleagues at the Urban Studies Program and the School of Public Policy do excellent research, and I think they deserve an award like this as well,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his award would not be possible without my supportive colleagues and a collegial working environment.鈥�

For the past five years, Zhu has collaborated with her Urban Studies colleague, professor Meg Holden, on the : Partners in Resilience project. Their research cluster examines the experiences of vulnerable populations living in community housing, which refers to a range of social and affordable housing provided or operated by the government or non-profit organizations.

Zhu says many people do not know what 鈥渃ommunity housing鈥� means because of the newness of the term, and because Canada does not have very much community housing. 鈥淩ight now, it accounts for only four percent of the total housing stock in Canada, but there is a wide call to double the size of the sector.鈥�

Through their research, Zhu and Holden found evidence that community housing plays a strong and critical role in supporting tenant well-being and community resilience, especially during crisis periods like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Initially a five-year project, Community Housing Canada鈥檚 research term has been extended for another three years. The additional time will allow Zhu and Holden to explore solutions to housing vulnerabilities and policy problems within the community housing sector.

鈥淭his sector faces many barriers, just by its critical role in supporting vulnerable populations, especially seniors who we see more and more living in such housing,鈥� says Zhu. 鈥淲e will work together to address the financial, social, and institutional barriers to the growth and sustainability of the sector.鈥�

In addition to this project, Zhu鈥檚 future research plans include in-depth research comparing housing, planning, and urban governance in Canadian and Chinese cities. She notes that people take for granted the social and political differences between liberal democracies and authoritarian states and think those differences cannot be comparable. However, recent trends suggest that may not be the case.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen more emergent trends of undemocratization in urban processes in liberal democracy and that brings to my attention that these two countries are not so vastly different as we might have imagined,鈥� says Zhu. 鈥淲e can draw some comparisons, especially when it comes to the roles of the government and public policy in shaping our cities.鈥�