Director

Dr. Prentiss Dantzler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Founding Director of the Housing Justice Lab within the School of Cities at the University of Toronto. He also holds affiliations with the Departments of Geography and Planning and Social Justice Education. As an interdisciplinary community-engaged scholar, his research focuses on housing policy, neighborhood change, and residential mobility with a particular focus on urban poverty, social welfare policies, race and ethnic relations, and community development. He works focuses on how and why neighbourhoods change and the extent to which policymakers, institutions, and local denizens create and react to those changes. Prentiss received his Ph.D. in Public Affairs with a concentration in Community Development from Rutgers University-Camden. He also holds an M.P.A. from West Chester University and a B.S. from Penn State University.

Research Associate

Dr. A.T. Harrison is a community development practitioner and scholar with nearly 15 years of experience working with communities across the globe. He is a trained community organizer and currently serves as the Executive Director for the Community Land Trust of Western North Carolina in the U.S. His research interests include community development and power, affordable housing policy, neighborhood change, and housing deterioration. He is a quantitative scholar that maintains a strong community focus that drives all of his work. on goes here

Research Assistant

Khalil is a graduate researcher at the University of Toronto’s Department of Sociology. He is also a former Transportation Engineer. Using novel quantitative methods, his research explores the relationship between digital and urban life. 

Research Assistant

Michelle Nadon Belanger (Mimi) is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on urban sociology, sociology of culture, and qualitative methods. Mimi is deeply motivated by the prospect of pursuing applied research and community work, and always strives to engage in critical inquiry and collaborative learning. Mimi received her BA and BMus from McGill University and MA from the University of Toronto. 

Research Assistant

Cesar is a PhD student in the University of Toronto’s Department of Sociology. His research lies at the intersections of homelessness and substance abuse and how housing outcomes relate to health and immigration, particularly among the Philippine diaspora.   

Research Assistant

Marie-Aminata is a PhD researcher in the University of Toronto’s Department of Sociology specializing in housing and migration policy. Her work notably focuses on analyzing and measuring the impact of housing policies on migrants’ experiences of settlement in France and beyond. She previously studied at the London School of Economics graduating with an MSc in International Migration and Public Policy. Beyond the academy, she collaborated with non-governmental organizations, including Minority Rights International and Ayyem Zamen, leveraging her expertise to conduct research and translate findings into actionable projects designed to support marginalized communities. Currently, she is a researcher on Professor Prentiss Dantzler’s project at the School of Cities which aims to better understand the relationship between residential mobility and neighbourhood change in Toronto.  

Research Assistant

Ashley Wilkinson is a Health Sciences PhD candidate at the University of Northern British Columbia, building on a Masters in Health Sciences with a specialization in Indigenous and Northern Health from Lakehead University. She has several years of experience in health research related to community health and social issues for marginalized groups across diverse urban, rural, and remote geographies. Her broader research interests include health equity, anti-racism, Indigenous health, and she is committed to community-engaged research approaches that centre the voices of those most affected by systemic inequities.

Research Assistant

Abigail, an Honours graduate in Sociology with a Minor in Spanish and a specialization in Migration and Ethnic Relations from Western University, is a skilled policy analyst at IRCC, focusing on Foreign Credential Recognition in Canada and international files. Her career includes significant roles as a research consultant with the Poverty Research Centre and Tajribati Research, where she specializes in Syrian refugee studies. Abigail's passion for housing research, combined with her extensive experience working with administrative datasets, supports her commitment to developing impactful housing projects with special attention to the intersection between housing and immigration in North America.

Research Assistant

Asha is a Master of Architecture student at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto. She has a strong interest in spatial justice and the critical theories related to investigating the politics of the built environment. With a curiosity to understand how space, place-making, and power intersect, Asha is dedicated to exploring the complex dynamics shaping our cities and communities.

Research Assistant

Priscilla Yeboah is a Master's graduate in Sociology from the University of Toronto and holds an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from York University. Her research interests center on Black life and anti-Black racism in the Canadian context. With a strong background in qualitative research methods, Priscilla brings meaningful insight and experience to the research team.