*In April 2022, the university announced our new name of Toronto Metropolitan University, which will be implemented in a phased approach. Learn more about our next chapter.*
Dr. Zhixi Zhuang, MCIP, RPP
Dr. Zhixi Zhuang is a Registered Professional Planner and an Associate Professor at the School of Urban and Regional Planning. As the Academic Director of the Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement and Founder and Director of DiverCityLab (www.divercitylab.com (external link) ), her research explores the growing urban diversity in Canadian cities and how city-builders can instil the values of equity and inclusion into planning policies and practices. Specifically, she investigates the intersections of individual characteristics and the impacts on lived experiences in cities, and how diversity and differences shape places and communities. Her work focuses on the long-lasting marks of immigrant and racialized communities on urban and suburban landscapes, inscribing places with important cultural, historical, and political meanings. She has conducted mixed-method and arts-informed research, effectively engaging immigrant community members and city building professionals to gain a holistic perspective on immigrant integration, place-making, civic engagement, and inclusive policy-making. Her research addresses the impacts of global migration on local governance as well as inclusive community-building and sheds light on equity-based approaches to planning with diversity.
TMCIS occupies space in the traditional and unceded territory of nations including the Anishnaabeg, the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples, and territory which is also now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. This territory is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, as well as the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississaugas.