Housing has become the frontline defence against the coronavirus. Home has rarely been more of a life or death situation.
– Leilani Farha, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing

Question:

If housing is a right, what’s the path to a more equitable city that houses all? How do diversity and mixed housing options coexist within a neighbourhood?

From home, this discussion explored housing, inclusion, and the challenges to making the room so that everyone has a stable roof.

This event was presented in partnership with the Calgary Public Library.

Panelists

Romy Garrido (moderator) works in communications and political management, having worked at The City of Calgary and now for the non-profit housing sector in Parkdale, Toronto. She frequently comments on issues of equity and migration, and applies theory to practice through grassroots community organizing.

Bruce Irvine is the Manager of Affordable Housing for the City of Calgary responsible for implementing on the City’s Affordable Housing Strategy, policy initiatives to scale up the nonprofit housing sector and capital construction of the ten year capital plan to build over 1,000 new homes.

Martina Jileckova is the CEO at Horizon Housing and Co-chair of the Community Housing Affordability Collective (CHAC). She is a member of the Calgary Local Immigration Partnership Council and the Aboriginal Standing Committee on Housing and Homelessness. She serves on Boards for the Community Housing Transformation Centre and Alberta Network of Public Housing Agencies.

Bernadette Majdell, since 2016, has been the CEO of HomeSpace Society, a non-profit real estate developer, rental housing owner and property manager. She has been active in the homeless sector, serving as a board member at the Calgary Homeless Foundation and held a prominent role in the development of Calgary’s Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness.

Gabriela Rendón is the Founder and Director of the Housing Justice Lab a platform for dialogue, research and strategic design for equitable neighbourhood development based at The New School in New York City. She is a co-founder both of Cohabitation Strategies, a non-profit organization for socio-spatial research, design and development; and of Urban Front, a transnational consultancy focused on helping progressive public and social sectors achieve their goals as they address critical urban problems.

Lee Stevens works at Vibrant Communities Calgary as a Policy and Research Specialist. She has worked as a Social Worker in Calgary since 2006, for organizations such as the Calgary Drop-in Centre and Rehab Society, CUPS, and Alberta Health Services. Lee applies her critical understanding of poverty towards advocacy for more socially just policies. She works to support the advancement of policy goals already identified by Enough for All stakeholders through research, writing and development.

DISCUSSION FACILITATORS

Myke Atkinson, Kyle Auch, Sarah Bramley, Caitlan Doran, Steven Dohlman, Zorica Gvozdenac, Hayley Gislason, Kim Hoang, Ron Jaicarran, Sukhpreet Kaur, Elsbeth Mehrer, Christina Michayluk, Melissa Obi, Mina Rahimi, Angat Sanjay Desai, Alicia Ta, Darshan Tailor, Hazma Tariq, Sergio Veyzaga and Francisco Villalobos.