Faculty
Urban Studies Program instructors are respected scholars, researchers, community leaders, and professionals engaged in urban planning and social issues. All excel at interactive, small-group teaching, fostering an inclusive and enriched learning environment for students.
David Roberts
Director & Associate Professor, Teaching Stream
I am an associate professor in the teaching stream, and also the director of the Urban Studies Program. I have a deep passion for understanding how cities work and what influences urban change, and am also committed to building more just and liveable urban futures.
I grew up in Seattle — with a lot of family also in New York City. The culture, communities, diversity, and wicked challenges of these two cities — along with, more recently, my residence in Toronto — have had profound impacts on my understanding of cities and their potential.
One of my first jobs after undergrad was working at an emergency shelter for unhoused and refugee youth in Seattle. This work continues to shape how I think about cities — and also inspired me to come to U of T — first as a master’s and then PhD student in geography.
2024-25 Courses:
URB235H1F: A Multidisciplinary Introduction to Urban Studies I: Theoretical Foundations of City Building
URB431Y1Y: Multidisciplinary Urban Capstone Project
URB439H1F: Cities and Mega-events: Place-making, Contestation, and Urban Citizenship
My teaching and research
As a core faculty member in the Urban Studies Program, I teach a wide variety of courses, from introductory to more specialized courses on my research — like URB439H1: Cities and Mega-events.
My research tends to focus on the ways in which individuals and groups who have been historically excluded from formal forms of city-building, like urban planning, can and do have their voices heard. In my current project, I co-design improvements to social services with refugee youth who arrived in Toronto on their own. I was also recently awarded a Transatlantic Partnership Grant as part of a team of researchers from Canada, Brazil, and the UK. We will be researching grassroots community responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the areas of healthcare equity and food justice through community-engaged research.
My favourite city is…
One of my favourite cities is Durban, South Africa. I fell in love with Durban when I lived there while studying the impacts of the 2010 World Cup on the people who live, work, and play in the city. I miss the people, the food, the beach, and the vibrancy of life in Durban.
Contact
Dr. David J. Roberts
Director & Associate Professor, Teaching Stream
d.roberts@utoronto.ca
416-978-7790
Aditi Mehta
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
I am an assistant professor in the teaching stream of the Urban Studies Program. I really enjoy conducting qualitative research and being methodologically creative.
For example, I believe that using aesthetic forms such as photography, film, and mapping are an effective way to learn about cities.
I also aim to make my research and teaching more community-accountable by designing courses that engage with community partners. These collaborations create the potential for social change while also prompting reflection on how knowledge is produced.
2024-25 Courses:
URB234H1: Cities in Popular Culture
URB236H1: A Multidisciplinary Introduction to Urban Studies II: Urban Challenges and Theoretical Application
URB335H1: City Challenges, City Opportunities in a 21st Century Toronto
URB342H1: Qualitative Research in Urban Studies
URB440H1: The Changing Culture of Regent Park
My teaching and research
As a core faculty member in the Urban Studies Program, I teach a wide variety of courses, from our introductory classes to more specialized courses based on my research – like URB440H1: The Changing Culture of Regent Park.
My commitment to active learning and pedagogical research has taken a variety of forms, including topics where urban inequality, environmental justice, community development, and technology intersect.
With my students, I explore how urban residents produce and disseminate knowledge about discrimination, climate change, and public health. We use new media tools to influence policy in neighborhoods via meaningful public participation and organizing. For example, I am currently exploring how Muslim youth in the Regent Park neighbourhood experience rapid redevelopment, and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.
My favourite city is…
One of my favourite cities is New Orleans, Louisiana. The history, culture, festivals, art, vibrancy, food, and music are captivating. I began working there in 2008, post-Hurricane Katrina, on economic development projects, and used a variety of qualitative methods to write my dissertation on disaster-inspired community media in 2017.
Contact
Aditi Mehta
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
aditi.mehta@utoronto.ca
416-978-7463
Daniel Fusca
Sessional Instructor
I’m a public servant who is passionate about making a difference in my world. I chose to study and work in urban planning because I wanted to help build great cities where people could prosper.
Eventually, my work started to focus on the importance of public engagement in achieving that goal, and I’ve been doing that ever since. I was the stakeholder-engagement lead for the City of Toronto’s Planning Division for close to six years, where I worked to introduce new tools and processes to improve the way the division engaged with and communicated to the public. Today, I’m the manager of public consultation for the city’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division, where I oversee a team that designs and implements all the public engagement associated with implementing the city’s $2.7 billion parks and recreation capital plan.
2024-25 Courses
URB432H1F: Urban Studio: Public Participation in Policy Making
My teaching and research
I love teaching, because it motivates me to engage in the theory behind what I do, which is something you don’t always have the time to engage in as a professional. I also find it rewarding to impart to my students so much of the practical knowledge that I’ve gained through my career but was never taught in school myself.
My favourite city is…
This is a hard one, but one of my favourite cities is Berlin. It’s a city with such a fascinating history, and when you visit, there are so many layers of that history that you can find throughout the landscape, making it exciting to explore. It’s also a beautiful city that’s fun, progressive, affordable, and the food is good too!
Contact
Daniel Fusca
Sessional Instructor
d.fusca@utoronto.ca
Have questions about USP?
Need more info? Want to discuss if the Urban Studies Program is right for you? Looking for help choosing courses? Rima Oassey, our Innis College academic program coordinator, can help!