Detailed information
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- Project title:
- Healthy Youth in High-Rises
- Principal investigator(s):
- Minaker, Leia; Lo, Ryan; Smith, Lindsey G
- Co-investigator(s):
- Buttazzoni, Adrian N; Gilliland, Jason A; Wray, Alexander
- Supervisors:
- N/A
- Institution paid:
- University of Waterloo (Ontario)
- Research institution:
- University of Waterloo (Ontario)
- Department:
- School of Planning
- Program:
- Catalyst Grant: Healthy Youth
- Competition (year/month):
- 202211
- Assigned peer review committee:
- Catalyst Grant : Healthy Youth
- Primary institute:
- Population and Public Health
- Primary theme:
- Social / Cultural / Environmental / Population Health
- Term (yrs/mths):
- 1 yr 0 mth
- CIHR contribution:
- Contributors:
- Inst of Musculoskel Hlth &Arth
- Amount:
- $100,000
- Equipment:
- $0
- External funding partner(s):
- Partner Name:
- N/A
- Amount:
- N/A
- Equipment:
- N/A
- External applicant partner(s):
- Partner Name:
- N/A
- Amount:
- N/A
- Equipment:
- N/A
- External in-kind partner(s):
- Partner Name:
- N/A
- Amount:
- N/A
- Equipment:
- N/A
- Keywords:
- Adolescents; Mental Health; Urban Design
- Abstract/Summary:
- The world is urbanizing faster than ever, and cities across Canada are grappling with how best to accommodate growing urban populations while supporting health and sustainability goals. Many Canadian regions are directing high-density housing development towards urban growth centres. However, high-rises (high-density housing with at least 5 storeys) are not built for youth. Youth are especially vulnerable to effects of poor housing and neighbourhood characteristics, and are excluded from participating in planning and development decisions. No extant research has investigated youth perspectives on how high-rise neighbourhoods affect their health, and what specific urban designs they suggest as solutions. This is a major gap given that high-rise housing stock will continue to grow to meet demand. This equity-focused research will support an emergent research focus on youth health and high-rise living. We will: 1) undertake a series of focus groups with youth in Toronto, the Region of Waterloo, and London, Ontario to explore how youth think different urban design features are linked to their physical and mental health and what urban design and placemaking solutions they propose; 2) Engage in participatory mapping exercises in which youth will identify areas in their neighborhoods where they engage in physical and mental health-related behaviors, and 3) Undertake go-along interviews in high-rise neighborhoods to more deeply explore these themes. Participants will be recruited to maximize diversity in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, and type of neighborhood where they live to ensure diverse viewpoints are represented in our sample. This research takes an integrated knowledge translation approach, builds on our team's prior research on youth health and urban design, and on our experience with youth engagement. This research will support youth health and equity by leveraging local youth expertise to conceptualize urban design solutions for high-rise neighbourhoods.
- Version:
- 20250311.1