Faculty Associates
Carol Agocs
Professor Emerita, Department of Political ScienceDr. Agocs' current research examines citizen engagement in Canadian local governance. She also writes on discrimination in employment, equality policy and implementation, and organizational change. Visit faculty page
Chris Alcantara
Associate Professor, Department of Political ScienceDr. Alcantara’s research examines the roots of collective action and intergovernmental cooperation in Canada, especially between Indigenous communities and the other three levels government (e.g. federal, provincial/territorial and municipal). He also writes about the importance of institutional design and the dynamics of institutional change using a variety of, conceptual, and methodological approaches. Visit faculty page
Bipasha Baruah
Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Women’s IssuesDepartments of Geography and Anthropology, Rotman Institute of Philosophy
Dr. Baruah conducts interdisciplinary research on gender, development and globalization; gender and global governance; women and work; and social, political and economic inequality. Her research on women and property ownership and women’s employment in renewable energy and resource efficiency has influenced policy within governments, financial institutions and non-governmental organizations. Dr. Baruah has 12 years of professional experience with organizations such as the United Nations Development Program, Asian Development Bank, World Resources Institute, The Energy and Resources Institute, Self-Employed Women’s Association, the Association for Women’s Rights in Development, the International Development Research Centre of Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and Global Affairs Canada. Visit faculty page
Jamie Baxter
Associate Dean Graduate Affairs (Social Science)Professor, Department of Geography
Dr. Baxter is a social scientist interested in a variety of topics including: environmental risks from hazards, community responses to technological hazards, environmental inequities, environment and health, geography of health, noxious facility siting, and methodology. Visit faculty page
Neil Bradford
Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science, Huron University College
Member, Ontario Highly Skilled Workforce Planning and Partnership Table
Dr. Bradford’s research interests focus on place-based policy and multi-level governance and he has published widely in the areas of urban and community development, inter-governmental relations, and partnerships that address economic innovation and social inclusion goals. Visit faculty page
Evelyne Brie
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science Dr. Brie's research interests include public opinion, electoral behaviour and statistical methods. Most of her work studies the impact of regional identity in explaining political divides in Germany and in Canada. Some of her previous work as a data scientist for the City Lab Berlin includes a prototype to optimize electoral redistricting using digital tools and a prototype of climate data analytics for the city of Berlin. Visit faculty page
Stephanie Frisbee
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and DentistryDr. Frisbee’s research focuses on the factors that affect cardiovascular health in entire communities or populations, not just individuals. She evaluates the impact of factors such as community resources, health care resources, how communities are structured, environmental factors and exposures, and policies that affect the communities in which people live. Visit faculty page
Jason Gilliland
Professor, Department of Geography
Director, Urban Development Program
Cross Appointment with School of Health Studies and the Department of Paediatrics
Dr. Gilliland’s research focuses on various aspects of urban planning and development, urban design, housing, transportation, children's environments, and public health in Canadian cities. His work utilizes both qualitative and quantitative methodologies and he has a particular interest in advancing urban and health applications of geographic information systems (GIS). Visit faculty page
Kate Graham
Dr. Kate Graham has more than a decade of experience working in local government, most recently as the Director, Community & Economic Innovation at the City of London. She is an engaged community member and volunteer, including serving as the Chair of the Pillar Nonprofit Network, and was named one of London’s Top 20 Under 40 in 2015. Her research interests include local government, urban politics, public policy and city competitiveness. Her dissertation Leading Canada’s Cities? A Study of Urban Mayors examined the political leadership of Canada’s cities (see: MayorsProject). She is an adjunct faculty member in Western's Local Government Program.
Michael Haan
Associate Professor, Department of SociologyCanada Research Chair in Mitigation and Ethnic Relations
Co-director, Statistics Canada Research Data Centre at Western
Dr. Haan’s research interests intersect the areas of demography, immigrant settlement, labour marker integration, and data development. He is widely consulted by provincial and federal governments for policy advice, and currently has signed Research Partnership Agreements with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Employment and Skills Development Canada, and Statistics Canada. Visit faculty page
Bill Irwin
Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Business, Huron University College
Dr. Irwin’s research centers on issues of policy, leadership, and community engagement, exploring models of program and policy evaluation, focused on qualitative evaluation, outcome and impact analysis. He looks for the interplay between institutions and community. Visit faculty page
JinHyung Lee
Assistant Prodessor, Department of Geography and Environment
Dr. Lee's research interests concern using GIScience, GeoAI, geospatial data computing, and space-time analytics to study urban transportation as well as issues and challenges within cities from a data-driven perspective. He is also interested in urban analytics with foci on the relationship between transport and public health, urban development, and business applications. Visit faculty page
Agnieszka Leszczynski
Associate Prodessor, Department of Geography and Environment
Dr. Leszczynski’s work examines the intersections of digitally and cities from a variety of perspectives. These include the geographies of urban platformization, urban platform aesthetics, and how small cities function as sites of experimentation with digital urban innovation. Visit faculty page
Joe Lyons
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science
Director, Local Government Program
Dr. Lyons’ research interests are in the areas of local government institutions and management. He is especially interested in special-purpose bodies and has published research comparing their performance with general-purpose governments. Visit faculty page
Lora Phillips
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
Lora Phillips is a sociologist whose research seeks to answer three broad questions: Who has access to a stable life, and who does not? Why do observed social class, age, and racial-ethnic differences in exposure to precarious circumstances exist, particularly as it relates to the role of spatial and temporal context? And what are the consequences of exposure to material precarity, and inequalities therein, for individual and community health and well-being? Using mixed methods, interdisciplinary, and community-engaged approaches, Lora has specifically studied spatial, temporal, and socio-demographic inequalities in exposure to economic insecurity; job loss and precarious work; foreclosure, eviction, and homelessness; and food insecurity. Visit faculty page
Adriana Premat
Assistant Professor, Department of AnthropologyDr. Premat is a social anthropologist, researching the environment, agriculture and food consumption as these intersect with poverty and sustainable development in urban settings. Along with a focus on contemporary urban agriculture initiatives taking place in Latin American and Canadian cities, she explores the ongoing redefinition of state-civil society relations, restructuring of the food system, repackaging corporate interests and the spread of environmental sensibilities in and across socialist and capitalist contexts. Visit faculty page
Howard Ramos
Professor, Department of Sociology
Howard Ramos is a political sociologist who investigates issues of social justice and equity. He has published on social movements, human rights, Indigenous mobilization, environmental advocacy, ethnicity, race, and Atlantic Canada. He is currently working on projects looking at Atlantic Canadian, secondary cities, integration of immigrants and refugees, hockey and multiculturalism, and the social implication of AI and new technology. He works with graduate students looking at these issues as well as state funding of women’s organizations, public attitudes and social values, perceptions of skills needed in the digital economy, and the intersections of identities and sports. Visit faculty page
Gus Riveros
Associate Professor, Faculty of Education
Dr. Riveros’ research examines the relationships between urban change and schooling. In particular, the factors that affect the availability of educational opportunity in urban centres. His most recent work investigates the processes that contribute to enrolment pressure in schools, including overcrowding and underutilization. Visit faculty page
Andrew Sancton
Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science
Dr. Sancton's reserach focuses on Governance of City-Regions; Political Control of Police Services; Municipal Government and Policy-Making; Electoral Redistribution; Urban Politics; Local Public Administration. Visit faculty page
Leora Swartzman
Associate Professor, Department of PsychologyDr. Swartzman’s research focuses on psychological influences on physical symptom reporting, the interplay of cognitive, motivational and emotional determinants of adherence to health care regimens and on how people construe treatment options. Her interest in the Centre stems from a desire to introduce an urban policy perspective into her Community Psychology (Psych3317E) undergraduate course (which would be open to qualified Political Science students) where students apply their scholarship to help local community agencies meet their identified needs. Visit faculty page
Zack Taylor
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science
Dr. Taylor researches on comparative urban political economy, urban and regional planning, metropolitan governance, public finance, and public administration. His book Shaping the Metropolis (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2019) examines how differences in Canadian and American political institutions produced different forms of urban governance in Canada and the United States. He is a non-practicing Registered Professional Planner in Ontario and a Fellow at the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. He served as director of the Centre between 2018 and 2021. Visit faculty page
Roza Tchoukaleyska
Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and EnvironmentDr. Tchoukaleyska’s research examines public space planning and food cultures in urban contexts. This includes collaborative and community-based work with partners in Canada and France, with a focus on designing sociable, vibrant, and resilient neighbourhood spaces. She is a professional planner and has taught CityStudio experiential learning courses.
James Voogt
Associate Professor and Chair, Department of GeographyMember, Environment and Sustainability Collaborative Graduate Program
President of the International Association for Urban Climate
Dr. Voogt’s broad area of research interest is urban climatology, with a specialization in the measurement and modelling of urban surface temperatures. He is former Chair of the American Meteorological Society’s Board of the Urban Environment, has served as an expert contributor to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Reducing Urban Heat Islands: Compendium of Strategies, and was an invited participant in sessions related to urban climate and meteorology at both UN Habitat III and the Cities IPCC conference. Visit faculty page
