Executive Committee
Martin Horak, Director
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science
Martin Horak specializes in Canadian and comparative urban politics. His research and publications address a range of related subjects, including multilevel urban governance, urban transit and housing policy, local political institutions, public opinion on municipal issues and local election campaigns. He is the co-editor, along with Zack Taylor and Jack Lucas, of City Politics in Canada: Forty Years of Continuity and Change (University of Toronto Press, 2025). He is the Public Policy Pillar Lead for the Canadian Municipal Barometer, a major seven-year, SSHRC-funded research partnership. Visit faculty page
Roza Tchoukaleyska, Associate Director
Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and EnvironmentRoza 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.
Zack Taylor, Associate Director
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science
Zack Taylor researches on comparative urban political economy, political and electoral geography, urban and regional planning, metropolitan governance, and local public finance. 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 School of Cities at the University of Toronto. He served as director of the Centre between 2017 and 2021 and is cross-appointed to the Department of Geography and Environment. Visit faculty page
