There is a need for fresh ideas and creative solutions to tackle the housing crisis issue in Toronto

BY PAUL JUNOR

There is a novel creative venture intending to make a significant difference in the lives of BIPOC individuals in the development space. It was piloted by Zahira Ebrahim and Kofi Hope who founded Monument as a social purpose business that supports BIPOC leadership and equitable fair institution. Ebrahim is Deloitte’s executive advisor on cities and design, and develops community-led policy as a strategist. Hope has written many opinion pieces for the Toronto Star, and works at the University of Toronto as an adjunct professor in the School of Geography.

Salma Rawhi, CEO of York University Development Corp provided expertise to Monumental to ensure that her values were in alignment with the mission of the Incubator. “In our industry there is so much legacy; you know your growth is limited.”

Zebra Ebrahim is optimistic about the future of the Incubator. She states, “We don’t want this to be an exploratory program. We want this to be for folks who want to become real estate entrepreneurs. This would be a kick start to their long-term journey.”

Hope envisions that the Incubator will be able to attract candidates from diverse social realities in order to bring their skills to the forefront. In an interview he states, “Housing is the crisis of our times. With all love and respect to the established industry, it has not solved the housing crisis. There has been a lot built in Toronto over the last 20 years, and a lot of it has not been the type of housing that we need-affordable housing that meets the needs of families.”

There is a need for fresh ideas and creative solutions to tackle the housing crisis issue in Toronto. There has been a lot of attention that has focused on real estate development in Toronto. Hope notes, “We all benefit as Canadians by having the best minds across all communities getting involved because this is the crisis of our times.”

Furthermore, Ebrahim reiterates with respect to applicants that, “We have a lot of applicants who have a piece of land with a family member, with a friend, on their own, and have no idea what to do with it.”

Matti Siemiatycki, Director of the Infrastructure Institute acknowledges the role that many established families have played in the development of real estate in the cities. Many families worked together and helped each other to move up as can be seen in many custom homes that are built in areas such as York Region. With the wealth and money that they accumulated, many have given back through philanthropy and building of hospitals and museums.

He is fascinated by the changes that are currently taking place in spaces that have been disproportionately racialized. He observes, “Real estate and property development has been such a wealth escalator, and for so many communities over generations. That meant some people have become fabulously wealthy and others have been excluded. In large measures in our city, racialized communities and in particular the Black and Indigenous communities have really not been as included and not been as big a part of the real estate sector as others.”

Abigail Moriah, founder of the Black Planning Project and the BIPOC Mentorship Initiative for Indigenous and Planners of Colour believes that many Black Planners are viewing the planning field afresh as a way that they can have an influence on spaces, on communities like (their) own.