Research

How does your housing affect your health? This is the key research question posed by the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) West Housing and Health Study, a research project that is currently taking place in four locations: the City of Toronto, the City of Hamilton, and the Regional Municipalities of Halton and Peel. With the support of the local housing authorities, we are inviting people who are on the waiting list for Rent-Geared-to-Income, or RGI, Housing, to learn about their life and how they have been feeling. 

Does where you live influence how much you walk? Walking is the most common, easiest and most affordable form of physical activity, and some neighbourhoods are more "walk friendly" than others. The Ontario Movers Study is a survey of people's activities, particularly walking. Participants in this study fill out an activity log immediately before they move, and one year after they move.

According to the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, “inequities are killing people on a grand scale.” In all wealthy economies, the least well off tend to have relatively poorer health, even though they are typically living well above subsistence levels and have higher income levels than their counterparts in much poorer countries. Evidence also suggests that countries with a highly unequal distribution of income have poorer population health outcomes than those having a more egalitarian distribution of income.

Hamilton has many great neighbourhoods, in all areas of the city. One of the things that makes a neighbourhood great is its visual appeal. The buildings, landscaping, tree canopy, street activities, signage and commercial activities and other features are all things that make neighbourhoods appealing and memorable. In this project, we are planning to use the brand new MUVR System (Mobile Urban Video Recording System) to capture a few seconds of video and audio on every street in Hamilton.