Course Syllabus
Activating Community Leadership in Regent Park, Moss Park, and St. James Town
Photo Credit: Eric Fallas, 2025
TCL&D Community Leadership and Civic Education
In partnership with University of Toronto
Fall 2025
Class: Tuesdays, 6-8pm
Location: Toronto Community Centre of Learning and Development
540 Dundas Street East, Toronto, ON M5A 2B3
Course Description:
How can urban residents influence policy, incite change in their neighbourhoods, or actualize an idea to address community needs? Community organizing and development, as well as civic engagement may seem unclear and complex to the public. This course bridges academic knowledge with grassroots practices from community organizers to strengthen students’ community leadership skills and civic engagement. Students will learn how the City of Toronto “works”, by examining different levers of power within the municipal government, along with advocacy and organizing strategies. Students will also explore various pressing concerns most prominent in Regent Park, such as affordable housing, food sovereignty, labour organizing, institutional discrimination and racism, and childcare and youth development. Lastly, the course will introduce practical leadership skills, including grant writing, public communications, and campaign design.
Over nine weeks, students will develop an idea pitch that addresses a pressing urban issue of their choice through the lens of community leadership. In the final session, students will practice public speaking and present their concrete idea to tackle a chosen issue.
Learning Objectives:
In this course, students will:
- Gain a sophisticated understanding of who (from city official to organizations to residents) holds political power in the City of Toronto
- Develop applied leadership and community organizing skills such as effective communication, conflict resolution, fundraising/grant-writing, editorial journalism, digital storytelling, strategic deployment of social media, etc.
- Propose a neighbourhood improvement intervention using one or more of the aforementioned skills
Weekly Topics
Week 1- October 7: Introduction and Welcome (& Governance and grants; Toronto municipal governance)
Speakers: Aditi Mehta, Kaitlyn Chan, David Roberts, from University of Toronto
Welcome to Activating Community Leadership in Regent Park! Professor Mehta and Kaitlyn Chan will introduce the course objectives, expectations, and the concept of “the right to research.”
Please let us know if you have any accessibility needs.
Later, Professor Roberts will provide an overview of municipal governance in Toronto, the purpose of grants, and tips for writing successful grant proposals.
Key questions/learning objectives:
- Tell us about yourself! Who you are, what you do, and what you hope to gain from the class.
- How does city government work?
- What are the structures of city government and different levers of power?
Week 2- October 14: Housing Justice, and Community Development Struggles
Speaker: Chiyi Tam, Managing Director of Toronto Chinatown Land Trust
In this session, you will learn about the history of racial displacement and gentrification in Toronto’s Chinatown, and explore how this community has responded to housing challenges.
Key questions/learning objectives
- How do community organizers navigate and negotiate between residents, municipal government, and private developers?
- How do community-based organization balance the need for development and investment with overall community wellbeing and welfare?
Week 3- October 21: Labour History and Organizing Strategies: History of Social Movements
Speaker: Tzazna Miranda Leal, Staff Organizer at OPSEU
Step into the world of labour organizing and discover how people across different professions take ownership of their workplace necessities, advocate for their rights, and gather together for meaningful change. This session will introduce how unions work and why they matter, and provide a brief history of labour movements.
Key questions/learning objectives
- What is the difference between organized vs. unorganized labour?
- Define and explain the importance of rank & file organizing within a union.
- What are key principles of successful organizing?
Week 4- October 28: Cultural Urban Planning and Design
Speaker: Sneha Mandhan, Assistant Professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning, Toronto Metropolitan University
Using real-life examples, we will explore the importance of cultural planning. The session will also introduce mapping as a tool for identifying cultural assets and how it helps us to understand complex cultural dynamics in our city.
Key questions/learning objectives
- What are the different ways that academics, planners, and urban communities define “culture” and “heritage”?
- How do immigrant communities use urban space in Toronto and what challenges do they face in claiming space?
- How can mapping be used as a creative research method?
Week 5- November 4: Child and Youth Development in the City
Speaker: Tamika Johnson, Regent Park Health Centre
Week 6- November 11: Migration, Gender and Waged Work: Institutional Racism
Speaker: Nikisha Browne, Sole Proprietor of Soleil Counselling and Wellness
This session examines the difference between institutional and interpersonal racism and how these shape the experiences of racialized immigrant women in Toronto’s precarious labour market.
Key questions/learning objectives
- How do race, migration, and gender intersect to produce social and economic inequalities?
- What is trauma-informed counseling?
Week 7- November 18: Urban Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Storytelling
Speaker: Jade Guthrie, Community Learning and Engagement Manager at Foodshare
*Closing Remarks by Michael Classens, Undergraduate Associate Director & Assistant Professor at the School of the Environment, University of Toronto
This class introduces the concept of food justice, framing food as a fundamental human right. We will examine how systemic discrimination contributes to food insecurity in the city and analyze the limitations of traditional responses.
Key questions/learning objectives
- How does social stratification/class/racism intersect with food access?
- What is a food desert?
- How do organizations such as FoodShare facilitate food justice?
Week 7- November 25: Final Workshop/ Presentation
Speaker: Ben Liu, Executive Director at the School of Cities, University of Toronto
In the final session, Ben Liu from the School of Cities and board member of the Toronto Public Library will discuss how non-profits are formed and operated, and where community leaders can access resources for their project pitches.
Students will then present their final projects (3 minute pitches), receiving feedback from both Ben Liu, Professor Mehta, and Kaitlyn Chan providing an opportunity to showcase their work and reflect on their learning.
Final Presentation Guidelines
The final session will be dedicated to sharing brief 3-minute proposals from each student, centered on themes of community leadership. Students are encouraged to make a pitch that outlines their vision of solving an urban issue, applying the skills and knowledge gained throughout the course, and strengthening public speaking abilities.
- Identify an urban issue in Toronto.
- Share an idea for how you would address this challenge.
- How will you actualize this idea and inspire your community? Reflect on the knowledge and skills in class and apply them accordingly.