Last week, the University of Waterloo Map the System team demonstrated their systems thinking skills on a national stage. Map the System is a global pitch competition that asks students to apply systems thinking to complex social and environmental challenges. The winning team at the Waterloo campus final, made up of Calyssa Burke, Yawei (Selina) Han, Alex Petric, Janet Song Cornett-Ching, and Ayesha Zerin Tasnim, focused on understanding the root causes of the problem of housing inadequacy in Northern BC. With the support of their Professor, Simron Singh, Centre Director Paul Heidebrecht, and community partners, the team represented Waterloo at the virtual Map the System Canada finals held from May 11-13. The Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement is championing systems thinking on the Waterloo campus, empowering students to think about important issues in new ways.
Read “Map the System finalists address issues of excess and scarcity” to learn more about the Waterloo Campus Final.
Team member Janet Song has first-hand experience with housing inadequacy in Northern BC; she researched Northern Canada during her Master’s in Economic Development, did an internship in Prince Rupert, and continues to live in work in Northern BC as a settlement coordinator. This project matters deeply to her:
“It breaks my heart to see the disparity here,” Song says. “Large and small houses are breaking apart, often right beside each other. There are a lot of house fires as well, and it’s hard to build up stock in such a remote community. Housing is often the first step for people to get their lives together, and I wanted to do something about it though this research project.”
The team’s submission identified key forces in the lack of safe and affordable housing in Northern BC. These included the supply, demand, and price of homes, as regulated by the government; the region’s economic health; governmental investments in social services and amenities; and persistent socio-cultural challenges rooted in historical trauma.
They also identified key impact gaps: lack of consistent funding and long term planning, minimal Indigenous involvement in stakeholder partnerships, and the overlooking of connections between mental health and social/environmental factors. The team concluded that future solutions should consider cultural, educational, and economic factors while aiming to holistically improve residential quality of life.
“Housing isn’t just about people needing a place to live,” Song says. “It’s a huge component of a sustainable society. Without housing, people cannot contribute to the economy or a flourishing community. People are not being set up for success.”
Song admits that the problems in Northern BC represent a wider trend. People can’t afford housing in growing urban spaces, so they are forced to look north for space — known as “The Great Push.”
“Why should you care about this issue? This could be your future. Where might you go as housing prices rise? And what will the impact be on the local community?”
“Realizing the difference between systems thinking and one directional thinking will transform your thinking from Band-Aid to long term, transformational change.” - Janet Song
For students considering taking part in the competition, Song admits that their eyes will be opened to how they problem solve, and learn how to problem solve in a new way.
“Realizing the difference between systems thinking and one directional thinking will transform your thinking from Band-Aid to long term, transformational change.”
The team was formed through Simron Singh’s class, INDEV 607: Methods for Sustainable Development Practice: A Systems Approach. Singh offered the team significant feedback and support.
“As a sustainability scholar, I realise that our current global environmental and social crises are systemic and complex,” Singh says. “They cannot be understood, let alone be solved, without inter-and-transdisciplinary thinking. Systems mapping offers a compelling approach to bring various disciplines around the table to analyze a problem from various perspectives, identify the root of the problem, and seek solutions.”
Singh is a systems thinking advocate, having taught systems thinking for about 15 years, first in Vienna, and then at Waterloo for almost 10 years. This is Singh’s second year embedding Map the System into this Master’s course, and a team from his class has won the Waterloo leg of the Map the System competition on both occasions.
“I am extremely proud of my students who work hard with me, and place their trust in my guidance as they go through this journey,” Singh says. “It’s not a conventional course full of readings and reproducing it as critical essays. This is learning by doing, and each journey is unique. I teach them how to analyze and understand the challenge by giving them the concepts and tools, and in return, the students teach me about new topics.”
Although the Waterloo team was not chosen to advance to the global finals at the University of Oxford in June, the experience proved to be an impactful learning opportunity. Cheer on the four Canadian Map the System teams, including a team from the Balsillie School of International Affairs who will be representing Laurier University, by registering for the online global final.