The team made up of Calyssa Burke, Yawei (Selina) Han, Alex Petric, Janet Song Cornett-Ching, and Ayesha Zerin Tasnim proved their systems thinking skills on the national stage focusing on understanding the root causes of the problem of housing inadequacy in Northern BC.
The team discusses their experience, the impact of the project in the community, and how the support of their Professors, Simron Singh, Paul Heidebrecht, Centre director and community partners helped them thrive in the competition.
Can you tell us about the team's journey in the Map the System competition?
Our team met through Professor Simron Singh’s course on systems thinking in sustainable development practice (INDEV 607). Participating in the Map the System competition is a key course component, and we were grouped together due to shared interests in building sustainable communities. Prof. Singh guided us through core systems thinking concepts which we applied to our chosen topic, housing affordability, availability, and adequacy in Northern British Columbia. Over the semester, we gathered information on Northern BC’s housing market to understand the topic as a system with multiple feedback loops and structural components that add complexity to the issue. We developed a written report and presentation outlining our findings and ideas for solutions to make housing more affordable and accessible in BC. We presented our work on April 7th at the University of Waterloo Map the System finals, and we were grateful to be awarded first place in the campus competition.
What is the key motivation for the team?
We entered the course and the competition hoping to develop our understanding and competencies in applying systems thinking for positive social change. Our chosen topic comes from having one of our group members in Northern BC, working in employment development and settlement support for immigrants. This on-the-ground presence gave us vital local knowledge that highlighted the growing need for housing in the North and improved our understanding of how housing systems differ between urban and rural areas in Canada. We were drawn to our topic on housing and the topic affects us all, and we wanted to give a voice to people who are often left out in housing discussions.
Most of our team members come from backgrounds in international development, but many of the issues affecting Canada’s more remote regions—like an economy driven by transportation and resource development, and the need for active engagement with Indigenous groups—can be found in other countries as well.
What is the impact of the team's project on the community?
Our project primarily focuses on understanding the housing system in Northern BC and proposing possible solutions. Some of our ideas include recognizing the social inputs into housing access, such as, how mental health and education can affect one’s ability to find housing, using stronger regulations to ensure that economic investments are tied to investments in affordable housing stock, and working with Indigenous groups to ensure culturally sensitive approaches to development. While our project does not actively implement these ideas, we hope that our work raises awareness around housing in northern Canada and around the role of housing in economic and social development across Canada and abroad. Therefore, we are hoping to show our project to influential community members in Prince Rupert where one of our team members resides. We hope the project provides a catalyst for change by identifying root problems and proposing adequate solutions for the housing crisis.
What is the team’s next step?
Over the past month, we worked with Prof. Singh and Prof. Paul Heidebrecht to further refine our work, and on May 11th, we presented our work at the Canadian finals for Map the System. We heard from several insightful teams across Canada presenting on topics like vaccine hesitancy, mental health, sustainable infrastructure development, and even our own topic of housing from other locations. While the top four teams from the competition will be travelling to Oxford, United Kingdom for the Global Finals, our team unfortunately did not place high enough to advance. However, we are sure that our experience in Map the System will continue to inform our future contributions to social good as we look ahead to our respective careers. Additionally, as mentioned above, we plan to present our work to council members in Prince Rupert, BC who are undergoing a housing assessment project, to share our ideas and findings.