Spatial Precarity
What Space: Spatial precarity, gentrification, and the arts is a ~375-page research series sharing insights from Groundstory Phase 1 (2017-2020).
Incubated by ArtsPond, Groundstory is a collective impact effort seeking to boost spatial justice for the arts in the Greater Toronto to Hamilton Area in Ontario, Canada.
Rooted in Davenport’s West Queen West (one of the fastest gentrifying areas in Toronto), Groundstory Phase 1 was funded by Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Collective Impact Fund, Employment and Social Development Canada, and Canada Council for the Arts’ Sector Innovation and Development Program in association with Roseneath Theatre, a theatre company for young audiences.
Capturing stories and solutions to the effects of spatial precarity and gentrification on the arts, Groundstory Phase 1 research featured an international literature review, national survey, regional human-centered design workshops, focus groups, educational podcasts, and more. Major goals were to better illustrate the root causes, ripple effects, and responses to gentrification in the arts in the Greater Toronto to Hamilton Area plus other rapidly gentrifying communities in Ontario, Canada, and internationally. Reports in this series include:
Groundstory: Round the Block (Part 1)
Release pending Spring 2021
Prepared by ArtsPond and Groundstory Founder Jessa Agilo, Part 1 provides an overview of the stories, activities, resources, and knowledge gathered on spatial precarity, gentrification, and the arts as a part of Groundstory Phase 1 research (pre-coronavirus pandemic) from Spring 2017 to Winter 2020.
Groundtrust: Primer on Community and Cultural Land Trusts (Part 2), 38 pages
Preview Edition (PDF) | Sep 12, 2020
Prepared by ArtsPond Associate Youth Researcher Niko Casuncad in Summer 2020, Part 2 explores pre-pandemic concepts and examples of social purpose real estate solutions to gentrification and spatial precarity for equity-seeking groups in the arts. This youth-focused resource serves as an introductory guide to creative and cultural community land trusts for Black, Indigenous, and other racialized youth in arts and culture.
Annotated Bibliography (Part 3), 132 pages
Preview Edition (PDF) | September 12, 2020
Part 3 provides summary annotations for prioritized resources selected from Part 4 Bibliography. Annotations were prepared by ArtsPond Associate Youth Researchers Felicity Campbell, Cheryll Case, Michael Pereira, Monique Cheung, and others, edited by Jessa Agilo. Most annotations were written between Fall 2018 and Summer 2019. They are grouped according to Groundstory’s three overarching research themes: uncovering root causes, ripple effects, and responses to spatial precarity and gentrification in arts and culture.
Bibliography (Part 4), 150 pages
Preview Edition (PDF) | September 12, 2020
Gathered by Jessa Agilo, Felicity Campbell, Cheryll Case, Michael Pereira, et al, Part 4 is a compendium of 2,000 public and academic resources applicable to spatial precarity and gentrification in arts and culture communities in Canada and internationally. Two separate bibliographies are provided: rated by relevance to Groundstory research themes (selected sources), and alphabetical (all sources). While older sources have been included for comparison, most were published between 2015 to January 2020. All sources were accessed between Spring 2017 and Winter 2020. The complete bibliography with interactive filtering by category is also available online as a free Zotero public archive. New resources will also be added to the Zotero library on an ongoing basis.