Nik Luka
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Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Montréal
Associate Member
Bieler School of Environment
Associate Member
Department of Equity, Ethics, and PolicyÌý(School of Population and Global Health)
Member
Trottier Institute for Sustainability in Engineering and Design
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Ph.D., University of Toronto
M.Arch., Université Laval, Québec City
B.A.A., Toronto Metropolitan UniversityÌý(erstwhile Ryerson Polytechnic University)Ìý
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I am a specialist inÌýethnography, landscape studies, and critical studies of design and planning. MuchÌýof my research and teaching activities explore what I call REURBANISM--the processes of transformation, contestation, and negotiation that occur in (re)urban(ising) landscapes. These are operationalised through action-research collaborations with public agencies and civil-society organisations as well as conventional investigative research and practical work on urban design and participatory governance. In a nutshell,ÌýI’m fascinated by how architects, planners, and other professionals engage with one another (or not…) and with non-specialists who offer other important forms of knowledge and expertise to develop techniques, possibilities, and capacities for transforming (sub)urban landscapesÌýto make better use of scarce resources while maintaining the qualities of place that people value about the settings that they know and inhabit on an everyday basis.
My interests in both research and professional practice encompass major themes that are familiar to most architects, landscape architects, planners, and geographers: housing, infrastructure, public space, cultural landscapes, urban design, and deliberative democracy. I typically do work that is inductive in a ‘constructivist’ orientation; while not an historian,ÌýI am especially intrigued by narrative, representations, text, and discourse as they apply to the work of architecture, urban design, and urban planning.ÌýWhat sorts of stories do we tell about the complexities of human settlements and the processes by which places become ‘(sub)urban’? How do specialists and non-specialists engage with the transformations, continuities, and ruptures that come with the passage of time, notably the liminal or transitional phases ‘from’ some condition ‘to’ some other condition? How can design can act as a hinge between natural process and human culture to guide change? More strategically, my activities focus on the deliberate policy-led remaking of everyday space through what is known in German asÌýStadtumbauÌý(literally the reworking of cities and suburbs).
Currently-funded projects includeÌýcomparative critical studies of densification and transformation of postwar landscapes (including transit-oriented development)Ìýwith colleagues in Sweden and continental Europe,Ìýtransdisciplinary strategies for landscape connectivity and ‘walkability’ in various contexts,Ìýa Canada-wide SSHRC Partnership Grant with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation onÌýinnovative land practices for housing quality and affordability,ÌýandÌýa Montréal partnership focusing onÌýcommoning in the Champ des Possibles.ÌýI also have enduring interests in the dynamics of the rural-urban fringe (often described as ‘periurban’ or ‘exurban’ settings), including second homes and the ways in which landscape amenities affect patterns of growth and development over time.Ìý
Professors need to engage in local communities of practice beyond the university campus, which I have done in various capacities over the last 20 years. I have beenÌýa member of the Conseil d’administration (Board of Directors) for several organisations includingÌýtheÌýÌý(striving for the development of vibrant civic life, including participatory urban design, planning, and governance), theÌýÌý(which promotes intercultural awareness and interprovincial mobility for young Canadians pursuing post-secondary studies), andÌý°ä´Ç²Ô±¹±ð°ù³¦¾±³Ùé,Ìýa non-profit MontréalÌýconsultancyÌýhelping civil-society actors, project entrepreneurs, and policymakers to ensure that progressive human(ist) values are at the core of city-building and landscape planning. I also have worked withÌýÌý(a non-profit group based in Verdun which strengthens community through creative writing),ÌýÌý(linking community-based literacy organisations across Québec to empower people, impact lives, and build a stronger society), Before moving to Montréal, I was also a member of theÌýÌýin Toronto for 10 years, with which I recorded several compact discs and one film production (with the Mark Morris Dance Group).
Montréal is home, but I have also lived in Québec City, Basel (Switzerland), Sheffield (England), Malmö (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland), Toronto, and in Ontario’s ‘Near North’ (Manitoulin Island, Georgian Bay, and the Haliburton Highlands). My paternal grandparents were Magyars who came to Canada from the tattered remains of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the early 20th century, but my maternal family roots in this country can be traced to Scottish merchants who settled in Québec City in the 1760s and were part of a small group of civic leaders who successfully lobbied the British Crown for the establishment of a parliament for Lower Canada (today's Assemblée nationale du Québec).
Co-investigator, New housing alternatives for a socially-just, post-COVID urban CanadaÌýÌý
Funding agency : Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Partnership Grant)
Total amount of award : C$2 499 054 (2024–2031)
Principal Investigators : Prof. A. Walks and Prof. S. Bunce (Department of Geography and Programme in Planning, University of Toronto)
Co-investigator,Ìý
Funding agency : Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada / Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (Partnership Grant : Collaborative Housing Research Network)
Total amount of award : C$1 375 000 (2020-2025)
Principal Investigator : Prof. A. Flynn (Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia)
Co-investigator, ReCONstruct : Building energy retrofit solutions for Canada / ReCONstruire : Solutions de rénovation énergétique des bâtiments pour le CanadaÌýÌý
Funding agency : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Alliance Grant)
Total amount of award : C$3 250 000 (2022–2027)
Principal Investigators : Prof. M. Jemtrud (Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture, Â鶹AV)
Co-investigator,ÌýSupporting the possibilities of urban commoning in Montréal’s Champ des Possibles
Funding agency : Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Partnership Engage Grants)
Total amount of award : C$24 672 (2019-2022)
Principal Investigator : Prof. A. Poteete (Department of Political Science / Loyola Sustainability Research Centre, Concordia University)
Co-investigator,Ìý
Funding agency : Fonds québécois de recherche sur la société et la culture (Regroupements stratégiques)
Total amount of award : C$1 700 000 (2020-2027)
Principal Investigator : Prof. S. Breux (INRS Urbanisation culture société)
Co-investigator,Ìý
Funding agency : Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies / Santé / Société et culture (Réseau de recherche sur la gestion des risques liés aux inondations dans un contexte de changements climatiques)
Total amount of award : C$1 500 000 (2019-2024)
Principal Investigator : Prof. P. Gachon (Département de géographie, Université du Québec à Montréal)
Collaborator,Ìý
Funding agency : European Union (Innovative Training Networks / Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions)
Total amount of award : €2 691 515 (2020-2025) / approx. C$4 175 000
Principal Investigator : Prof. G. De Block (Urban Studies Institute, Universiteit Antwerpen)
Collaborator,ÌýVälfärdens landskap och den täta staden [The welfare landscape reassembled : Policies for sustainable outdoor recreation in times of urban densification]
Funding agency : FORMAS (Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development)
Total amount of award : SEK 9 820 000 / approx. C$1 435 000 (2016-2024)
Principal Investigator : Prof. M. Qviström (Institutionen för stad och land, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet)
Collaborator,ÌýHÃ¥llbar mobilitet i den täta staden : En studie av rekreationsmönster i de nya stationssamhällena [Sustainable leisure mobilities in compact towns : changing patterns of outdoor recreation in transit-oriented development]
Funding agency : FORMAS (Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development)
Total amount of award : SEK 2 987 001 / approx. C$436 500 (2017-2023)
Principal Investigator : Prof. M. Qviström (Institutionen för stad och land, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet)
Co-investigator,ÌýSafe Passage : Towards an integrated planning approach for landscape connectivity
Funding agency : Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Partnership Development Grants)
Total amount of award : C$199 500 (2016-2020)
Principal Investigator : Prof. N.-M. Lister (School of Urban and Regional Planning, Ryerson University)
Co-investigator,ÌýFrom speculation to evaluation : A digitally-mediated laboratory for local deliberative democracy
Funding agency : Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Insight Grants)
Total amount of award : C$204 500 (2012-2016)
Principal Investigator : Prof. H. Kong (Faculty of Law, Â鶹AV)
Co-investigator (2010-2014),ÌýMaking megaprojects work for communities
Funding agency : Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Community-University Research Alliances)
Total amount of award : C$1 000 000 (2007-2014)
Principal Investigator : Prof. L. Bornstein (School of Urban Planning, Â鶹AV)
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[2023]ÌýÌýMobilities, 18 (5), 789–804.ÌýÌý
[2023]Ìý.ÌýMobilities, 18 (5), 691– 699. Cowritten with M. Qviström (lead) and D. Normark.ÌýÌý
[2022]ÌýComplementing citizen engagement with innovative forms of professional co-production : a renewed case for transdisciplinary charrettes.ÌýIn H. L. Kong & T. Monforte (Eds.),ÌýÌý(pp. 163–193). Toronto : University of Toronto Press. Cowritten with B. Aird and N.-M. Lister.Ìý
[2021]ÌýÌýAménager : Expérience et innovation d’un quartier, 4Ìý(2 : Habiter), 12–21.Ìý
[2020]ÌýNya perspektiv pÃ¥ rekreation i den täta staden.ÌýMovium Direkt, 4,Ìý19–25.ÌýCowritten with H. Peinert (lead) and M. Qviström.
[2019]ÌýÌýInternational Journal of Urban & Regional Research, 43(4), 786-793. Cowritten with M. Qviström (lead) and G. De Block.
[2018]Ìý.ÌýInvited contribution toÌýThe Nature of Cities.
[2017]ÌýDeliberative democracy and digital urban design in a Canadian city : The case of the Â鶹AV Online Design Studio.ÌýInÌýDigital democracy in a globalised worldÌý(C. Prins, C. Cuijpers, P. L. Lindseth, & M. Rosina, Eds.). London : Edward Elgar, pp. 180-200. Cowritten with H. L. Kong (lead), J. Cudmore, & A. Dumas.
[2017]ÌýMontréal : Blue collars, green corridors, post-industrial waterways.ÌýInÌýThird Coast Atlas : Prelude to a planÌý(D. Ibañez, C. Lyster, C. Waldheim, & M. White, Eds.). New York : Actar, pp. 276–281. Cowritten with H. Braiden.Ìý
[2017]ÌýContested periurban amenity landscapes : changing waterfront ‘countryside ideals’ in central Canada.ÌýLandscape Research, 42Ìý(3), 256-276.
[2016]Ìý« Midtown » florissant : La Petite-Patrie aux abords du chemin de fer.ÌýInÌýMontréal : la cité des citésÌý(J.-L. Klein & R. G. Shearmur, Eds.) Montréal : Presses de l’Université du Québec, pp. 169-190.
[2016]ÌýEmerging challenges of vector-borne diseases for Canadian cities.ÌýCanada Communicable Disease Report, 42Ìý(10), 217-218.
[2016]ÌýNesting boxes : An elegant arts centre is the nucleus of a new civic hub for an off-island suburb of Montreal.ÌýCanadian Architect, 61Ìý(11), 48-51.
[2015]ÌýPour un urbanisme des possibles dans le Quartier des spectacles.ÌýInÌýLe Quartier des spectacles et le chantier de l'imaginaire montréalaisÌý(S. Harel, L. Lussier, & J. Thibert, Eds.). Québec City : Presses de l’Université Laval,Ìýpp. 185-201. Cowritten withÌýP.-É. Gendron, J. Cudmore, & V. Mikadze.
[2014]ÌýDemocratic deliberation in the wild : The Â鶹AV Online Design Studio and the RegulationRoom Project.ÌýFordham Urban Law Journal, 41Ìý(5), 1527-1580.ÌýCowritten withÌýC. Farina (lead), H. L. Kong, C. Blake, and M. Newhart.
[2013]ÌýSojourning in nature : the second-home exurban landscapes of Ontario’s Near North.ÌýInÌýLandscape and the ideology of nature in exurbia : Green sprawlÌý(K.V. Cadieux & L. Taylor, Eds.). New York : Routledge, pp. 121-158.
[2013]ÌýUrban spectacular : a bold series of downtown plazas reintroduces vibrant urban life into spaces left over from postwar megaprojects.ÌýCanadian Architect, 58Ìý(2), 18-22.
[2012]ÌýConstructing the ideal soundscape : a practical study on closing the gaps between soundscape and urban designers.ÌýJournal of the Acoustical Society of America, 131Ìý(4), 3475.ÌýCowritten withÌýD. Steele (lead).
[2012]ÌýFinding opportunities for urban sustainability in cottage life.ÌýInÌýUrban sustainability : reconnecting space and placeÌý(A. Dale, W.T. Dushenko, & P.J. Robinson, Eds.). Toronto : University of Toronto Press, pp. 171-210.
[2012]ÌýGeorgian Bay, Muskoka, and Haliburton : more than cottage country.ÌýInÌýBeyond the global city : understanding and planning for the diverse georegions of OntarioÌý(G. Nelson, Ed.). Montréal / Kingston : Â鶹AV-Queen’s University Press, pp. 169-199. Cowritten withÌýN.-M. Lister.
[2011]ÌýEvaluating the impacts of transportation plans using accessibility measures : a test case in Montréal.ÌýCanadian Journal of Urban Research, 20Ìý(1), 81-104.ÌýCowritten withÌýA. El-Geneidy (lead), A. Cerdá, and R. Fischler.
[2011]ÌýDel espacio al lugar y al paisaje cultural : segundas residencias a orillas de rìos y lagos en Canadà central.ÌýInÌýConstruir un nueva vida. Los espacios del turismo y la migración residencialÌý(T. Mazón, R. Huete, & A. Mantecón, Eds.). Santander (Spain) : Milrazones Ed., pp. 21-46.
[2010]ÌýArts of (dis)placement : City space and urban design in the London of ‘Breaking and Entering’.ÌýCinémas, 21Ìý(1), 79-103.ÌýCowritten withÌýL. Bird (lead).
[2010]ÌýOf timeshare cottages, zebra mussels, and McMansions : Dispatches from the second-home settings of central Ontario.ÌýInÌýThe rural-urban fringe in Canada : conflict and controversyÌý(K. Beesley, Ed.). Brandon (Manitoba) : Rural Development Institute, Brandon University, pp. 199-219.
/ Office de consultation publique de Montréal, 27th October 2023.
Ìý/ Office de consultation publique de Montréal, 3rd March 2022.Ìý
Ìý/ÌýThe Overhead : Understanding Canada’s Affordable Housing Crisis, SPACING radio, 18th February 2022.
(TISEDTALKS) / Trottier Institute for Sustainability in Engineering and Design, 2nd February 2022.
/ FORUM Lecture Series 2021-2022, Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism, Carleton University,Ìý21st September 2021.
/ Rare and Special Collections, Osler, Art, and Archives, Â鶹AV, 17th September 2021.
/ International Association for the Study of the Commons, 6th May 2021. Co-presenters : A. R. Poteete, C. Badra, V. Samoylenko.
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