Inclusive Local Economies / Metcalf Fellowship
Metcalf Fellow Kuni Kamizaki to Explore the Promise of Community Land Trusts
2023

We’re pleased to announce the appointment of our latest Metcalf Fellow, Kuni Kamizaki, who will be developing a report that uses the impressive 10-year history of the Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust (PNLT) to illuminate the strategies, enabling conditions, and public policies needed for transformative community land trusts (CLTs).

Kuni is an interdisciplinary urban planning researcher with over 10 years of experience in affordable housing, social planning, and community development. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Social Planning in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto.

As a former Metcalf Sustainability Intern, Kuni initiated a range of community development and social economy initiatives in Parkdale. Most notably, he spearheaded the establishment of PNLT, Toronto’s first grassroots CLT. Over the last decade, he has remained committed to collaborating with PNLT through community action research, strategic planning, and grant writing. In addition, he has contributed to Toronto’s wider CLT movement building by supporting emerging grassroots CLTs, and he currently serves on the board of directors for the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts.

 

I look forward to embarking on this Metcalf Fellowship, which will enable me to examine the 10-year journey and impact of the Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust. I’m excited to explore how interconnected strategies on community-led ownership generate bold ideas for action and advance public policy to support the transformative potential of the community land trust model.

Kuni Kamizaki

Kuni will be joining the School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) at the University of British Columbia in July 2023, where his research will focus on multi-scalar approaches to urban transformation, issues of displacement and housing insecurity, and community-led alternatives for social and racial justice. We look forward to publishing his Metcalf Fellowship report next year.