Title of the research: Women’s Collective Housing in Canada: An Intersectional Feminist Approach to Housing
under the supervision of Prof. Olivier Vallerand
Abstract: How do collective housing projects for women foster conditions of safety, belonging, and agency through the interplay of their spatial configurations, daily care practices, and modes of governance, across diverse social and cultural contexts? What obstacles limit the development and sustainability of these models? And what spatial and social strategies can be adapted to other contexts? This study fills a gap in research from the 1980s on collective housing for women, despite its social relevance and transformative potential. Against the backdrop of a housing crisis and gendered housing insecurity, I examine how these initiatives can promote residents’ safety, a sense of belonging, and empowerment. I analyze the benefits and limitations of collective housing for women, as well as these spaces as social and political sites. Through a qualitative, participatory, and intersectional approach, I will explore the spatial, organizational, and social dimensions of these projects.