Biography
Trinity 2026
Dr Zhixi Zhuang is a Registered Professional Planner and a Professor at the School of Urban and Regional Planning, Toronto Metropolitan University. As the Associate Director for Education and Capacity Building at the Global Migration Institute and Founder and Director of DiverCityLab, her research examines the intersection of immigrant settlement, urban landscapes, and municipal policies in topics related to building welcoming infrastructures in non-traditional gateway cities, immigrant entrepreneurship and city building, ethnic place-making in ‘third places,’ migration and suburban transformation, and the role of municipal planning in migrant settlement and integration. She has conducted mixed-method, arts-informed, and community-based research, engaging both migrant communities and city-building professionals to gain a holistic perspective on migrant integration, placemaking, civic engagement, and inclusive policy-making. One of her recent creative outputs is a documentary, “Globurbia: Suburban Place-making Amidst Diversity”, which can be accessed here.
She is currently leading several research projects funded by the Migrant Integration in the Mid-21st Century: Bridging Divides program, including:
- Ethnic diversity and neighbourhood
- Housing for international students
- Suburban place-making, social infrastructure, and migrant well-being
- Understanding Migrant Agency and Digital Belonging: Convergence of Media, Technology, and Community
Additionally, she is leading several research studies involving oral histories, digital storytelling, food insecurity, and socio-spatial integration of older immigrants.
Event
Zhixi is the convenor of an upcoming seminar exploring how digital tools and arts-based methodologies influence narratives about migration. For further details and registration, please visit: Art, Data & Story: The Role of ADT-Assisted and Arts-Based Approaches in Shaping Migration Narratives