Study title

Intercultural Urban Public Space in Toronto 2011-2013

Dataset ID Number

FSD2926

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2926

Data Type

Qualitative

Authors

• Galanakis, Michail (University of Helsinki)

Abstract

The dataset contains transcripts of interviews conducted mainly in Toronto, Canada, during 2011 and 2012. A few interviews were conducted in Vancouver and Guelph as well. The main themes of the interviews were multiculturalism, interculturalism, diversity and public space, and how the participants' perceptions of interculturalism and public space. The interviewees were professionally or voluntarily involved in the physical or social planning process, in providing services for youth, or in dealing with managing diversity (in policy-making, planning, arts etc). They were community activitsts, professional designers, managers of public spaces, social services providers, or young persons who represented the users of services aimed at communities.

The interviews were reflective, and questions asked changed according to what the interviewees talked about. The three main research questions were what the participants considered public spaces to be, how they defined interculturalism and, for expert interviews, how they planned/designed for diversity. Toronto is a very multicultural city, and one of the main aims of the study was to learn how Toronto's public space is managed and how public space could be used more creatively for the benefit of diverse groups. Other topics that came up included exclusion of youth, crime, services and facilities for youth, social and educational inequality, unemployment, public transport, street art, safety, police harassment, and privatization of public space.

In addition to 25 one- and two-person interviews, there was one focus group interview of 13 young men and women. Interviewee age ranged from adolescents to senior citizens. Background variables included the interviewee's occupation, gender and age.

Keywords

citizen participation; communities; cultural interaction; cultural pluralism; decision-making; ethnic groups; immigration; politicians; public spaces; services for young people; social inequality; urban development; urban environment; urban sociology; urban spaces

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Housing (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Land use and planning (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Minorities (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Equality, inequality and social exclusion (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Equality, inequality and social exclusion (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Specific social services: use and availability (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Community, urban and rural life (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Cultural activities and participation (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Galanakis, Michail (University of Helsinki)

Collection Dates

2011-05-19 – 2013-07-08

Nation

Canada

Geographical Coverage

Canada, Ontario, British Columbia, Toronto, Guelph, Vancouver

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Event/Process/Activity

Universe

Public space stakeholders in Toronto, Guelph and Vancouver

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Purposive

Non-probability: Respondent-assisted

The researcher selected the interviewees on the basis of their role related to public space. The interviewees themselves suggested other people to contact. Focus group participants were recruited by a voluntary worker working in the youth centre Spot in Toronto from among those willing to participate.

Collection Mode

Face-to-face interview

Focus group

Research Instrument

Interview scheme and/or themes

Data Files

26 interview transcripts stored as rtf files, of which 19 are individual interviews, six interviews of two persons and one focus group interview of 13 young participants. In addition, the archive has created a html folder of the rtf files.

Data File Language

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: English and Finnish.

Qualitative data are available in their original language only and are not translated.

Data Version

1.0

Related Datasets

FSD2999 My Public Living Room Interviews 2014

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The researcher had anonymized the names of the interviewees before submitting the transcripts to the FSD. The participants were given the option of choosing that some things they talked about would be left out of the transcript. These sections, marked with [off the record] notation, do not appear in the transcripts. During data processing, the data archive anonymised personal information related to third parties mentioned in the interviews, for instance, their address, person name, occupation or other information that might lead to disclosure of identity. The anonymised information is marked with double brackets, for instance, [[name removed, a man]] replacing a person name.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Galanakis, Michail (University of Helsinki): Intercultural Urban Public Space in Toronto 2011-2013 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2014-02-13). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2926

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Special Terms and Conditions for Access

Direct quotations from the data used in publications or presentations must not contain indirect identifiers (for example, detailed work history, unique life events) that might allow the identification of a third party mentioned in the interview.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Galanakis, M. (2013). Intercultural Public Space in Multicultural Toronto. Canadian Journal of Urban Research , 22(1), pp. 67-89.

Leikkilä, J., Faehnle, M., & Galanakis, M. (2013). Urban Nature and Social Diversity Promoting Interculturalism in Helsinki by Planning Urban Nature, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 12(2), pp. 183-190.

Galanakis, M. (2015). Intercultural Public Space and Activism, in G. Marconi & E. Ostanel (eds) The Intercultural City: Migration, Minorities and the Management of Diversity. London: IB Tauris.

Galanakis, Michail (2015). Public Spaces for Youth? The Case of the Jane-Finch Neighbourhood in Toronto. Space and Culture. Sage Online Publications, DOI:10.1177/1206331215595731

Galanakis, M. (2016). Intercultural Public Space and Activism. In G. Marconi and E. Ostanel (eds.), The Intercultural City: Migration, Minorities and the Management of Diversity (pp. 122-136). London: IB Tauris.

Galanakis, M. (2016). Public Spaces for Youth? The Case of the Jane-Finch Neighbourhood in Toronto. Space and Culture. Vol. 19(3), pp. 208-223.