Since 2019, a significant strain of Professor David Roberts’ work has focused on how migrants with precarious legal status navigate municipal systems in Toronto, and specifically within the sectors of shelter, social services, and law enforcement. This work is an extension of his previous career managing a shelter for homeless and refugee teenagers in Seattle. 

Current projects include: 

• Independent refugee youth mapping: A Connaught and SSHRC-funded project to map the experiences of refugee youth in Toronto and develop methodologies to co-design service alternatives that centre the voices and needs of the youth themselves 

• CivicLabTO partnerships: In collaboration with the City of Toronto’s Newcomer Office, Dr. Roberts is leading two projects: the first recommends ways to align policing practices with the City’s commitment to "access without fear,"  and the second traces how Toronto and the GTHA have adjusted service approaches in response to the dramatic increase in refugee claimants seeking emergency shelter over the last three years. 

Check back regularly for publications emerging from this work.