Jim Dunn

Overview

Housing, income security and societal income inequality are among the most pressing concerns in our society, and Jim Dunn’s research investigates the health and social impacts of policies and programs in these areas. His research can be described as population health intervention research, as it involves examining the effect of interventions in housing, neighbourhoods and social policies and their impact on population health. Most of his research also involves close partnerships with organizations that include governments at the municipal, provincial and federal level, as well as non-profit organizations and purpose-oriented businesses. Dunn’s signature activity in housing is the Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative (CHEC – www.chec-ccrl.ca), which is a knowledge mobilization and research capacity building hub funded by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). CHEC has been successful in building a national reputation as a trusted voice in knowledge mobilization in all areas of housing research and has been a key catalyst in bringing expertise to the key debates in housing policy and in stimulating new research and new housing data. This catalyst has been impactful in the development of the City of Hamilton’s Housing Sustainability and Investment Roadmap and in policies at the provincial and federal levels in Canada. The relationship between housing and health has been a central feature of Dunn’s research for more than 25 years. His long-term study of the health and social impacts of the mixed-income redevelopment of Toronto’s Regent Park, a large public housing development, is the only one of its kind ever conducted in Canada. Similarly, his study of the health impacts of receiving rent-geared-to-income housing in the Greater Toronto Area West. He also has interests in supportive housing for population groups like people with developmental disabilities, people with mental illness and addictions and older adults.

Affiliations

•  Professor, Department of Health, Aging & Society
• Associate Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, McMaster University
• Member, McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA), McMaster University
• Member, Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences, Faculty of Health Sciences
• Member, Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging, Faculty of Social Sciences
• Associate Member, Earth, Environment & Society, Faculty of Science

Education

• BArtsSc (Hon), McMaster University
• MA (Geography), McMaster University
• PhD (Geography), Simon Fraser University