Advancing Youth Agency, Safety, and Rights
Developed during a strategic consultancy with Maximum City, this research supports Generation 2026 – a global initiative by the Centre for Sport and Human Rights. The project aims to advance youth agency, safety, and rights ahead of, during, and after the FIFA World Cup 2026.
By mapping the Ontario Marginalization Index (ON-Marg) against proposed fan sites, this tool provides the “fresh perspectives on complex issues” required for strategic municipal program development and equitable resource allocation.
Technical Methodology & Research Integrity
Addressing the MAUP: Context-Aware Spatial Grain
In urban policy research, results often shift based on how boundaries are drawn. This is known as the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP). To ensure data accuracy for City of Toronto stakeholders, I developed a custom population-weighted model to evaluate three distinct buffer scales:
- High-Density Urban Core (500m): In walkable areas like Fort York, a 500m radius captures the immediate “lived reality” and pedestrian safety concerns. This is particularly critical for children and youth with smaller independent mobility ranges.
- Low-Density/Suburban Context (1km): For sites with lower residential density, a 1km catchment more accurately captures the population interacting with the site.
- Sensitivity Analysis: This approach allows stakeholders to observe how marginalization quintiles shift as the “impact zone” expands, providing a robust basis for policy and budgetary proposals.
Software Stack & Professional Implementation
- Data Engineering: Utilized R (
sf,tidyverse) to automate the cleaning and joining of the 2021 Ontario Marginalization Index (ON-Marg) with Statistics Canada spatial data. - GIS Processing: Conducted spatial intersections and population-weighted averaging to ensure statistical rigor across varying census tract geometries.
- Operational Integration: While this dashboard serves as a portfolio demonstration, the underlying data layers and logic were designed to be integrated into internal ESRI ArcGIS environments for use by municipal planning and safety teams.
Project Impact
This work demonstrates a commitment to the Toronto Public Service values of excellence and public service. By translating global human rights goals into site-specific spatial intelligence, this analysis ensures that the “success of the City” during FIFA 2026 is measured by its ability to protect and empower its most vulnerable residents.