Suzanne Merchant

I am a community economic development planning student, researcher and design professional currently based out of Toronto, Canada.

Born in the Middle East and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, I graduated from the University of Waterloo's School of Architecture in 2018 with an Honours Bachelors of Architectural Studies. My undergraduate degree included five internships at architecture firms in Vancouver and designing a master plan in Rome. After three years of practicing architecture in Vancouver, I am now undertaking my Master's of Science in Planning here at the University of Toronto.

In this current program, my graduate research seeks to understand how to build equitable community wealth for dispossessed communities. This is primarily done through exploring funding mechanisms such as crowdfunding and ownership models such as community land trusts. In 2021, I was also awarded the Ontario Graduate Scholarship by the University of Toronto’s Department of Geography and Planning to fund my graduate education.