Executive Committee

Martin Horak

Martin Horak

Director and Associate Professor, Department of Political Science

Email: mhorak@uwo.ca

Martin Horak specializes in Canadian and comparative urban politics. His research and publications address a range of related subjects, including multilevel urban governance, urban transit and housing policy, local political institutions, public opinion on municipal issues and local election campaigns.

Research Interest/Specialization

He is the co-editor, along with Zack Taylor and Jack Lucas, of City Politics in Canada: Forty Years of Continuity and Change (University of Toronto Press, 2025). He is the Public Policy Pillar Lead for the Canadian Municipal Barometer, a major seven-year, SSHRC-funded research partnership.

Martin Horak specializes in Canadian and comparative urban politics. His research and publications address a range of related subjects, including multilevel urban governance, urban transit and housing policy, local political institutions, public opinion on municipal issues and local election campaigns.

Roza Tchoukaleyska

Roza Tchoukaleyska

Associate Director and Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Environment

Roza Tchoukaleyska’s research examines public space planning and food cultures in urban contexts. This includes collaborative and community-based work with partners in Canada and France, with a focus on designing sociable, vibrant, and resilient neighbourhood spaces.

Research Interest/Specialization

She is a professional planner and has taught CityStudio experiential learning courses.

Roza Tchoukaleyska’s research examines public space planning and food cultures in urban contexts. This includes collaborative and community-based work with partners in Canada and France, with a focus on designing sociable, vibrant, and resilient neighbourhood spaces.

Zack Taylor

Zack Taylor

Associate Director and Associate Professor, Department of Political Science

Email: zack.taylor@uwo.ca

Zack Taylor researches on comparative urban political economy, political and electoral geography, urban and regional planning, metropolitan governance, and local public finance.

Research Interest/Specialization

His book Shaping the Metropolis (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2019) examines how differences in Canadian and American political institutions produced different forms of urban governance in Canada and the United States. He is a non-practicing Registered Professional Planner in Ontario and a Fellow at the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance at the School of Cities at the University of Toronto. He served as director of the Centre between 2017 and 2021 and is cross-appointed to the Department of Geography and Environment.

Zack Taylor researches on comparative urban political economy, political and electoral geography, urban and regional planning, metropolitan governance, and local public finance.