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"I am also inspired by a group of community activists and their members who welcomed me into their orbit to witness their work and learn from their struggles and successes. They work daily to reduce the stigma around people who use drugs, many of whom experience homelessness or are housing insecure, and who display tremendous resilience despite the hardships they've endured, including the systems that work to limit their ability to thrive."
Terri Evans
Geography doctoral student in the Faculty of Environment
Tell us a little about yourself, including what inspires you to learn and continue in your chosen field
I'm an interdisciplinary scholar with a longtime interest in cities, including their governance environments. My curiosity about how municipal governments are managing increasingly visible forms of poverty, including people experiencing homelessness, led me to my current supervisor and program. I learn and draw inspiration from Dr. Nick Blomley and the team of interesting, caring, community-engaged scholars under his supervision. I am also inspired by a group of community activists and their members who welcomed me into their orbit to witness their work and learn from their struggles and successes. They work daily to reduce the stigma around people who use drugs, many of whom experience homelessness or are housing insecure, and who display tremendous resilience despite the hardships they've endured, including the systems that work to limit their ability to thrive.
Why did you choose to come to SFU?
I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Nick Blomley and explore my research interests through a legal geography lens, examining the inter-relationships between law, space, and homelessness.
I was also an alumni of SFU having earned a post-baccalaureate diploma in Urban Studies and a master’s degree in Political Science, and this familiarity allowed me to jump right into my doctoral studies.
How would you describe your research or your program to a family member?
My doctoral research examines the discourses that form around homeless encampments in suburban settings, and how these discourses are mobilized into regulations that are enacted upon people trying to survive on the streets, in parks space, and in less public places. I'm also interested in the impact that regulation has on those who experience its effects.
What three (3) keywords would you use to describe your research?
Regulation; homeless encampments; suburbs
How have your courses, RA-ships, TA-ships, or non-academic school experiences contributed to your academic and/or professional development?
My courses provided an opportunity to dig into topics related to my comprehensive exam fields (e.g. property, homelessness, public space) and to get to know faculty and fellow graduate students, including those being supervised by Dr. Nick Blomley. This familiarity proved important when we later worked on an RA project together, one that stretched into the first years of the Covid-19 pandemic. RAships provide opportunities to build academic skills in interviewing, transcribing, and coding and provide training on how to carry out a research project. Beyond these experiences, attending conferences is another way to get to know others in your field of interest while also gaining presentation skills.
Have you been the recipient of any major or donor-funded awards? If so, please tell us which ones and a little about how the awards have impacted your studies and/or research
I was awarded a SSHRCC doctoral fellowship which afforded me time and space to be immersed in my studies. It relieved me of the need to look for extra income (e.g. teaching or research assistant contracts), channelling my energy instead into moving my degree forward.
Contact Terri:terri@sfu.ca