Research Assistant

Salma is a PhD in Planning student at the University of Waterloo and a recent graduate of the Master of Planning program in Urban Development at TMU. Her Major Research Paper explores the facilitators and barriers to which identifying Muslim, Arab, immigrant women living in Mississauga experience in their desire to access formal/informal networks of care. 

It presents a reflection on the varied and intersecting challenges faced by Salma in her journey settling in Mississauga as a visibly-identifying Muslim immigrant seeking a sense of belonging. In its early stages, this research was recognized from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council with a prestigious award which made the process of this work possible: The Canada Graduate Scholarship - Master’s Program 2022. 

Salma has a passion for conducting ethnographic research, storytelling, and utilizing creative participatory qualitative methods to drive and provide avenues for meaningful socio-spatial change. In her PhD, she is exploring opportunities for planning practice to deploy more care-full tools to address social and spatial inequities and work towards compassion and resiliency through community empowerment. Salma also has experience as a Planner at Sajecki Planning Inc. where she has worked on various land use projects with public and private clients. 

Outside the planning realm in academia and practice, Salma hosts community events centred around “crafting for a cause” in effort of supporting local and international causes collectively, as well as just creating spaces for like-minded people to meet, form new relationships, and feel community. 

Research Interests: Responsibility; networks of care; informality; embodied islam; care-full planning; access; belonging; participatory qualitative research; and equitable public engagement 

Projects: Care and Dementia in the Suburbs;

Publications: Abdalla, Salma. (2023). The Power of Care: A case study on the socio-spatial navigation of Muslim and Arab immigrant women in the City of Mississauga. [Major Research Paper]. Toronto Metropolitan University.