Blockchain Flipping: Housing as a Commodity in Toronto

This thesis explores financialization and speculative urban development in Toronto where real estate values have increased dramatically in recent decades. Playing off the emerging trend of "paper flipping" where condominiums are purchased pre-construction and then shortly thereafter re-sold, the work examines the possibilities of a community land trust subversively selling speculative, unbuilt NFT properties in the metaverse—done to fund real-world community development initiatives. A series of parallel design-research probes unpack the implications of such a proposal in both the metaverse and along Toronto's Queen Street West. Overall, this thesis contributes to a broader understanding of the impacts of block-chain technology in architecture and urbanism. It underscores the deep implications for design professionals of financialization and its associated real estate market trends.