Professors Matthew Adams and Shoshanna Saxe are among the 12 recipients of research project funding from the School of Cities Urban Challenge Grant 2.0: Climate, Justice, and Cities for 2022-23.
Matthew Adams is Assistant Professor and GIS Program Advisor in the Department of Geography, Geomatics and Environment.
Adams’s project, “Air quality and environmental justice: The growing impact of climate change on disproportionate air quality exposure,” will be carried out with Co-PIs Christopher Higgins, Human Geography, UTSC; Jue Wang, Geography, Geomatics and Environment, UTM; Kathi Wilson, Geography, Geomatics and Environment, UTM; Madeleine Mant, Anthropology, UTM; Mitchell Bonney, Geography, Geomatics and Environment, UTM; Shayamilla Mahagammulla, Civil & Mineral Engineering, UTSG; Tingting Zhu, Geography, Geomatics and Environment, UTM; Tracy Galloway, Anthropology, UTM; and Vincent Kuuire, Geography, Geomatics, and Environment, UTM.
Climate change’s harmful effects in cities are increasing in frequency and magnitude, for example, increased urban heat, flooding events and storm intensity. These burdens often disproportionately affect populations with high social vulnerability, such as low-income residents. Air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change originate from the same source – the use and burning of fossil fuels such as gas and oil for transportation and industrial activities. Air pollution effects are felt locally because concentrations are reduced by dispersion further away from emission sources. The research project will provide the Region of Peel-Public Health with an evidence-based assessment of air pollution exposure and environmental justice, which they can use for decision-making, planning, and prioritizing activities to support health protection and promotion and disease prevention. These could include targeted interventions with communities at risk and influencing land use and transportation decision-making through processes such as Official Plans, or active transportation, public transit, and long-range transportation plans. The data could also be used when evaluating air quality studies through the Environmental Assessment process.
Shoshanna Saxe is Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering and the Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Infrastructure.
Saxe’s project, “Urban form pathways, affordable housing, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” will be completed with Co-PIs Christopher Essert, Faculty of Law; Gabriel Eidelman, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and Director, Urban Policy Lab.
Cities are forced to simultaneously meet two of the defining challenges of our time: 1) the demands of a growing population for more housing and infrastructure and 2) the need to shrink urban greenhouse gas (GHG) footprints to meet international climate commitments. The proposal explores the tension between the need to build more to pursue housing justice while consuming much less to pursue climate justice. The research will ask, how much more housing do we need? What is the greenhouse gas budget we can allocate to building more housing? What pathways in terms of building and city form meet both housing and climate needs simultaneously? The research will then examine the gap between these pathways and current legislation and policy around buildings and land use. The research will also compare relevant Canadian policy and law around provision and sustainability of the built environment compared to international leaders. Overall the research will address the question: What policy and laws do we need in cities to deliver enough housing while reducing GHG emissions in line with local and international commitments? This interdisciplinary research will draw on civil engineering, urban planning, public policy, legal and philosophical methods. The research will produce a better understanding of the limited pathways to build more housing without overly burdening the environment, and specific policy and legal advice for the changes needed to our regulatory environment to drive rapid delivery of sustainable housing. Toronto, Kingston and Halton Hills will be case study cities for this work representing small to large municipalities and the challenge of growth in the era of climate change faced by cities across Canada (and internationally).
About SofC’s Urban Challenge Grant 2.0: Climate, Justice, and Cities
The School of Cities funded 12 proposals on the theme of climate, justice, and cities for this Urban Challenge Grant cycle. A competitive process led to the award of $577,000 in grants for 2022-23 to interdisciplinary research teams representing 27 departments across the three campuses.
Each initiative focuses on a different aspect of climate change and its impact on urban spaces and disadvantaged groups, and each team will connect closely to policymakers and stakeholders during the research project.
Content crossposted from School of Cities. Read more about all funded projects on the School of Cities website.