School of Cities / Event

Symposium on Climate Justice & Cities

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This full-day event brought together academics and policymakers to discuss cutting edge research and policy implications for urban communities disproportionately affected by climate change. Speakers included recipients of our Urban Challenge Grants, representing over 20 departments across the University of Toronto, who discussed their findings with co-panelists and international discussants on the themes of:

  • Disparate environmental impacts on vulnerable communities
  • Unequal access to environmental amenities
  • The viability of strategies for sustainability and GHG emissions reduction
  • Building community capacity to deal with climate injustice

Keynote addresses were given by Julian Agyeman, Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University and Julie Dabrusin, Member of Parliament for Toronto—Danforth (Ontario) & Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. 

TimeSchedulePanellists
8:30 – 8:45Arrivals
8:45 – 9:00Welcome from the School of Cities
9:00 – 10:00Panel 1: Environmental impacts on at-risk communities 

How can data-driven approaches help cities plan for, and seek to mitigate, the disparate impacts of climate change on at-risk communities?  
– Moderator: Kate Mulligan, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, U of T
– International discussant: Priyanka DeSouza, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, UC Denver  
Amanda Norton, PhD Candidate, Department of Geography, Geomatics and Environment, UTM
Lief Pagalan, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, U of T 
Karen Smith, Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, UTSC
10:00 -10:15Networking Break
10:15 – 11:15Panel 2: Access to environmental infrastructures

How can we better understand, and plan to overcome, urban challenges pertaining to unequal access to environmental infrastructures?  
– Moderator: Robert Soden, Department of Computer Science and School of the Environment, U of T
– International discussant: Maya E Carrasquillo, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley 
Amy Bilton, Centre for Global Engineering, U of T
Dr. Alex Filazzola, Data Scientist, ApexRMS
Nidhi Subramanyam, Department of Geography and Planning, U of T
11:15 – 11:30Networking Break
11:30 – 12:30Panel 3: The viability of strategies for sustainability and GHG emissions reduction

What is the role of urban policymakers in achieving sustainable land use and reducing greenhouse gas emissions?  
– Moderator: Marc Johnson, Department of Biology, UTM
– International discussant: Mikhail Chester, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University 
Françoise Cardou, Department of Biological Science, UTSC
Md Abdul Halim, Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, U of T
Shoshanna Saxe, Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering, U of T
12:30 – 13:30Lunch & Mingle
13:30 – 14:25Keynote: Julian Agyeman, Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University
14:30 – 15:30Panel 4: Building community capacity to deal with climate injustice

What are best practices with respect to building local capacity to empower communities to pursue climate justice? 
– Moderator: Praneeta Mudaliar, Department of Geography, Geomatics and Environment, UTM
– International discussant: Linda Shi, Department of City and Regional Planning, Cornell University  
Joanna Kocsis, Department of Geography, Politics, and Sociology, Newcastle University
Rebecca McMillan, PhD Candidate, Department of Geography & Planning, U of T
Fikile Nxumalo, Department of Curriculum, Teaching & Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, U of T
Imara Rolston, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, U of T
15:30 – 15:45Networking Break
15:45 – 16:00Closing Keynote: Julie Dabrusin, Member of Parliament for Toronto—Danforth (Ontario) & Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change 
16:00-16:15Final Remarks
16:15Reception