MES Major Papers

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Open Access
Planning for Food Justice: Addressing Conflict and Community Farm Governance through Participatory Action Video
Ho, Victoria; Stiegman, Martha
Open Access
Ecological Encounters in Outdoor Early Childhood Education Programs: Pedagogies for childhood, Nature and Place
(2013-12-31) Rafferty, Sinead; Leduc, Tim
This paper explores how nature, place, and pedagogical practice are perceived by educators in three Canadian outdoor early childhood education programs. Intersections between ideologies in early childhood education and interests in environmental education are introduced to highlight possibilities for collaboration in education for social transformation and ecological justice. Thematic issues and philosophical undercurrents of modern culture are explored and how they shape human and nature relations in educational settings. This research is situated in the movement to reconnect children to nature, whose goals include more outdoor play, enhancing children’s well-being and fostering environmental concern. Elements of critical theory, ethnography, phenomenology, grounded theory, and documents analysis were crafted to inform questions and code for themes that emerged from interviews with educators from the outdoor early childhood programs. Findings revealed that what the educators perceived from outdoor play was that children were more experientially engaged with movement, the land, and the local flora and fauna they encountered outside. The combination of democratic, child-led, and emergent pedagogical approaches with the educator’s conceptualizations of ecological literacy allowed children to construct reciprocal and affective ways of knowing and meaning making in the outdoors. This alternative form of pedagogical praxis, revealed from the educators’ experiences and the immersion of learning and play in the outdoors, demonstrates tangible possibilities for transformative education that honours embodied ways of knowing and reconfigures human and nature relations towards sustaining life and an ethics of co-existence.
Open Access
Consultation Report on the Validity and Capacity of the Canadian Institute of Planning (CIP) to Facilitate a National Planning for Food Systems Platform.
(2014) Unwin, Jamie; MacRae, Rod
This report is the result of Jamie Unwin's Master's in Environmental Studies (Planning) Major Project. It was conducted over a twelve-month period and designed to explore the validity and capacity for the Canadian Institute of Planning (CIP) to facilitate a national Planning for Food Systems Platform to help spur the shift of the food system1 toward sustainability and health, required for food secure2 Canadian communities. This shift is necessary because the current dominant food system is incapable of fostering healthy sustianable food systems3 as it undermines the very environmental, social and economic resources that our food systems depend upon (Mendes, 2008; Potukuchi &Kaufman, 2000; Wittman, Desmarais & Wiebe, 2011; Le Vallee, 2008). The results of this research clearly highlight the validity and capacity of CIP to facilitate a national planning for food systems platform that engages with the complexity of food systems from an interdisciplinary collaborative approach involving knowledge sharing, networking, and professional development. Due to this, this report has been designed to explain and provide background information for further consultation on: the validity and capacity of CIP to facilitate this platform and to adopt 'Food Systems' as a "topic" on their website. This platform focuses on planning for food systems4 through the lens of the profession of planning, whereas food system planning is about the design and management of the entire food system itself. The term platform5 was used because it provided for exploration of alternative ways to engage with planning for food systems within and outside of the existing subcommittee structure of CIP's National Initiatives Advisory Committee. A food systems framework has been used as the professional discourse (OPPI, 2011; Wegener, Seasons & Raine, 2013; MacRae & Donahue, 2013; Hodgson, 2012; RTPI, 2010) and the key food system actors interviewed see it as necessary for fostering the innovation required to plan for sustainable healthy food secure communities. This report is rooted in Participatory Action Research (Rennie & Singh, 1995) as I was a CIP Board Member in the position of Student Representative, conducting twenty-six interviews with key planning for food systems actors from across Canada, CIP Board Members and CIP Staff, completing a preliminary literature review on the planning discourse on food systems, and developing a variety of annotated bibliographies on planning for food systems, the results of which can be found in the appendices of this report. The links between planning and food systems have been made by numerous planning organizations including the Ontario Professional Planners Institute, the Commonwealth Association of Planners, the Royal Town Planning Institute and the American Planning Association. (See Appendix A for a list of planning institute reports on planning for food systems.) However, in spite of all this, many Canadian planners and members of the general public do not have a strong understanding of the multifunctional synergies planning has with food systems change and how to utilize these to achieve existing planning goals such as sustainable community development (Personal Communication: Wayne Roberts PhD., food policy analyst & former Manager of the Toronto Food Policy Council (TFPC), April 02, 2014; Lauren Baker PhD, current Coordinator/Manager of the TPFC May 05, 2014; Janine de la Salle Registered Professional Planner (RPP) and leader in planning for food systems, April 03, 2014; Rod MacRae PhD, food policy analyst & leader in food systems thinking, May 09, 2014; Kimberley Hodgson RPP and leader in planning for food systems, May 06, 2014; and, John Turvey RPP, co-founder of Planning for Agriculture and Food Network (PAFN) & Policy specialist on land use planning for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, March 24, 2014). Please see Appendix B for a list of individuals Interviewed and their relevant background information. Wegener et al, supports the need for planners to have increased access to networking, knowledge sharing and professional development with their statement that "food system considerations are relatively new to planners. There is a need to examine the current policies and practices that may be hindering supportive local planning activity." (2013, p 94) This report explores: • The history and importance of CIP and Provincial and Territorial Institutes and Associations (PTIAs) engaging with food systems, and engagement from similar organizations such as the American Planning Association (APA), the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), and the Commonwealth Association of lanners (CAP); • Why a Platform is Needed Under the Aegis of CIP; • The multifunctional ways that a Planning for Food Systems platform fits CIP's recently accepted Articles of Continuance and the associated Consensus Statement, CIP's Strategic Plan and CIP's National Initiatives Committee Mandate; • The benefits of a CIP based platform to support members and the planning community on the emerging topic of planning for food systems; • The willingness and capacity of CIP's membership to support planning for food systems knowledge sharing, networking and professional development; • Potential Platform Activities and Outputs; • Current Projects for Potential Partnership; • Potential Topic Areas for Exploration by a CIP Planning for Food Systems Platform and partnership opportunities, particularly the Planning for Agriculture and Food Network (PAFN); • Key platform organizational elements; • Key qualities and skill sets of potential platform committee members; • Key groups to consult with; • Potential ways to increase capacity through the organizational design of the platform; and, • Suggested next steps for developing a proposal to CIP for the implementation of a Planning for Food Systems Platform in the form of a CIP Subcommittee. The research explored in this report clearly shows that as a national organization representative of the planning profession CIP should develop the role of planners in food systems and support the validity of planning for food systems. As such undertakings help CIP fulfill its vision of "Improved quality of life through excellence in professional planning," its mission "to advance planning in Canada and abroad by serving, educating, informing and engaging our members," and CIP values of "integrity, innovation, (and) collaboration." (CIP, 2014, a) CIP's new Articles of Continuance were accepted by its membership and enacted on July 07, 2014 at CIP's Annual General Meeting in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Then Articles changed CIP's name from the Canadian Institute of Planners to the Canadian Institute of Planning. Within the articles was an approved Consensus Statement which speaks to CIP's primary purpose being "to promote and advance the value of planning in Canada." (2014, b) This report explains how the proposed platform supports the renewal of CIP and its ability to achieve its primary purpose. Based on an organizational analysis, participation in the Board of Directors, and interviews with twenty-six key actors all of whom agree that CIP should be engaging with food systems, I conclude that the capacity and validity exist for CIP to facilitate a national planning for food systems platform and through this provide knowledge sharing, networking, and professional development.
Open Access
The Descendants of Giants: In Search of Exemplary Specimens of At Risk Trees in Southern Ontario's Oak Ridges Moraine
(2014) May, Derek; Thiemann, Gregory
Prior to widespread settlement by Europeans in the early to mid 19th century, southern Ontario (i.e., the region south of Lake Simcoe) was blanketed by dense mixed deciduous forests that had been shaping, and were being shaped by, the landscape for over 10,000 years. Today, over 95% of these once expansive forests have been cleared for agriculture and other forms of development (see Figures 1 and 2) (Berger, 2008; McLachlan and Bazely, 2003). This extensive clearance and land use alteration has imperiled the continued existence of many of southern Ontario's native tree species. Compounding this predicament has been a long history of over-harvesting the fittest trees in the forest, as well as the more recent introduction and spread of alien and native invasive species and diseases. There are no longer any old growth forests of significance left in southern Ontario. Over 95% of remnant Carolinian forest patches are less than 10 hectares in area and most are over 1.5 km apart (McLachlan and Bazely, 2003). The largest remaining stand of Carolinian forest in Canada is in Rondeau Provincial Park and is a mere 11 km2 (Tanentzap et al., 2011). Most remaining patches of Carolinian are tiny, scattered, and situated on marginal lands with poor soils that are ill-suited to agriculture (and thus ill-suited to supporting vibrant, diverse forests). As most of the healthiest and genetically superior specimens of rare southern Ontario trees were harvested for wood in centuries past, the genetic stock that remains in the region's patchwork of forests tends to be anything but robust (Schaberg et al., 2008). Not only are southern Ontario's Carolinian forests the most biologically diverse forests in all of Canada, but they are also the most threatened (Tanentzap et al., 2011). The Carolinian biome supports over half of Canada's total biodiversity, and over half of its tree species (roughly 100 tree species of the 180 in the country) (Feagan, 2013; Tree Canada, 2013). It is home to roughly 165 species officially recognized as vulnerable, of special concern, threatened, or endangered, 12 of which are trees (OMNR, 2011). In addition to these recognized species, there are also over 500 species considered to be rare in Canada's Carolinian forest region (CCC, n.d.). The Carolinian occupies roughly 0.25% of Canada's land area yet is home to over 25% of the country's population (McLachlan and Bazely, 2003; Tanentzap et al., 2011). The fact that such a densely populated and developed area also hosts such a rich array of native biodiversity poses many unique and formidable conservation challenges. The purpose of this research was to survey a series of five protected areas in the western Oak Ridges Moraine region of southern Ontario, locate exemplary specimens of rare native trees, catalogue their exact location, write about my experiences, and make all of the information and resources I gather available to the general public.
Open Access
Conceptualizing Water: A Critical Reflection
(2014) Husain, Nasreen; McGregor, Deborah
Open Access
Sustainable Development Through Resource Extraction Can Nonrenewable Resources Lead to a Sustainable Future?
(2014) Dittmar, Michael; Victor, Peter
The long-term viability of an economic system that relies on the extraction of nonrenewable resources is prone to be questioned and criticized. In a relatively short period of human history the economy has reached a global scale, resulting in increased demand for natural resources as well as greater impacts from these activities. An underlying assumption of this research paper is that an immediate or near term decline in extractive activities is an unreasonable expectation, as demand for nonrenewable resources will continue to grow based on the emergence of developing economies. Recognizing this reality and responding to increased public pressure to account for the impacts of mining, the industry has embraced the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development as a means to improve its performance and reputation. The purpose of this paper is to review the validity of such an approach and determine if the extractive industry can make a legitimate contribution to sustainable development.
Open Access
Analyses of environmental factors for the persistence of Myrmica rubra (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in green spaces of the Greater Toronto Area and applications of ecological niche/species distribution models
(2014) Ito, Naokazu; Packer, Laurence
Palearctic native European fire ant Myrmica rubra have been sighted frequently across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in recent years. Although their populations in the GTA are fragmented, this non native invasive ant species has potential to expand well beyond their current habitats. In order to ascertain the ecological conditions for the persistence of M. rubra, an extensive study was conducted at conservation areas across the GTA. Based on some of the ecological factors required for M. rubra, ecological niche models (ENMs)/species distribution models (SDMs) were constructed on 3 different scales using occurrence data for better mitigation and prevention of this invasive species and to predict their future potential geographic distributions in the face of climate change. From an array of regression analyses, it was found that soil surface moisture level (p = 0.005, odds ratio = 1.04), soil surface temperature (p = 0.001, Odds ratio = 1.14), and altitude (p = 0.001, odds ratio = 0.99) are essential for M. rubra to persist. It was also found that M. rubra does displace other ant species as well as arthropods, and this is in agreement with the results from other publications. Based on the ENMs/SDMs, this non native invasive species has potential to spread beyond the current distribution range, and susceptible areas should be monitored for future invasion and expansion.
Open Access
Planning for ecological health and human well-‐being in the Credit River Watershed: Social well-being benefits of urban natural features and areas
(2014) Mallette, Julie; Bunch, Martin
The relationship between ecological systems and well-‐being is nearly intuitive, and it has long been assumed that the outcome of good watershed management is human health and well-‐being. This study seeks to make this relationship more apparent with a focus on the perceived effects of natural features and areas on social well-‐being in the Credit River Watershed, southern Ontario. The use of a survey instrument, inductive analysis, statistical tests for differences and association, and exploratory factor analysis determined that a variety of natural areas are considered by respondents to be important contributors to well-‐being. Streams and river management should be prioritized since visits to these spaces affect the perception of outdoor and social well-‐being relationships more strongly. Sense of community, an aspect of social well-‐being, is cultivated through opportunities for gathering and meetings provided by green space. Though streams and rivers, forests and wetlands, open green spaces, home gardens and functional green space contribute to an aspect of social well-‐being in one way or another, the associations are dependent on the respondent's location and context. Accessibility and distribution of green space, as well as diversity of natural features may be key in the differences between the perceived social well-‐being and natural environment relationships. Planning for social well-‐being therefore involves the management of diverse and biodiverse spaces.
Open Access
The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF- International) – A historical analysis
(2014) Hunter, Alexandra; Salter, Liora
This Major Paper provides a historical analysis of the formation and development of CARF-International, a prominent private accreditation body in the social and human services sector. Accreditation is a system of evaluation, whereby organizations or programs are reviewed based on an established set of standards, in order to become approved, or 'accredited'. Private accreditation, and specifically CARF accreditation, has become mandated and recognized by numerous government agencies across North America, and often acts as a requirement for human/social service agencies to access government funding. However the history and evolution of accreditation, and specifically accrediting institutions in the social/human services sector is not well research, therefore the purpose of this paper is exploratory. The paper begins with an overview of the literature on accreditation, accrediting institutions, as well as select literature on policy trends in public management, the welfare state, and transnational private regulation. The research is accomplished through a historical case study methodology that draws loosely on research questions utilized in previous research on accrediting institutions. I have identified three broad phases in the evolution of CARF-International: the foundational years (late 1960s to late 80s); building the market (1990s); and growth and expansion (2000s onwards). Through the analysis I have identified seven key themes that relate the literature review to the evolution of CARF-International: the initial purpose of developing standards and accreditation; accreditation as private regulation; governance structure; CARF as a forum for debate; competition between accrediting institutions; the international 'turn'; and program evaluation. One point of interest is the position of CARF in a governance network (or 'infrastructure'/'assemblage') that crosses traditional boundaries of public-private or local-global. A second point is the changing nature of CARF as an institution—specifically in terms of industry involvement in the governance of CARF—as well as the influence of increasing competition and pressure for growth on the practices of CARF as an institution. A third point for further inquiry questions the impact of accreditation on service providers, and service delivery systems. Overall this Major Paper offers an in-depth look at CARF as an accrediting institution as a means to expose and explore trends in accreditation and the broader field of social and human services.
Open Access
Getting To The Trane: Relating History and the Politics of Race and Jazz in Toronto through the Lived Experiences of 5 African Canadian Musicians
(2014) Francis, Donald; Ford-Smith, Honor
People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them (James Baldwin 1955). In this project, I am looking at Jazz, and its roots and history with respect to African Canadian Musicians in Toronto. My intention with this project report is to continue the process of releasing history, albeit one burdened by a (neo)colonial past and its kin and bed fellow, white privilege. Through film footage and written narrative, I hope to demonstrate that African Jazz musicians are here and always have been -- they have a voice and can speak and educate about their history and experiences as musicians in Toronto. Their stories have not been told so what is recorded here begins the process of narrating a side of Canadian history that is often rendered invisible. One late summer afternoon in 1996 I was presenting a concert honouring John Coltrane and his music. I offered a 19-year old "brother" a promotional invite with a sharp black and white photo of Coltrane. Considering now, I must have asked him his age. Anyhow, this young "brother" took the card and immediately asked "Who is this?" Honest enough of a question, being that most young African Canadians are not listening or for whatever the reason seemed not to have an appreciation of Jazz, so one expects and accepts a degree of unawareness as to who some of these players are. I am sure if I were quizzed then with an image of Buddy Bolden, I probably would have a similar reaction. But it wasn't a test or anything of the sort. I might say that many 19 year old African Canadians in Toronto might not know who some of these greats are, and there is a good enough reason for this. "John Coltrane", I answered. Then he asked me another big question "What kind of music is that?" Not surprised as much with this second question, which might be logical considering the first, I said, "Jazz". Looking back, I was happy that at least questions were being asked. Asking questions beats taking the card and then tossing it later in the trash. Yet, the most surprising element of our brief conversation with this young brother was to follow: "man, that's white folk's music!" I was tied up by this statement. I admit I was a bit confused and may have even been embarrassed. I cannot recall. The statement stuck with me for many years only again to surface in an ever more profound way when I decided to explore this history and contexts of the music in the city of Toronto. In other words, for years the memory of this statement has been at the forefront of my thoughts when considering race and Jazz in Toronto. How could this statement have been uttered in 1996 Toronto? How could this be possible? What were the conditions that gave rise to such a statement after all we claim to know about Jazz? What were the conditions of this music and the space it occupied that made this statement even possible in Toronto, the largest city in Canada, and supposedly the most "multicultural" in the world? To me, something was most certainly wrong. How is it that after all that we think we know about the history of the music that Jazz could be considered a "white" thing by a "black" person? This young brother's statement led me to wonder if it could be that the African-ness of the music could have been lost or had disappeared so to speak. I wanted to understand the role that race may have played in the evolution of Jazz music in the city of Toronto and how this role may have produced this young man's perception. This paper is a report on the project I have undertaken for graduate work for a Master's Degree in Environment Studies, documenting a slice of the history of African Canadian Jazz musicians in Toronto and tracing the way in which racism has affected the development of the music in the city. At another level, it is also an attempt to understand my own personal motivation behind opening and running a Jazz club and restaurant in the city for nearly 10 years, and why I felt the urge to present Jazz music in the city for now nearly 20 years. I wanted to get a sense of the root of the music in the city and to better understand why it seemed so challenging to open and sustain an African Canadian owned and operated Jazz space in the city. Jazz is recognized primarily as an African American art form. My enquiry aims to find out how African Canadian musicians in particular, find their connection to the music in the Toronto, and what their experiences with the music might be. I am interested in the role of white domination and Eurocentrism play in re-signifying or reshaping of the reality and historical context of Jazz in Toronto. My intention with this project is to get at the history of the music, and its intentionality -- this being as it were an instrument of liberation on a spiritual, physical and psychic level. I needed to know how different Jazz in Toronto really was as it emerged in the city and as it related to African musicians and the community here. This project is therefore based on oral accounts of the history, social context and background of African or "black" Jazz in Toronto, as well as my own experience with operating a Jazz club in the city. The purpose of this research project was to start documenting the history of Jazz in Toronto. And the only way realistically for me to do this was to speak to the musicians themselves as it has been difficult to find any written history of African Canadian Jazz musicians and their presence in the music in Toronto. We know there are and have been players but what we don't know is the history and politics that came along with this African inspired art form we call Jazz. The musicians with whom I spoke are, legendary drummer Archie Alleyne, singer, songwriter and producer Eric Mercury, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Terry Logan, organ and piano player Kingsley Ettienne, and and Wesley "Jaribu" Cason were a solid source of knowledge, and our conversations were extremely enlightening and informative. So I thank them tremendously. Sadly, Wesley "Jaribu" Cason passed away earlier in spring of 2014. Cason was a passionate source of knowledge, he was a musician, a librarian, a supporter of the music, and a true humanitarian. He was an African American "draft dodger" from Chicago who migrated to Toronto, pretty much by accident in 1970. He fell in love, and then fell in love again with the city as he saw it as a progressive town during that time. He had witnessed the evolution of the music in the city for over 40 years. I thank him for his friendship over the years, support, passion, honesty and insight. Through the lived experiences of African Canadian Jazz musicians living and working in Toronto, my intention was to explore the possible contentions of space and place when speaking of the racism (albeit colour blinded) and history of Jazz in Toronto. I also explored the concepts and works of both Canadian and American scholars around issues of race and racism. This essay presents a part of what I have gathered from the interviews, and again my personal and critical insights and experience. This is only a part of a larger story and does not pretend to answer all the questions about race in Toronto but it nevertheless sheds some light on the city's Jazz heritage. The starting point of my essay is my finding and coming into Jazz. I then present the history of Jazz in Toronto through introducing the experiences of 5 African Canadian musicians. Thirdly, I document a particular moment in Toronto's Jazz history when African Jazz and music general was most prominent as a result of the arrival of many African American players to the scene. In the following section, I discuss the feeling of loss and the dominance of white academic influence on the music itself, and how such dominance contributed to the erasure of the "source". The spirit of reclamation is discussed by the participant in a more driven and revolutionary way, which has ownership and equity as core pieces in terms of presentation. Finally, I return to the relevance and meaning of Jazz, what it stands for and comes out of...
Open Access
Under the Ceiba Tree - Lessons from designing information and communication technology to promote health equity in rural latin america
(2014) Ros Hernandez, Osvaldo; Jadad, Alejandro
SEE PDF FOR ABSTRACT
Open Access
Fostering Community Collaborations, Ecological Identities, and Eco-Spiritualistic Ideologies
(2014) Rutherford-Nielsen, Angelica; Cavanagh, Chris
In expanding my theoretical and practical knowledge in fostering successful collaborative learning opportunities, my major project is an example of participatory arts-based action research. I was e nthusiastically inspired to incorporate collaborative design and an active painting process into this research project, as I have been an avid community-oriented artist since a tender age. I was able to enhance my range of skills through large scale set design projects, municipal banners, graphic design projects, constructive sculpture, advanced painting, and drawing practices within my undergraduate degree in Geography and Visual Arts at Vancouver Island University. I am an advocate for the diversification of cultural development to encourage creativity and to increase our perceptive sensibilities. Individuals can achieve an internalized understanding of a particular area of study if they are fully engaged in the process, thus making the experience more influential. By conducting interdisciplinary research in the form of a literature review of contemporary agricultural development, environmental philosophy, and popular education theory, I designed my major project to concentrate on communicating the urgency of socio-cultural and environmental justice embedded within transnational food sovereignty issues. Raj Patel (2009) describes in the Journal of Peasant Studies how a heavy "technocentric approach could exacerbate current conditions of poverty and inequity" due to a concentration of "power and privilege" within a "narrow set of world views at the expense of pertinent local knowledge and socio-cultural and political specificities" (693). The rapid growth of global agricultural development and lack of transnational education pertaining to ecological studies has greatly influenced cultural development, consumer behaviouralism, and expanding corporate ownership. There is an increase in the fragmentation of ecological stability within agricultural productionawell as a lack of ethical responsibility within the cultivation, distribution, manufacturing, and trade practices. In providing participant questionnaires and facilitating a collaborative mural project within my research, this series of popular education workshops aided in expressing sustainable cultural and educational activities. The results from the workshops encapsulated the diversity of perceptions participants had of contemporary agricultural and ecological development. "They dreamed of an open, democratic education, one that would instill in their children a taste for questioning, a passion for knowledge, a healthy curiosity, the joy of creating, and the pleasure of risk without which there can be no creation"(Freire, P., 2012, 122). Paulo Freire (1921-1997) and his work as an educational theorist, influential author, and philosopher, has been a significant influence in the expansion of my own academic and personal ideologies. Upon developing this major research project, similarly to the progressive topics expressed in the writings on popular education and social justice of Paulo Freire, the purpose was to inspire critical thought, conversation, and creativity. I aimed to build cohesive interconnectivity, inter- relationality, and environmentalist phenomenological perspectives relative to ' just sustainability'. The "crisis of sustainability", as quoted by Robert Costanza (1987) in David Orr's Hope Is an Imperative, is more of a rational behavioural situation, a social trap, and a cultural avoidance tactic (Orr, 2011, 75). Additionally, Julian Agyeman (2003) within his text Just Sustainabilities: Development in an Unequal World describes just sustainability as recognizing vast societal inequalities with references to "anthropocentrism", "ecological democracy", "feminism and gender", "selective victimization", "risk society", "biocultural assimilation", and "ecological modernization" (Agyeman, 2003). Just sustainability aims at finding a critical balance between environmental and social justice. The organizational world we live in is structured and shaped into systems in all areas including our economies, governments, families, cultures, sciences, and individual selves. It is possible to transition from exclusive systems to more inclusive systems, where we can attempt to actualize our aspirations for "a fair distribution of power, human dignity, and a livable environment" (Merchant, xii, 1992). Within John P. Miller's (2013) text The Holistic Curriculum, he elaborates how our sense of individualism has "promoted the fragmentation as there is less attempt to define the common good, much less work towards such a goal" (pp. 48). Our world has become increasingly homogenized through the process of globalization, as there is a loss of diversity due to monocultural domination as opposed to ensuring the survival of "polycultural praxis" (Gonzalez, 2004, 447). It will require that our contemporary cultures value diversity, cultural sovereignty, and traditional inter-generational values. Within environmental education, to reach a deeper level of collective and collaborative understanding of these developmental issues we must embody the varying local sociocultural contexts, as well as the natural processes of the particular bioregions and ecological systems. I have also been inspired by a Deep Ecological critical pedagogy of self-realization, as described by author and Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess (1912-2009). Our goal is to enhance our collective understanding of the self, how we determine values, and what spirituality may mean in relation to one another, our communities, our historical nationalities, and our local and global ecological systems. Arne Naess in his interpretation of self-realization stated "the maturity of self has been considered to develop through three stages, from ego to social self, comprising the ego, and from there to the metaphysical self, comprising the social self" while incorporating nature and reaching the critical potential of the "ecological self" (Naess, as quoted in Drengson & Yuichi, 1995, 14). I aimed to include these ideals into a popular educational praxis in a participatory fashion through allowing participants to express themselves within the greater context of our environmentalist topics in a social community in the form of symbolism and artwork. The structure of the design loom I developed aimed to empower critical educational dialogue with discussion-based action research and surveys. Topics covered include defining eight definitions: vCulture, Health, Globalization, Deep Ecology, Ecological Stewardship, Sacred Economics, Just Sustainability, and Agroecology (See Ch. 3.2 & Appendix E). The intention of focusing on these terms was to aid in discussing diversity within environmental philosophy, deconstructing the complexity of agricultural studies, developing personal-communal ecological identities, as well as engaging discussions pertaining to fostering healthy sustainable cultures and communities. This research design was reviewed and approved by the FES Human Participants Research Committee on behalf of York University for the year 2014. I held two successful workshops in two locations in Toronto, Ontario in May and June of 2014. Participant involvement in these workshops varied depending on personal availability and one's desired contribution to this major research. Participants were given the opportunity to contribute to a group discussion, a 'People's Dictionary' popular education activity, a personal anonymously documented questionnaire, as well as collaborative mural design and painting. This study was completely voluntary and participants had the right to withdraw at any time. This collaborative arts-based action research project was an exciting activity to facilitate, as it gave participants an opportunity to share their stories and opinions, as well as elaborate upon their knowledge of agricultural and ecological studies while exercising their creative skill sets. The content within the research interview questionnaire (Appendix C) was relative to each participant's personal contribution to the greater systems of agricultural development, their own moral value-based criteria associated with consumer products, dietary requirements or habits, and lastly if they had any relative practical/educational experience in agricultural production or ecological systems knowledge. Within rapidly globalizing urban cultures, an increasing fragmentation between nature and society can occur. More specifically, there can be a growing lack of transparency in relation to the origin, composition, and accurate social implications of our consumables, as well as to the integrity of environmental health. We are expanding our agricultural production rates, though the margins of inaccessibility are increasing: "Last year record numbers of the world's poor experienced hunger, this at a time of record harvests and record profits for the world's major agrifood corporations" (Holt- Gimenez, 2009, 143). There is an increase in transnational corporate ownership of agricultural land and development, consequently a decrease in diversity, an increase in demand, and a lack of proper equitable distribution. Our cultures and systems are continually evolving, this contemporary post-colonial developmental trend is due to "ecological imperialism", a term coined by Alfred W. Crosby (1986), which describes the transformation of our physical, biological, atmospheric, and fluvial systems, as well as traditional societal structures and practices (Ashcroft, Griffiths, & Tiffin, 2007, 76). Similarly, the exponential rate of globalization has fostered an expanding global economic structure, while these developmental impacts have "perpetuated poverty, widened material inequalities, increased ecological degradation, sustained militarism, fragmented communities, marginalized subordinated groups, fed intolerance and deepened crises of democracy" (Scholte, 1996, as quoted in Ashcroft, Griffiths, & Tiffin, 2007, 111). Though we claim to be fostering values of social justice, there are barriers to equality and a diminishing sense of responsibility on a global scale. We continue to disassociate ourselves from the biogeographical origins of our ingredients and natural resources, as well as the labour force and communities who increase the opportunities for prosperity and sociocultural innovation in developed urban regions. Primarily within my research, I obtained a substantial spectrum of anonymous data from my participant groups to assess the level of interest, intention, and awareness one may have of contemporary transnational agricultural and ecological issues. In a progressive lens, I aimed to inspire participants to broaden their imaginative minds and critical perspectives within the framework of an artistic practice. With literary, energetic, vocal, and creative contributions, I hope their experiences were positive on personal-communal, existential, and internal levels. In fostering environmental stewardship and ecological literacy we are searching for "patterns, unity, and connections between people of all ages, races, nationalities, and generations" as well as between people and the natural world; embellishing a "tradition grounded in the belief that life is sacred and not to be carelessly expended on the ephemeral" (Orr, 2011, 260). As Gary Snyder (1990) once described in his article 'Ecology, Place, and the Awakening of Compassion' that an "ecosystem is a kind of mandala in which there are multiple relations that are all powerful and instructive", while it can be described as hierarchical in terms of "energy-flow", its basis relies on all entities as being equal and a part of a whole (Snyder, 1990, as quoted in Drengson & Inoue, 1995, 238). Our interwoven interconnectivity is a metaphysical and existential symbiotic system, similar to the sociopolitical ecologies we weave within the constraints of nature, therefore we must maximize our conscientious awareness of these intimate relationships.
Open Access
Beyond the Politics of Recognition: Settler Colonial Development & Urban Aboriginal Self-Determination in Toronto
(2014) Alderson, Aedan; Kipfer, Stefan
This major paper explores the role that settler colonization has had in the ongoing struggles of local Aboriginal communities in Toronto. In order to explore arguments for Aboriginal rights in the city, the main research questions that this paper addresses are: What does urban Aboriginal self-determination look like? What can a closer examination of Toronto's Indigenous and colonial history tell us about the context of present day urban Aboriginal struggles in the city? How can Torontonians move beyond the politics of relying on settler recognition of Aboriginal rights and towards a multilateral form of development on Indigenous land? By framing this paper around the argument that Indigenous sovereignty precedes - and therefore could not flow from - the politics of recognition between the Canadian and Indigenous nations, this project attempts to transgress boundaries that some might consider settled in Toronto.
Open Access
Planning and well-being: Aesthetic perceptions in a deindustrializing landscape
(2014) Mah, Stephanie Kristin; Foster, Jennifer
Halifax has experienced an uneven landscape of deindustrialization since the late 1970's. Theformer city of Dartmouth, now a planning region within greater Halifax, is an area which has remained quite industrial relative to the Halifax peninsula. The Imperial Oil refinery was a part of this remnant industrial landscape. Situated in the neighbourhood of South Woodside, the refinery has been a prominent feature on the waterfront skyline for almost a century. It is understood, appreciated, and despised differently according to different actors and observers— creating both stigmatization, wonder. The impacts of its presence are similarly dispersed. The refinery closure was met with sadness, ambivalence, but also, quite a bit of relief. The dynamics between lived experiences, and the broader global context and forces, shape future possibilities for community development, and there is a the tendency for poor engagement among different acting bodies—a function of an entrepreneurial mode of development. The poor coordination of planning efforts, and imbalanced power in decision making has resulted in a disengaged community. If justice were to be restored in land use decisions, there is potential to both restore well-being in a stigmatized community and take advantage of synergies between community capacity building and industrial development.
Open Access
Waking Dream: Cornell, Langstaff Gateway and Planning New Suburbs in the GTA
(2014) Fleischer, David; Lehrer, Ute
This paper explores the gaps between anti-sprawl policies and what has materialized on the ground in the Greater Toronto Area, a matter of particular import as the province's suite of growth management legislation is now being tested in its implementation phase. As Toronto grew so did Markham as one of the sprawling bedroom communities along its border. But in the 1990s the town became among the first municipalities in Canada to adopt New Urbanism as a paradigm for suburban development, attempting to break away from decades of auto-centric urban sprawl. Andres Duany and his firm, Duany Plater-Zyberk (DPZ), were hired to develop Cornell, a greenfield site, as a Traditional Neighbourhood Design (TND) New Urbanist community, with a greater emphasis on compact development and walkability than conventional development. In 2005-06, the Province of Ontario passed new legislation that enshrined the same Smart Growth principles in the planning regime for Toronto and its surrounding region. Even as questions were being raised about how successful were the ideals of New Urbanism generally, and the development of Cornell specifically, Markham hired Peter Calthorpe, also a founder of New Urbanism, but with a greater focus on orienting communities around transit corridors than Duany. Operating in the new provincial growth context, he planned Langstaff Gateway, a proposed Transit-Oriented Development (TOD); a suburban community in which only 35 per cent of trips would be by car. This paper reviews literature on the paradigmatic "American Dream," that drove the dominant form of conventional suburban development and the New Urbanist ideals that aim to supplant it. It then proceeds to assessments of the nascent Cornell community and the planned Langstaff Gateway growth centre through interviews conducted with residents, politicians, members of the development industry and planners. Few if any of the suburban municipalities around Toronto have been as amenable as Markham to introducing new suburbs and the new kind of lifestyle that comes with them. After deploying ideas for "better" suburban development for nearly two decades the city provides a unique case study through which to assess what has gone right and what has gone wrong on the ground. This paper then looks observes trends in changing suburbia, both in terms of the lifestyle of its residents and the built form in which they reside. Intensification and transit-orientation are the new goals of the provincial planning regime but this paper will look at how realistic those goals are and, learning from Markham's example, what tools or other changes are required to close the gap between expert plans for more sustainable and successful suburbs and the realities of politics and the market. After nearly 20 years of trying, how successful have attempts to implement New Urbanist ideals for "better" suburban development been and what are the gaps between their ideals and the reality as it has materialized? How has the policy regime in Ontario addressed these shortfalls and what changes are required to ensure those gaps are filled?
Open Access
Effects of Climate Change and Fisheries on the Distribution of Marine Fish in the Caribbean Colombian Sea Based on Traditional Artisanal Fishing KNowledge
(2014) Pardo, Fabricio; Montoya-Greenheck, Felipe
Based on their practical experience and traditional knowledge, artisanal fishers have theability to identify the changes in the distribution of marine species, which seem to be related to climate factors and fishing pressure. Migratory and non-‐migratory marine fish species occur in the Colombian Caribbean and they are dependent on the regional climatic conditions, which makes them move up or down in the water column. However, according to local fishers, factors such as fishing stressors (both commercial fisheries and artisanal fisheries) also make these species move or vanish in certain areas.
Open Access
Density Bonusing and Development in Toronto
(2014) Pantalone, Peter; Lehrer, Ute
Height and density bonusing is a planning tool that municipalities in Ontario have authority to use by virtue of Section 37 of the provincial Planning Act, which allows a municipality to grant a developer bonus height or density beyond that allowed by prevailing zoning restrictions in exchange for the provision of community benefits. In Toronto, a major building boom has brought more than a decade of high-rise construction, mostly for new condominium towers and to a lesser extent new office buildings. Rising land values, a buoyant real estate market, and population and employment growth have created an ever-increasing incentive for developers to seek approval to build buildings taller and denser than envisioned by City Planners, local politicians, and the public at large. In order to obtain some degree of public benefit from this private development boom, the City of Toronto has extensively applied Section 37 to secure community benefits such as parkspace improvements, public art, and funds for new daycare facilities and affordable housing. To date, the City of Toronto has secured over $350 million through Section 37 agreements, as well as hundreds of in-kind benefits that likely double the total value of the City's Section 37 revenues to approximately $700 million. Although density bonusing policies have been in place in Ontario since 1990, this planning tool continues to be fraught with criticism that such bonusing opens the door to "let's make a deal planning" between developers and municipal actors, and permits community opposition to be silenced through legalized bribery. Furthermore, the nebulous logic of the Ontario Municipal Board, which makes planning decisions that trump the authority of municipal councils, has given rise to an increasingly prevalent trend of negotiated settlement; under such an arrangement a developer obtains expedited approvals in exchange for agreeing to the local Councillor's Section 37 demands, and revising their initial proposal to mitigate the most vociferous objections of City Planning staff and community actors. My major research paper contributes a new perspective to the limited existing literature on Section 37 agreements in Toronto, by undertaking distinct analyses four distinct actors: developers, local ward Councillors, City Planning staff and community actors. The broad objectives of my paper are as follows: first, I provide a detailed overview of the provincial and local policies that govern height and density bonusing; second, I examine several prominent development projects to analyze the effectiveness of past Section 37 agreements; third, I undertake separate analyses of each actor in Toronto's urban development process; fourth, I conduct case studies of bonusing practices in three Toronto wards, and; lastly, I discuss my findings, highlight patterns and trends, critique particular elements of Toronto's bonusing regime, and offer some recommendations regarding how it might be modified to function more effectively, consistently and equitably.
Open Access
'All of a Sudden, It's Becoming Toronto': Community Identity and Belonging in the Beaches' Anti Condominium Activism
(2014) Vasic, Emilija; Haritaworn, Jin
This paper explores the intersections of identity, community, and belonging in the context of anti-condominium activism in Toronto's Ward 32 Beaches-East, York. Using local newspaper articles, archival research, and face-to-face interactions with residents from neighbourhood associations, it investigates the hatred of condominiums and the threat they pose to collective 'Beacher' identity. It moves past simplistic NIMBY (not-in- my-backyard) explanations and complicates political motivations beyond typical concerns of traffic, property values, and noise. Through a broad theoretical archive including affect and nostalgia, NIMBYism, anti-urbanism, and critical accounts of settler colonialism, the paper examines how the affective relations of hate, fear, and threat are produced and experienced in the neighbourhood and come to be constructed and upheld by examining the opinions of residents in light of these literatures. The paper proposes that a framework of urban planning that considers affect, settler colonialism, and intersectionality would better accommodate bodies and communities with various relationships to power and difference.
Open Access
Renewable Energy in Ontario: Future Directions for Community Engagement
(2014) Sadowski, Zachary; Rogers, Ray
In Ontario, the way community engagement is conducted during the renewable energy development process is inadequate and fuels the culture of opposition in Ontario. Looking at the history of energy policy and its evolution towards its present form, it is clear that efforts to mitigate this opposition have fallen short. It is commonly thought that opposition stems from a lack of knowledge of technology and its benefits, as well as, a misunderstanding of the adverse health effects. This is categorically untrue and both acceptance and opposition are complex positions that are relatively unique on a case-‐by-‐case basis. Social psychology explains that underlying these positions are a number of factors such as normative influences, past experiences and the accessibility of different frames. This literature also highlights trust as the fundamental starting point for effective community engagement. A new approach to community engagement is recommended where a trusting partner relationship is established and used to foster an environment of effective dialogue that results in renewable energy development that is satisfactory to all stakeholders.
Open Access
Beyond the Pipes: Planning for Sustainable Stormwater Management in the City of Toronto
(2014) Wang, Jennifer; Sandberg, L. Anders
Significant flooding in urban areas from strong storms and heavy rainfall has increased concerns about the ability of municipalities to manage the stormwater generated during these events and thereby protect infrastructure, properties, and public health and safety. Traditional stormwater management infrastructure has been successful in handling smaller storms but the infrastructure is aging and lacks the capacity to handle the large volumes of stormwater associated with these increasingly intense storms. Sustainable stormwater management emphasizes natural solutions that combine function and performance with environmental, economic, and social benefits. Despite these advantages, integrating sustainable stormwater management practices into existing stormwater systems is a difficult process where the entrenched reliance on traditional solutions contributes to the multiple barriers to implementation. The City of Toronto is a unique case study where political and fragmented administrative barriers have been addressed and a framework of policy, bylaws, and guidelines to encourage implementation of sustainable stormwater management practices has been established. Although several programs and projects have been initiated, financial, technical, and social barriers continue to slow progress in widespread implementation. The general lack of knowledge and understanding of stormwater as well as negative perceptions of stormwater must be overcome to encourage facilitation while lack of funding and incentives, and concerns about the operation and maintenance of sustainable stormwater management practices must also be addressed. The experiences of the City of Toronto show that although it is possible to overcome institutional barriersand ingrained beliefs, they have not yet been adapted to the current state of affairs.Social, financial, and technical barriers must be dealt with for widespread implementation of sustainable stormwater management.