
Justice in sustainable energy transitions (Laura Tozer, University of Toronto Scarborough)
Abstract: An energy system based on renewable energy offersopportunities for distributed ownership and the redistribution of powerin society while avoiding catastrophic climate impacts, but just becausethis potential exists does not mean that transitions away from a fossil-fuel based society inherently deliver a more just and sustainable society.Sustainable energy transitions have the potential for transformativeimpact, but only if we actively harness opportunities for justic
Studentscapes, student bubbles, and studentification: What do student geographies of housing tell us about urban space? (Nick Revington, INRS-Urbanisation, Culture et Société)
Abstract: As private university residences have emerged as a new frontier of investment by sophisticated financial actors, international students have also become scapegoats of Canada’s housing affordability crisis, and scholarship increasingly describes purportedly global processes of “studentification,” remaking some neighbourhoods as isolated “bubbles” or enclaves of student life.
Graduate student presentations
Queerburbia: LGBTQ2S placemaking in Canadian suburbs (Julie Podmore, John Abbott College (with Alison L. Bain))
Abstract: Queerburbia is a neologism coined as a counterargument to queer metronormativities. By bringing the queer and suburban into focus, it redirects attention to the less visible LGBTQ2S lives lived across the peripheries of metropolitan areas. Conceptually, it seeks to alter North American suburbia’s iconic reputation for heterocisnormative erasure and enrich the suburban studies “diversity paradigm” by integrating peripheral queer placemaking practices.
Leveraging remote sensing to understand tropical ecosystems in a changing world (Elsa Ordway, University of California, Los Angeles)
Abstract: The tropics are experiencing dramatic changes as a result of climate change and land-use change. Shifts in carbon flux dynamics, water cycling, and species composition are resulting in feedbacks with globally important consequences. However, tropical forests are not a monolith. They vary enormously in terms of species diversity, climate, soils, human interactions, and much more.
Urban greening as a determinant of health and a strategy to tackle the triple planetary crisis (Pierre Paul Audate, Université de Montréal)
Abstract: There is an increasing interest for urban greening as intervention to improve health and well-being in cities worldwide. The following presentation will explore the role of urban greening as a determinant of health, addressing its contributions to mental and physical health, and its potential to promote social cohesion.