Equity in Urban Actions and Innovations

Most research on policies and innovations to mainstream equity in climate and sustainability transitions under-appreciates the political dynamics of catalyzing systemic change. To address this gap, we conduct a comparative analysis across Toronto, Mexico City and Los Angeles to understand the fit between community-centred solutions and the broader political context and examine opportunities and challenges to foster more equitable actions and innovations. Data will be gathered through (a) a mapping of governmental and non-governmental actor networks, (b) and inventory of actions and innovations, and (c) semi-structured interviews with key governmental and non-governmental actors. Expected outcomes include policy narrative analysis, governance ecosystem mapping, organizational databases, and visualization tools. The team will produce comparative and case study analysis, policy briefs, and community relevant flyers.  

Urban Vulnerability Dynamics 

As the habitat for more than half of the world’s population, urban areas vulnerable the adverse impacts of climate change. Considering that these are dynamic, multidimensional process influenced by multiple socio-environmental, political, and economic forces, we seek to understand how urban populations are affected by climate change and provide timely insights to inform action; how vulnerability evolves and spatially distributed; what factors drive differences across cities; and how the principles of equity can inform the quantitative assessment of vulnerability. Research on the urban dynamics of climate vulnerability helps act on the drivers of current impacts, locate vulnerable areas, and inform effective policy responses.

Urban Commute Equity

Long commute times lead to a series of challenges in cities. Although urbanization and socioeconomic development have widened the commuting opportunity set, these choices are not equally distributed across social groups. Drawing on census data from Canada and the United States, origin-destination survey data from Mexico City, and spatial data on public transportation systems, this study employs quantitative methods to provide empirical evidence on commuting equity. This project seeks to examine (a) how public transit systems expand across cities over time; (b) how transit expansion affect commute modes and duration across communities with different socioeconomic profiles; and (c) how transit expansion influence housing choices – if there evidence of squeeze-out or displacement effects – and vice versa.