Canada Excellence Research Chair
Network for Equity in Sustainability Transitions
A research initiative committed to creating flourishing and inclusive cities.
Welcome to the Canada Excellence Research Chair Network for Equity in Sustainability Transitions (CERC NEST) – an initiative committed to creating flourishing and inclusive cities.
Vision
The CERC NEST seeks to contribute to equity in climate and sustainability transitions. It examines how the co-production of actionable knowledge with communities and city actors can foster participation in decision-making, help address entrenched inequities in programs, and investments, and ensure equitable access to benefits and protection from harm.
Overview of the CERC NEST
CERC NEST is designed to create knowledge that contributes to making cities more sustainable and fair for everyone. While climate change affects us all, its impacts are often felt most strongly by those who contribute the least to the problem — predominantly low-income and marginalized urban populations. Many cities focus on technological solutions to climate change, but these often overlook the needs and experiences of people living in vulnerable neighbourhoods.
By building on three findings from Dr. Romero-Lankao’s work in cities like Mexico and Los Angeles, CERC NEST advances research within three working groups.
Working Group I
operates at the local level
First, communities want to define aspirations, problems, and solutions.
Through knowledge co-creation, we generate actionable research with underserved populations – the youth and working class.
Working Group II
operates at the city systems level
Second, top-down approaches to knowledge and action often (re)create inequities.
Through urban research, we analyze equity in energy use for transport and housing, vulnerability and urban climate action.
Working Group III
operates at the international level
Third, we need a solid, context-aware analysis of equity determinants and outcomes across cities.
Through a community of practice, we examine exclusion mechanisms and how to foster equity in actions.
CERC NEST News and Events
Last Listening Sessions of Moving the Youth
In collaboration with Paloma Villegas, Valerie Berseth, Muzna Ahmad, and 38 students, we finished the last listening sessions of “Moving the Youth,” a three-city initiative focused on envisioning more equitable and people-centred mobility systems. In collaboration...
Adaptation Futures 2025 in Christchurch, New Zealand
At the Adaptation Futures 2025 in Christchurch, New Zealand, we explored how participatory research can foster capacity for climate action in cities. With Gina Ziervogel, Meg Parsons, and an engaged international audience, we shared lessons learned from our work with...
Listening to Community Voices in San Luis Tlaxialtemalco, Xochimilco – Mexico City
We completed three days of intensive listening sessions with approximately 85 residents in San Luis Tlaxialtemalco, a community in Mexico City’s Xochimilco borough. These sessions are part of our ongoing work to understand how local communities are experiencing the...
The CERC NEST is supported by the CERC program:
The CERC program is a tri-agency initiative of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. It is administered by the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat (TIPS), which is housed within SSHRC.
