A UofT Cities Centre Research Interest Group...

With initial funding from the Centre for Urban Health Initiatives at the University of Toronto, our network was established  in 2008 to advance the theory and practice of how social inequities in environmental health in the city are (re)produced, assessed, understood/experienced, & addressed. With the closure of CUHI, we have moved to the Cities Centre at UofT.

We are particularly interested in advancing the understanding and application of innovative community-based, participatory, and arts-informed approaches.

Specific substantive foci include

1. (a)perception, governance, distribution of environmental health inequities in an urban context,
   

2. (b)urban form and the built environment as key components of environmental justice, and
   

3. (c)climate justice in an urban context.
   

4. 
   

The diverse and growing RIG membership includes faculty and students from several disciplines at 5 universities, numerous local and national NGOs, policy-makers and government.

 Under CUHI, we had funding for 5 seed grant pilot projects (see ‘research projects’ on this web site):

(a)   a photovoice project with partners in Parkdale to document (& develop indicators from)

        the lived experience of environmental health injustice among marginalized groups;

(b)   an arts-enabled 'resonant installation' approach to popular education on climate justice

(c)   a project on building community resilience for the transition to a post-carbon society

(d)   a project on homelessness and climate change

(e)   a project on soil contamination and urban agriculture in Toronto

We are looking to expand our network and to catalyze the development of new initiatives - please join us!