PEM Seminar Series-Trees, rain barrels and electric cars are Green Infrastructure? Canadian policy and residents’ knowledge
| Dates: | 16 October 2019 |
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| Times: | 13:00 - 14:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | Manchester Urban Institute |
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| Speaker: | Prof Tenley Conway |
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Abstract:
In the recent decades, there as been rapid adoption of the term green infrastructure (GI) in a number of fields and a corresponding exponential increase in GI literature. At the same time governments are all levels have inserted the term into policy. In many cases, urban residents are expected to play a central role in installing and maintaining GI to meeting municipal goals. But the diversity of fields using the term has led to a number of different definitions. While the varied and flexible meaning of GI allows for locally appropriate solutions, it may also lead to uncertainty about suitable goals and steps needed to met the promise of GI. Through this presentation I will (1) explore how the term ‘green infrastructure’ has been incorporated into Canadian policy and (2) examine residents’ knowledge and attitudes towards green infrastructure. The policy analysis found that across federal, provincial and municipal policy green infrastructure is defined in a variety of often vague or conflicting ways, even within the same jurisdiction. Results from a survey of residents across Toronto suggest that most residents are not familiar with the term. Others define it in ways that is at odds with local and regional policy. Additional results associated with residents’ interests and variation among residents will also be discussed. The presentation will end by considering the challenges of using the term green infrastructure in light of our results.
Speaker
Prof Tenley Conway
Organisation: University of Toronto
Biography: Tenley Conway is a Professor in Geography at the University of Toronto, Mississauga. Her research integrates insights from environmental geography and urban ecology to improve our understanding of the relationship between human activity and the physical environment within urban landscapes. Recent research has examined fine-scale socio-ecology dynamics of urban forests, the efficacy of current urban forest management approaches, and the potential and challenges of green infrastructure on residential property. She is an associated editor of Urban Forestry and Urban Greening and a member of the International Society of Arboriculture’s Science and Research Committee. Tenley also serves as a board member of two environmental non-profit organizations focused on the urban forest and citizen science.
Travel and Contact Information
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University Place 3.210
University Place
Oxford Road
Manchester
