Field Notes - Volume III

FIELD NOTES

Journal of the McGill Undergraduate Geography Society

Field Notes 1

FIELD NOTES

MCGILL UNIVERSITY Montréal, Canada

Copyright © Field Notes: Journal of the McGill Undergraduate Geography Society, McGill University, Montréal, Canada 2014.

Editorial selection, compilation, and material © by the 2014 Editorial Board of Field Notes and its contributors.

Field Notes is an academic journal of McGill University with submissions by undergraduate students.

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Special thanks to the Arts Undergraduate Society or McGill University, the Science Undergraduate Society of McGill University, and the McGill Geography Undergraduate Society for enabling the publication of this journal.

Cover photo by Claudia Zenetzis.

FIELD NOTES Journal of the McGill Undergraduate Geography Society

Editor- in- Chief Kevin Drouin- Leger Undergraduate Editors Evan Berry Lillie Fradin Ksenia Kolosova Sylvia Moffatt Graduate Editors Drew Bush Blanaid Donnelly Sarah Wilson Design Editor Lillie Fradin

LETTER

FROM THE EDITOR IN CHIEF

I am thrilled to announce Field Notes’ third issue in two years. I have taken up the reins after two amazing issues were published in the same school year, running expectations high. However, I was compelled to encourage the continuity of this project in hopes that it can serve as a platform to acknowledge the diversity of the geographic discipline as well as promote undergraduate students’ hard work. Additionally, I hope this issue will provide both peers and faculty members an opportunity to work together and encourage the integration and pursuit of ideas within the department.

This issue contains six articles pertaining to geographic thought and practice that were produced by undergraduate students. The journal introduces a range of relevant topics from local urban studies on gentrification in Montreal to food security amongst northern Inuit communities. Field Notes’ third issue was not, under any circumstance, an individual endeavor; on the contrary, I would like to extend my greatest appreciation for both the undergraduate and graduate editors. The collaboration of editors, with their distinct strengths and backgrounds, contributed to the authenticity and rigorous publication process that will become evident as you flip through these next pages.

I sincerely hope you enjoy reading the following articles written by none other than your peers.

Kevin Drouin-Leger Editor-in-Chief

CONTENTS FIELD NOTES 2014

The Buzz on Bees: A Comparison of Pollination Systems Using Cost-Benefit Analysis Ayukawa, Cascadden, Payro___________________________________________ 8 Homelessness and Health Ahmed___________________________________________________________24 Tomayto, Tomahto: A Case Study on Sustainable Produce Acquistion in the Montreal Wintertime Wyers, Ali, Zhang___________________________________________________38 The Benefits and Challenges of Protecting Urban Green Space in Montreal Deprez, Lam, Lynch_________________________________________________ 57 Climate Change and Country Food: An Analysis of the Cultural Security of Inuit in Canada Clatworthy________________________________________________________ 72 Is Gentrification Occurring in Parc-Extension?

Glasspool, Forstate, Goldberg, Momen, Pileggi____________________________ 85 Our Contribtors___________________________________________________101

The Buzz on Bees: A Comparison of Pollination Systems Using Cost-Benefit Analysis Courtney Ayukawa, Maggie Cascadden, Clara Payro

ABSTRACT Pollinators, including bees, are crucial to the production of many fruits and vegetables. However, bee populations have been starkly declining, a phenomenon termed colony collapse disorder (CCD). While the exact cause of CCD has not yet been identified, there is a general consensus in the academic community that increased knowledge about bees’ importance as pollinators is needed. This study quantifies the value of current and potential pollination systems in the Macdonald Campus region, using the value of these pollination schemes to the Horticultural Centre’s production of watermelon as a proxy. A Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) and pollination valuation using the production value method (Winfree et al. 2011) are tools used in the analysis of five situations: mixed pollination, which is the current situation in this system; only wild pollination; no pollination, which will be used as the baseline scenario; hand pollination; and rented pollination. We determine the mixed pollination scenario to be the most economical, with a net profit value of $9,461. By ascribing a monetary value to the ecosystem service of bee pollination, we hope to increase legibility and understanding of the value of pollinators.

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P

ollination is defined as the process of transferring pollen, which contains the genetic material of flowers, from the stamen, male part of the plant, to the stigma, the female part of the plant. Pollinators, such as bees, eat nectar or pollen, and through this foraging behaviour move pollen from flower to flower. Pollination is necessary for plant fertilization and is a required step before fertile seeds can spread and next season’s plants can grow. The facilitation of plant fertilization by animals, in this case bees, is a key ecosystem service and is the definition of pollination services used in this study.

The pollination service that the honey bee, or Apis mellifera, does for the world economy is valued at over $200 billion dollars (Gallai et al., 2007).

Most fruits and vegetables require pollinators in order to be pollinated efficiently; without pollinators, the human diet would be limited (Lebuhn et al, 2013; see Figure 1). Pollinators, furthermore, can improve yields, thereby increasing profit for farmers.

In places with a higher index of pollinator abundance and variability, crop pollination was nearly maximized, thereby maximizing yield (Moradin & Winston, 2006). Unfortunately, the combination of pesticides, land use change, and Varroa destructor have led to the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) phenomenon, characterized by bee disappearances that leave the colony with too few members to function (Guzman-Novoa et al, 2010; Kremen et al, 2007; Lebuhn et al, 2013; Moradin & Winston, 2006; Partap & Ya,

2012; Russell et al, 2013).

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Figure 1. Photoshopped image of a grocery store with and without produce which rely on pollinators by Whole Foods.

Furthermore, climate change has affected pollinators’ ability to pollinate crop (Partap & Ya, 2012). Canadian beekeepers have lost over thirty percent of their bees in recent winters, which is an above-normal loss (Guzman-Novoa et al., 2010; Kevan et al, 2007). Worldwide, there are areas that have seen higher rates of bee losses and, in some places, animal pollinators have completely disappeared (Partap et Ya, 2012; Kevan et al, 2007; Kremen et al, 2007; Lebuhn et al, 2013). As an alternative, farmers are renting beehives or pollinating by hand, which are less efficient than wild pollinators (Benjamin & McCallum, 2009).

Hand pollination is especially co-

Field Notes 9

stly and economically unsustainable (Partap & Ya, 2012; Allsopp et al, 2008). If pollinators disappeared in just two American states, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, using human labour to pollinate watermelons would cost an estimated $1.38 million dollars per year (Winfree et al., 2011). Pollinators, thereby, provide a valuable ecosystem service that would be expensive to replace.

The literature points out that lack of knowledge is an issue for bee conservation (Partap & Ya, 2013) and, in order to better understand the economic importance of bees, specific information about how animal pollination helps crops at the field level is necessary (Kremen et al, 2007).

With increased understanding of the economic contribution of pollinators, incentives protect these valuable creatures will increase.

In this study we investigate the value of domestic pollinators within the Macdonald Campus region in the Horticultural Centre’s production of watermelon. Research focused on the Horticultural Centre located at McGill’s MacDonald Campus and apiaries within a 4km radius of the Horticultural Centre. Our study was readily welcomed by the President of the McGill Apicultural Association (MAA), Evan Henry, and Manager of the Horticultural Centre, Mike Bleho.

The research focused on watermelon crops produced at the Horticultural Centre of McGill University as a proxy for the benefits pollination for agriculture. In 2001, watermelon was the fifth most consumed fresh fruit, and the

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most consumed melon-type fruit in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2002), and exports of melon crops and papaya, including watermelon, equated to nearly $3.6 million dollars in 2010 (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2011).

Physiologically, watermelon relies on animal pollinators for pollination, as it has two separate flowers, one male and one female, and is thus unable to self-pollinate (Winfree et al., 2011).

It is therefore appropriate to study pollinator’s contribution to watermelon yields, as these fruits are highly consumed, valuable, and depend on pollinators.

A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) approach and Winfree et al.’s (2011) production value method pollination valuation equation were used in this study as tools for understanding the value of pollination in watermelon production over an average year. A CBA was conducted for five situations: no pollination, only wild pollination, mixed pollination (wild and local domestic), rented pollinators, and hand pollination. The CBA allows easier comparisons between pollination and other economic activities, as it puts the ecosystem service into monetary terms. Abstract values may be difficult to understand, so putting pollination into monetary terms makes its value more accessible for a broader range of people, and helps increase understanding on how pollination contributes to the economy. Hopefully pollinators will become more appreciated, and halting bee decline will become all communities’ goal.

Methods Study area As previously mentioned, the spatiality of the study is a 4km radius around the Macdonald Horticultural Centre. This 4km radius is derived from the average foraging distance, or how far a bee will travel from his hive while foraging for food (Beekman and Ratnieks, 2000; Osborne et al., 1999).

Figure 2 depicts this with the Horticultural Centre as the middle white pin, and the Macdonald Campus as the red pin alongside the Horticultural Centre.

Duration of study Our study determines pollination values for the Horticultural Centre in an average year’s watermelon production through considering the benefits and costs associated with watermelon production and pollination services over one year.

tuals to allow us to compare the situations between each other.

Figure 3.1 shows the “Mixed Pollination” situation. The watermelon crop at the Horticultural Centre is pollinated by both domestic and wild pollinators. Domestic pollinators are bees from the McGill Apicultural Association (MAA) and from other hives that are present within 4km of the Horticultural Centre.

We used to the data from the Winfree et al (2011) article to approximate the proportion of pollination from domestic pollinators to wild pollinators. According to their results, wild pollination accounts for 62% and domestic pollination accounts for 38% of the total pollination. (Winfree et al, 2011).

Figure 3.1: Current Situation: Mixed Pollination

Figure 2 . Spatiality of research; area

within 4km of the Horticultural Centre.

Counterfactual Situations To conduct the research, five different situations – the current situation and four counterfactuals – were analysed. A cost-benefit analysis was performed in each of the counterfac-

Figure 3.2 shows the situation in which pollination services provided if the system contained only the wild pollinators, and there were no domestic pollinators present in the area.Pollination in this scenario is, thus, only done by wild pollinators. It is assumed that the ability of wild pollinators to pollinate is independent of the presence of domestic pollinators, so the amount of pollination attributable

Field Notes 11

to wild pollinators is 62% of the total pollination from the Mixed Pollinators scenario (Winfree et al, 2011).

Figure 3.2: Counterfactual A (Wild Pollinators) Figure 3.3 examines what would happen if no wild or domestic pollinators were present. This counterfactual is considered to be the baseline scenario, as there is no pollination and, thus, the value of pollination is zero in this system. The other scenarios will be compared to this counterfactual, and the value difference will be the value of the factors that are different in the other scenario.

Figure 3.3 Counterfactual B (No pollination) In Figure 3.4, we looked at what would happen if no pollinators were present and human labour was used to hand-pollinate watermelon crop. To hand pollinate watermelon, one cuts a male flower and rubs it on the female flower (Concordia Greenhouse, personal communication). This counterfactual is unrealistic for the Horticul-

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tural Center, , because wild pollinators forage there, and this scenario assumes no wild pollinators are present. It was included because it is a technique employed in parts of the world where local foragers have disappeared (Partap & Ya, 2012; Allsopp et al, 2008).

Figure 3.4 Counterfactual C (Hand pollination) Figure 3.5 represents a system where no wild or local domestic pollinators are present, and pollinators from rented hives were brought in to pollinate watermelon crop. Although it is not a realistic scenario for the Horticultural Centre, because wild pollinators are present and this scenario assumes they are not, this counterfactual is explored because this system is employed in other situations, like in large monocrops of plants that require pollination (Benjamin & McCallum, 2009).

Figure 3.5 Counterfactual D (Pollination from rented hives)

Cost Benefit Analysis To assess the pollination value, a cost benefit analysis was conducted for each of the five counterfactual scenarios. A cost benefit analysis outlines the costs and benefits of a proposed project or scenario, with the output being a net profit or cost of that scenario for a given time frame (Schmidtz, 2001).

In this project, a cost benefit analysis was done for the five scenarios listed above. Using this framework, the net profit derived from each scenario is calculated, which included both costs and benefits. a. Primary Benefits The one primary benefit in these scenarios was the economic value of produced watermelon (see Figure 6).

This benefit was calculated using the price of watermelon at the Horticultural Centre’s market multiplied by the yield of the watermelon, which assumed to be the quantity sold. At the Horticultural Centre, seedless watermelons are valued at $5.50 CAN, while seeded watermelons sell for $4.50 CAN (Bleho, personal communication). Watermelon yield was calculated using the number of watermelon plants at the Horticultural Centre multiplied by the average yield of each watermelon plant. The Horticultural Centre dedicates 120m of planting row to growing watermelon. Watermelon plants are spaced .9m apart, and each produces an average of 1.5 watermelons (Bleho, personal communication).

Using this information, the estimated total watermelon yield is 2000 melons, of which 1600 are seedless and 400 are seeded. In the mixed pollinators, hand

pollination, and renting pollinators scenarios, it was assumed that maximum yield was achieved. In the wild pollinator scenario, however, it was assumed that yield was reduced to the same proportion of which wild pollinators contribute to pollination in the mixed pollinators scenario, 62% (Winfree et al, 2011). In the no pollinator scenario, yield was assumed to be zero, as the physiology of the watermelon plant makes it unable to self-pollinate (Winfree et al, 2011). b. Primary Costs There were five primary costs accounted for in the costbenefit analysis (Figure 6). Two costs were directly associated with the functioning of the apiary: apiary maintenance and apiary labour. Apiary maintenance includes the cost of the MacDonald Campus Apiary, namely the cost of equipment, such as frames, boxes, foundation, etc..

Apiary labour is the cost to hire someone at minimum wage to maintain an apiary. In reality, the MacDonald Campus Apiary is maintained by volunteers. To calculate the cost of hiring labour, the logged hours of a summer intern were used. During the internship, the intern worked an average of twenty hours a week for sixteen weeks, totalling 320 total hours of labour throughout the working months of the apiary. Minimum wage in Quebec is $10.15 CAN/hour (Commission des normes du travail du Quebec, 2013), and this wage was applied to the hours worked to calculate the total labour costs of the apiary.

These costs apply to the entire apiary, whose pollination services benefit

Field Notes 13

more than just the watermelon growing at the Horticultural Centre , so it was necessary to scale the costs to only what could be attributable to watermelon. In order to do this, the number of hives to rent per acre recommended by the Canadian Honey Council was used; nine hives for every two hectares of area to be pollinated (Canadian Honey Council, 2013). Since the watermelon covers 0.5 hectares, 2.25 hives are recommended. In a renting scenario, however, it is assumed that there are no wild pollinators present, which is not the case in the mixed pollinator scenario: only 38% of pollination is done by domestic pollinators in this system (Winfree et al, 2013). The needed number of hives is, therefore, 38% of 2.25 hives recommended by the Canadian Honey Council, or 0.86 hives total. During this past summer, there were 14 hives at the MacDonald campus apiary (Henry, personal communication), so the costs of the MacDonald Campus Apiary were multiplied by 0.855/14.

In addition to apiary associated costs, there were three other primary costs included into the cost benefit analysis . Two of these costs were associated with watermelon. The first, farm labour, was the cost associated with hiring people to plant, fertilize, and harvest the watermelons. This cost was calculated using estimates of the required time for these tasks, as this research was started after these activities had been completed for the season. We esti mated the total cost of labour to be 60 hours paid at minimum wage in Quebec, $10.15 CAN/hour. The

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labour cost associated with harvesting, however, is dependent on yield.

Therefore, the cost of harvesting was at a maximum of 20 hours paid at minimum wage for the three scenarios where maximum yield was achieved: the mixed pollinators scenario, the hand pollination scenario and the renting scenario. For the other two scenarios, there was reduced yield, and the harvesting cost was resultantly reduced to 62% and 0% of the original labour costs for the wild pollinators and no pollinators scenarios, respectively.

The final primary cost in the cost benefit analysis was hand pollination labour. This cost only applies to the hand pollinator and rented pollinator scenarios. In the hand pollination scenario, the cost of pollination service was calculated using the estimated time it takes to hand pollinate (Concordia Greenhouse, personal communication). In the renting pollinators scenario, the cost of renting a hive and recommended number of hives per hectare was used to calculate the pollination labour costs. Since 2.25 hives need to be rented, the cost per hive is $ 120 CAN (Canadian Honey Council, 2013). In both scenarios, it was assumed that there were no wild pollinators present. c. Secondary Costs & Benefits In addition to having the costs and benefits outlined above, the apicultural centre (MAA) also had secondary costs and benefits associated with it (Figure 9). The benefits include apicultural products, such as honey or honey products (eg. beeswax and candles),

and education. The values of these benefits were included in the total revenue of the apiary, found in the apiary’s budget (Henry, personal communication). Secondary costs include the extractor, jar, and lid costs, which were also included in the apiary’s yearly budget (Henry, personal communication). These costs and benefits were scaled down to what can be attributable to watermelon using the same methodology described in 4Db. Value of Pollination Equation After doing a cost benefit analysis, the value of pollination services was calculated using the production value method outlined in Winfree et al (2011) (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Value of Pollination Equation P is the price of the agricultural product, in this case watermelon. Y is the yield of that product. C are the costs associated with that product, which vary with yield and pollination services provision. D is 1- the amount of pollination that would be done without pollinators; in the case of watermelon, this number is zero, so D = 1. r is the proportion of pollination done by the specific pollinator, for example, the wild pollinators or the apiary pollinators.

Valuation of Systems Once the value of pollination was determined using the Production Value Method’s Value of Pollination Equation (Figure 4), the scenarios were compared to the baseline and valued (see Figure 8). As the no pollinators scenario is the baseline, all other scenarios were compared to the net value of pollination associated with a pollinator in this system. The results were the net value of using the compared system for pollination. In addition, since the mixed pollinators and wild pollinators scenarios are comparable systems, these two counterfactuals were compared with the wild pollinators scenario as the baseline. The result of this comparison is the value of having domestic pollinators in the MacDonald Campus area.

Results Using the cost benefit analysis techniques, we calculated the total net profit of each scenario (Figure 6).

Overall, both the renting and mixed pollination scenarios proved to be the most economical, valuing in at a net profit of $9,416 CAN and $9,461 CAN, respectively. Hand pollination, then wild pollination, were valued at $8,205 CAN and $5,785 CAN respectively, making them the third and fourth most economical. The no pollinators counterfactual was not financially sustainable, with a net cost of -$710 CAN associated with this system.

Figure 5. Valuation of Systems Equation

Field Notes 15

The value of pollination in each of the scenarios was determined based on the production value method, using the equation in Figure 4. Since there is no pollination in the no pollinators scenario, the r value is 0, making the value of pollination 0 in this scenario.

The costs in this scenario were, therefore, not associated with pollinators.

This cost was included in all scenarios, but in all other counterfactuals it was outweighed by the benefit of watermelon production. In the four profitable situations, the value of each present pollinator was determined using the value of pollination equation (Figure 4). For the wild pollinators, hand polinators, and renting scenarios, the

value of the pollination done by wild foragers, human labour, and rented domestic bees, respectively, was equal to the total net profit of that scenario, as r = 1 for the respective pollinator in each of those scenarios. In the mixed pollinators scenario, however, there were two pollinators: domestic pollinators, which had an r value of 0.38; and wild pollinators, which had an r value of 0.62 (Figure 7).

Secondary Benefits In the above analysis, the renting and mixed pollination scenarios were found to be nearly equally valuable.

However, as mentioned above, there are secondary costs and benefits associated with the mixed pollinator

Figure 6. Value of Pollination: Table of Costs and Benefits by Scenario

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Figure 7. Graph of Net Value of Pollination (Vpollination) scenario that are not present in the renting pollinators scenario, nor associated with pollination services.

These are, however, costs and benefits to the system as a whole, and make the mixed pollinators scenario even more valuable than previously calculated.

These came out to a total net benefit of $145 CAN (Figure 8).

Valuation In order to value the different systems, the net value of pollination associated with pollinators in each system was compared to the no pollinators baseline scenario. In the no pollinators scenario, the net value of pollination associated with pollinators is 0 despite a net cost as the r value is zero in this counterfactual (Figure 7). The annual values of the systems of pollination assessed in this study were found to be equal to their net profit (Figure 8).

To find the value of the domestic pollinators surrounding MacDonald

Campus, the wild pollinators scenario was used as a baseline and was compared to the Mixed Pollinators scenario. Through this computation, the annual value of local, domestic pollinators, such as those at the MacDonald Campus Apiary, was found to be $3,676 CAN (Table 1).

Discussion Overall, the mixed pollinators and renting pollinators were the most economically profitable scenarios.

The wild pollinators and hand pollinators scenarios were also found to be economically viable. In contrast, the no pollinators scenario proved to be financially unsustainable. When secondary benefits were included in the cost benefit analysis, it became increasingly obvious that the mixed pollinators scenario was most beneficial overall. Furthermore, although the renting scenario seems to be profitable, this scenario is unrealistic in practice.

Field Notes 17

It assumes that there are no wild pollinators, which is not true at the Horticultural Centre. In reality, renting hives is only done for large monocultures where there are no natural pollinators available to pollinate (Benjamin & McCallum, 2009). The hand pollination scenario is unrealistic for the same reason. These systems were considered for the cost benefit analysis because they are systems in practice elsewhere (Allsopp et al, 2008; Partap & Ya, 2013; Benjamin & McCallum, 2009).

hives and hand pollination being the same as wild and domestic pollinators.

Currently, little data exists on this topic. However, there is logical speculation that the rented bees are not as effective as wild and domestic pollinators already in the region (Benjamin & McCallum, 2009). This is based on the toll traveling takes on the bees and the typically industrial monoculture fields rented bees forage on. These monoculture fields reduce diversity in the bees’ diet, which reduces their health. In addition, they are often exposed to

Figure 8. Graph of Net Value of Pollination Including Secondary Benefits At the current time, however, they high concentrations of chemical ferare inappropriate for the MacDonald tilizer and pesticides, which may also Campus region. It is still valuable affect the bees’ health (Henry, personto look at these scenarios, as they al communication; Oldroyd, 2007). represent the replacement value, and For hand pollination, it seems that their lower net profit indicates there efficacy may depend on the pollination is value in having domestic and wild method used. The method of cutting pollinators. the male flower and rubbing it on the Possible Sources of Error female was based on the method used An important assumption in the at the Concordia Greenhouse and parcalculations is the efficacy of rented allels the method discussed by Allsopp

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et al (2008). This method’s efficacy, however, depends on the type of plant.

Unfortunately, watermelons and other Cucurbitaceae were not studied by Allsopp et al. (2008) and the Concordia Greenhouse Collective lacked precise data on the effectiveness of their method.

in the fall and winter seasons, the watermelon being studied had already been harvested at the Horticultural Centre. For this reason, the costs associated with hand pollination were approximations based off of information from the Concordia Greenhouse Collective and the Horticultural

Table 1. Table of Valuations The main constraining factor in Centre. We applied the data on hand our research is the lack of Montrepollination of Cucurbitaceae from the al-specific data, which led to a reliance Concordia Greenhouse Collective to on secondary sources and approximathe growing situation at the Hortitions. “Valuing Pollination Services to cultural Centre from Mike Bleho, the Agriculture� by Winfree et al. (2011) Manager of the Centre. Harvesting was essential to our research, as we costs were also approximated with used their ratio of wild to domestic information from Mr. Bleho. Ideally, pollination for our CBA. This reliance this research would be conducted in on the Winfree et al. (2011) article the summer while the watermelons are may be a source of error because growing to practice hand pollination that research was conducted in New and observe harvesting ourselves.

Jersey and Pennsylvania. However, With the above limitations in mind, we this climate was most similar to that of have made every effort to ensure that Montreal out of all studies in our literthe results and conclusions reached ature review, and Winfree et al. (2011) through this study are as accurate and studied the honey bee as pollinators precise as possible. instead of other bee species, which we Importance of Findings also studied in this research. Hence, There is currently a lack of knowlalthough this is a possible source of edge about the value of pollination. error, we believe the data from the This research is therefore important, Winfree et al. (2011) article was the as it puts a monetary value on bee best available for use in our study. pollination services. By quantifying the Since this research was conducted economic value of bees as pollinators,

Field Notes 19

the research makes the value of pollination less abstract and easier to grasp for the general public. Our goal is to increase awareness about how valuable pollinators are and, to do so, our findings must be accessible. Since many understand monetary and economic value, we believe that our findings are largely accessible and can therefore generate a better appreciation for pollination services.

This research is also important as it demonstrates that pollinators are valuable and vital to our society. This research will contribute to the increasing amount of literature on bees as pollinators. We hope this will trigger actions and policies that would aim at protecting pollinators and educating people about their value. Finally, our findings should help the MAA to obtain more support from McGill University, other institutions, and funding sources. This research demonstrated that the MAA contributes positively to the Horticultural Centre, which itself contributes greatly to McGill University. For example, according to the McGill Food and Dining Services website (2012), the Horticultural Centre is an important local food supplier of the McGill cafeterias.

C. Next Steps for Research To further extend our research, one could evaluate the value of pollination services at the Macdonald region for any kind of crop which relies on bee pollination, instead of just watermelon. Species of fruits and vegetables have different blooming periods, rates of reproduction, etc. Thus, the way

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these species benefit from pollination might be different. Knowing the value of pollination for every vegetable and fruit species at the Horticultural Centre would give greater context to our findings.

Furthermore, it would be interesting to compare the value of pollination between different regions. As mentioned earlier, bees and pollination can be affected by different factors such as climate, habitation loss, fertilizer/pesticide use, etc. Since these conditions vary between regions, the pollination services in these areas vary as well.

Comparing different regions would allow us to better approximate of the value of pollination worldwide.

Finally, measuring the efficacy of the different scenarios and counterfactuals is an important next step. As discussed above, we believe that there are differences in pollination efficacy between the different scenarios, but this was not included as a factor in this research. To have a more precise value of pollination among the different counterfactuals, we would need to know how efficient hand pollination and rented pollination are compared to bee pollination. The same applies to the differences in efficacy between domestic and wild pollinators. This niche of bee research is a new field; we found the published research on the topic to be lacking.

Conclusion This study used the production value technique, as outlined by Winfree et al. (2011), to determine the production value of current and alternative pollination services in the

Macdonald Campus region in the Horticultural Centre’s watermelon production. The mixed pollinators scenario proved to be the most economically valuable, especially when secondary costs and benefits were included, followed closely by the renting pollinators scenario. Both the renting pollinators and hand pollinators scenarios, however, are unrealistic for this system currently, as they assume that there are no natural pollinators in the area. A baseline comparison was also employed to determine the value of domestic pollinators in the region.

Through this, the value of domestic pollinators surrounding MacDonald campus was quantified.

This study contributes to our understanding of bees and the importance other pollinators in food production. Knowing the monetary value of pollinators will encourage people to appreciate and preserve them. With threats such as CCD and climate change imminent, our growing human population needs to focus on preserving the ecosystem services on which our livelihoods, health, and economies rely. This research aids our understanding of the importance of these ecosystem services to our economy through quantifying the financial benefits of pollination.

Acknowledgements We would like to thank the following individuals who contributed and participated in this research: our supervisor Professor Brian E. Robinson for the valuable assistance, comments and advice throughout the entire research process; Evan Henry for the

infinite help and information about the McGill Apicultural Association and simply for passing on to us his love of bees; Mike Bleho for his help and knowledge of the Horticultural Centre; The Concordia Greenhouse for their help on valuing hand pollination; and all the students registered in GEOG 460 this semester for their input, enthusiasm, and interest.

References Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. (2011). Canadian Fruit.

Allsopp, M.H., Lange, W.J.D., Veldtman, R. (2008). Valu ing insect pollination ser vices with cost of replace ment. PloS One 3 (9).

Beekman, M., & Ratnieks, F. L. W. (2000). Long-range foraging by the honey-bee, Apis mellifera L. . Function al Ecology, 14, 490-496.

Benjamin, A., & McCallum, B. (2009). A World Without Bees: Pegasus Books.

Canadian Honey Council (2013). Managing Bees for Pollination. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from http://www.honeycouncil. ca/managing_bees_for_pol lination.php Commission des normes du tra vail du Quebec (2013).

Wages. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from http://www. cnt.gouv.qc.ca/en/wag es-pay-and-work/wages

Field Notes 21

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Economic valuation of the vulnerability of world agri culture confronted with pollinator decline. Eco logical Economics, 68(3), 810–821. doi:10.1016/j. ecolecon.2008.06.014 Guzman-Novoa, E., Eccles, L., Calvete, Y., McGowan, J., Kelly, P. G., & Correa-Bent ez, A. (2010). Varroa de structor is the main culprit for the death and reduced populations of overwintered honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in Ontario , Cana da. Apidology, 41, 443–450.

Kevan, P., Guzman, E., Skinner, A., & van Englesdorp, D. (2007). Kevan et al 2007 hivelights.pdf. HiveLights, 14–16.

Kremen, C., Williams, N. M., Aizen, M. a, Gemmill-Her ren, B., LeBuhn, G., Minck ley, R., … Ricketts, T. H. (2007). Pollination and other ecosystem services produced by mobile organisms: a conceptual framework for the effects of land-use change. Ecology letters, 10(4), 299–314. doi:10.1111/ j.1461-0248.2007.01018.x Lebuhn, G., Droege, S., Connor, E. F., Gemmill-Herren, B., Potts, S. G., Minckley, R. L., … Parker, F. (2013, February). Detecting insect pollinator declines on re

22

gional and global scales.

Conservation biology : the journal of the Soci ety for Conservation Bi ology. doi:10.1111/j.15231739.2012.01962.x McGill Food and Dining Ser vices (2012). Ethical Sourc ing. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from https://www. mcgill.ca/foodservices/re sponsible-food/green Morandin, L. a., & Winston, M. L. (2006). Pollinators pro vide economic incentive to preserve natural land in agroecosystems. Agricul ture, Ecosystems & Environ ment, 116(3-4), 289-292. doi: 10.1016 jagee.2006.02.012 Osborne, J. L., Clark, S. J., Morris, R. J., Williams, I. H., Riley, R. J., Smith, A. D., et al. (1999). A land scape-scale study of bumble bee foraging range and con stancy, using harmonic ra dar. Journal of Applied Eco logy, 36, 519-533.

Oldroyd, B. P. (2007). What’s killing American honey bees? PLoS Biol, 5(6).

Partap, U., & Ya, T. (2012). The Human Pollinators of Fruit Crops in Maoxian County, Sichuan, China. Mountain Research and Development, 32(2), 176–186. doi:10.1659/MRD-JOUR NAL-D-11-00108.1 Russell, S., Barron, A. B., &

Harris, D. (2013). Dynamic modelling of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony growth and failure. Ecologi cal Modelling, 265, 158– 169.

Schmidtz, D. (2001). A place for cost-benefit analysis.

Philisophical Issues, 11, 148-171.

Statistics Canada. (2002). Food Consumption in Canada Consommation des ali ments au Canada.

Winfree, R., Gross, B. J., & Kremen, C. (2011). Valuing pollination services to agriculture. Eco logical Economics, 71, 80–88. doi:10.1016/j.ecole con.2011.08.001

Field Notes 23

Homelessness and Health Uzma Ahmed

ABSTRACT1 This study examines the nature of the relationship between homelessness and health outcomes. Extensive research of literature within the fields of sociology and health in North America reveals that the relationship between homelessness and health is a bi-directional, mutually reinforcing relationship. By looking at social selection and social causation models, the two variables evidently repeatedly fuel one another and are dependent on a multitude of factors. The driving forces behind both variables include access to healthcare, substance abuse and mental health. Moderating factors also contribute to the complexity of the relationship, which will be shown through a discussion on deinstitutionalization and stigma. complexity

1 This study was completed in fulfillment of the course SOCI 342: Independent Study 1

24

T

his paper explores the relationship between homelessness and health outcomes in Canada and the United States and draws on some specific examples from different cities to identify challenges in understanding the causal relationship between the two factors. Ultimately, the direction of the relationship remains largely unresolved in existing literature, as the relationship is highly complex and dependent on a multitude of factors. The causal pathway that links homelessness and health outcomes is not linear and can be attributed to the combination of cumulative affects rather than only by the influence of individual factors. However, some examples that show evidence in one causal direction can be used to make inferences about broader trends in the relationship between homelessness and health.

The discussion will begin by providing aspects of the context of homelessness through definitions of homelessness and the significance of the topic. Next, the paper will address how homelessness may lead to health outcomes by looking at the social context and social gradient of health.

This will be looked at through conditions of homelessness and analyzing access to healthcare. Conversely, the paper will examine how health leads to homelessness by looking at substance abuse and addiction as well as mental health and the presence of interacting factors. Moderating factors such as deinstitutionalization and stigma will be highlighted to demonstrate the

complexity of the relationship between homeless ness and health. Finally, the paper will conclude that the relationship between homelessness and health is a mutually reinforcing bi-directional relationship influenced by many factors.

Research describes how homeless people are disproportionately burdened by ill health. However, the challenges lie in identifying whether sick individuals are more vulnerable to becoming homeless or if homeless individuals are more vulnerable to illness. Homelessness and housing instability are chronic issues that stem from social stratification and are con nected to suffering from poor health outcomes. In Canada, 14,145 people were reported to be living in shelters as of 2001(Turnbull, 2007) with 1,602 of these residing in Vancouver, including sheltered and unsheltered individuals (City of Vancouver, 2013). Research shows that “On average a homeless person in Vancouver is...living with an addiction, mental illness and/or a medical condition� (City of Vancouver, 2013). Homeless populations suffer from adverse health effects and mortality rates higher than non-homeless populations. If homelessness does in fact produce or exacerbate poor health, mortality rates should be significantly higher for those on the street as compared to individuals with adequate housing conditions. Understanding the link between homelessness and health will facilitate the design of appropriate health interventions for this population such as fixing shelters, ensuring a distribution of resources across popul-

Field Notes 25

ations, in order to provide appropriate accessibility to healthcare. Recognizing and addressing the relationship has further implications for shaping public policy in terms of preventing homelessness.

Context Defining homelessness Overall homelessness is on the rise in Canada and homeless persons now make up about 1% of urban populations (Turnbull, 2007) and yet the prevalence of homelessness is thought to be underestimated. Homelessness is thought to be underreported due to the varying definitions applied and therefore estimations may be difficult to compare between studies.

For example, according to Echenberg & Jensen (2012), studies often fail to account for the “relatively homeless”, who are individuals that are housed but who live in a shelter or are at risk for losing their homes. Those who are “hidden homeless” are those residing with friends, family or in an institution but for which they do not have direct ownership. The relative and hidden homeless both differ from the “absolute homeless” who lack any accommodation at all and may be living on the street. Evidently, relative and absolute homelessness are at opposite ends of the definition spectrum. The absolute homeless are more likely to be captured by the homelessness literature (Echenberg & Jensen, 2012).

In addition to the increasing prevalence of homelessness, there seems to be a demographic shift. Homeless populations see an overrepresentation of single mothers with children, ado-

26

lescents, and the underemployed, elderly and recent immigrants (Turnbull, 2007). What additionally contributes to the problem is that many support programs and services are more oriented towards men and often refuse women and their young children (Native Women’s Association of Canada, 2007), thus aggravating the problem at hand. Among Canadian populations, 15% of the homeless youth are under age 15 (Turnbull, 2007) and in the United States about 22% under 18 (SAMHSA, 2011). Additionally, there has been an increase in specific ethnic groups, for example Aboriginal persons, who are overrepresented within these populations. In Edmonton, Alberta, Aboriginals only make up 3% of the total population but account for 35% of the homeless population (Berry, 2013). Overall, this reflects how intersectionality is also an important theoretical tool to understand when conceptualizing the problem; race, social class, socioeconomic status and gender all coexist among vulnerable homeless populations and interact creating social inequities.

How Can Homelessness Lead to Health Outcomes?

In order to predict how homelessness influences health, we must additionally understand how homelessness can be placed into the larger social context of health and disease.

The Social Context of Health The social context of health is an important framework to deliberate n understanding homelessness and

health. It is important because the lescents, and the underemployed, association between homelessness and health is fueled by social determinants and the social gradient that appear when unraveling the direction of the associated relationship (Chenier, 1999). Social determinants “are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age... shaped by the distribution of money, power, resources at global, national and local levels” (WHO, 2014). The health gradient shows that alongside an increase in socioeconomic status there is an increase in health status i.e. the social gradient in health (WHO, 2014). Thus, institutional forces that determine socioeconomic status, in turn determine the fate of one’s health.

Present research on health highlights this social gradient without fully looking at health status. This trend leads to the question about how the additional stress of homelessness may play into influencing health status as well (Schanzer et al, 2007).

How does Homelessness Impact Health?

The World Health Organization describes homelessness as involving “a heterogeneous population characterized by multiple morbidity (primarily alcohol and drug dependence, and mental disorders) and premature mortality” (WHO, 2013). Homeless people face a number of health issues among which many are considered unique to this population. Within shelters themselves, there is often a lack of sanitation and overcrowding leading to

bedbugs, tuberculosis and lice (Frankish et al, 2005) revealing the strong role homelessness plays itself in both causing and contributing to health outcomes. In the US, primary Tuburculosis (TB) is extremely high in concentrated homeless populations as opposed to a resurfacing of prior disease, suggesting that the state of homelessness itself can make one more susceptible to TB (Munoz et al, 2005). These direct health outcomes make seeking comfort in a shelter less desirable, thus worsening the homelessness problem. As a result of having to permanently or temporarily reside outdoors, wet feet from seasonal and climate changes (especially problematic in North American climates) can cause trench foot, resulting in circulatory problems (Frankish et al, 2005).

Canadian homeless youth suffer from sexual health issues as they engage in survival sex, have multiple sex partners and are injection drug users leading to HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, unplanned pregnancy is on the rise for homeless female youth in both Canada and the US (Frankish et al, 2005). These youth are also victims of rape, violence and assault (Barman-Adhikari & Rice, 2011). Furthermore a variety of intersecting factors demonstrate that the problem of homelessness is beyond just not having a home or address.

As individuals are subject to dual or multiple diagnosis the presence of safe housing alone will not rectify such situations.

Access to Healthcare Whitney & Glazier (2004) describe how access and barriers in healthcare

Field Notes 27

are additional markers of the complexity between homelessness and health.

Conflicts in healthcare stem from barriers to both seeking and accessing health care services and conflicts in treatment. Accessibility is compromised by how homeless people do not have health cards and thus cannot obtain proper medical treatment. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that many homeless people cannot even apply for a health card because they do not have an address. In turn, “... many homeless people wait until their medical problems become serious before seeking treatment” (Whitney & Glazier, 2004), as they have no alternative option. Emergency services become their only option because of a lack of telephone or address. Without a phone or address, they are unable to make appointments, or in the case they do receive care they experience loss to follow up, which may lead to prolonged infections. Additionally, homeless people face difficulties with medical compliance. For example, often practitioners do not account for how homeless individuals may not have a consistent care giver or have storage for medicine (such as through a fridge or in an indoor facility at an appropriate temperature). Without these supplies, they are perceived as non-compliant with treatment and medication, and thus the actual reasons for the supposed non-compliance are ignored.

How Can Health Contribute to Homelessness?

Substance Abuse and Addiction

28

This direction of the relationship between homelessness and health makes use of the social selection model. Johnson & Chamberlain (2008) state “the key proposition underpinning the social selection model is that homelessness represents the end point in a process characterized by the gradual depletion of an individual’s economic and social resources”. The model views how substance abuse and addiction behave as a pathway to homelessness (Johnson et al, 1997), and thus they decipher drug use as a cause of homelessness rather than a consequence. To distinguish between cause and consequence researchers look at what comes first. Johnson et al (1997) point to studies which reported that 80% of homeless individuals categorized themselves as being an alcoholic prior to becoming homeless.

A United States study in 2007 concluded “two-thirds of homeless people cite alcohol and/or other drugs as a major, and at times, primary reason for becoming homeless” (Didenko & Pankratz, 2007). Moreover, substance abuse can lead to the depletion of economic and social resources thus increasing the likelihood of poverty and homelessness. As a result of engaging in an expensive habit, one’s addiction can lead them to eviction and employment loss, a risk factor for homelessness.

Johnson et al (1997) additionally noted studies that proved substance abuse, as a contributing factor to homelessness, may be more prevalent among males rather than females. The authors attribute the onset of drug and alcohol use to stress. They report that

men’s increased exposure to economic hardship as a stressor might explain their overrepresentation among substance users. Ultimately, research has shown that addiction makes individuals vulnerable to housing loss, a risk factor for homelessness.

In some cases research found that stress was specifically responsible for individuals engaging in substance abuse. Thus stress was the precipitant in the downward spiral of economic depletion towards homelessness. Stress can disturb work and familial life which increases dependency on substances as they are utilized as a coping mechanism (Johnson et al, 1997). For this reason stress is categorized as a moderating variable as it adds to the direction and strength of the overall associ ation between homelessness and health.

Mental Health According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, “an estimated 25-50% of homeless people live with a mental disorder”. For this reason, we can examine if mental illness is a pathway to homelessness. In Toronto, Ontario, 67% of homeless people who were specifically classified as shelter users stated they endured a lifetime diagnosis of mental illness (Hulchanski et al, 2009). Additional research concluded that “...after controlling for other factors....research with homeless groups suggests that in most cases, psychopathology [and substance abuse] precede the onset of homelessness among young people” (Shelton et al, 2009, p.470).

Mental Health & Interactions

Psychosis as a specific component of mental illness has shown to influ ence individuals’ risk of homelessness.

The Canadian Mental Health Association defines psychosis as a brain altering disease where individuals experience “...some loss of contact with reality” (CMHA). Wright et al. (1998) compared a sample of youth and adults to outline predictive and non-predictive factors of doubled-up housing, which occurs when individuals live alongside family or friends. The study concluded that mental health and substance abuse were consistently linked to housing problems for adults. They recognized that the ways in which mental disabilities have the ability to change over the life course are what can lead one to become homeless.

Moreover, disabilities that have the capacity to change may manifest into psychoses, which was not present in youth and instead only adults, therefore in this scenario, acting as the contributory factor to causation. Their study examined substance abuse as well and applied the same rationale of changes throughout the life course and the nature of long- term conditions to understand addiction as part of the onset of homelessness. In classifying mental illness as a precursor to homelessness, it is important to note different intersecting pathways that also contribute linking mental health and homelessness. Evidently, accumulation of negative health factors (such as mental health and substance abuse) may have an additive effect, increasing the likelihood that an individual will become homeless.

Field Notes 29

In proving mental illness as a risk factor for homelessness, mental health must be placed into a broader context in which it is related to other factors such as economic distress, addiction, relationships, emotional stress, etc.

Mental health is a factor in the onset of homelessness but pre-existing conditions can worsen by the challenges that exist once in the homelessness state.

Understanding the fundamental link here also calls into attention factors that have caused mental illness in the first place. Various interviews of youth, men and women have also shown that what may lead people to the streets is sexual and emotional violence or abuse (Wall & Bell, 2011).

Family dysfunction at home in terms of divorce, instability, unemployment and parental substance abuse such as alcoholism causes youth to try and seek care and shelter elsewhere. A lack of parental support and general household instability associated with the aforementioned dysfunctions reflects minimal parental support and guidance (Karabanow. 2004). In turn there is increasing distress, neglect and loneliness onto children or family members. A case study on Vancouver’s downtown Eastside homeless population, primarily drug users, had doctors report they had never encountered a female patient who had not been sexually abused as a child (BC Women’s Health Research Institute, 2009). High rates of physical and sexual abuse have to led to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as a form of mental illness. If individuals with PTSD face the additional burden of becoming homeless,

30

their condition will likely become worse as “homelessness tends to increase stress, anxiety and depression (Canadian Institute for Health Information).

Examining if an individual as an addict caused them to become homeless or if becoming homeless caused them to become an addict is important to consider when looking at mental health. In the case of Vancouver, British Colombia, doctors studied that the fundamental dynamic driving addictions and thereby causing homelessness, is pain that individuals have never been able to resolve or have never had the help to resolve (BC Women’s Research Health Institute, 2009). Here, emotional pain as an aspect of mental health is the important confounder to the homelessness and drug use link. Mental health fueled an addiction and the addiction led to the onset of homelessness.

Not only can homeless populations be characterized by high rates of mental disorders but rates of comorbidities as precursors to homelessness have been considerably worse relative to non-homeless populations as well (Shelton et al, 2009). Shelton et al (2009) further noted that more specifically anxiety disorders alongside drug and alcohol abuse have been noted to be disproportionately higher than the general population. Evidently, dual diagnosis can lead to a longer duration in the experience of homelessness (Hulchanski et al, 2009).

Moderators Deinstitutionalization

The way in which mental health is constituted as a factor in the causal pathway of homelessness reinforces the importance of addressing the role of ‘moderator’ factors. The transition out of institutionalization, i.e. deinstitutionalization, can be an onset of homelessness. Beginning from the 1960’s, the transition to community care and shift away from institutionalization, although has led to positive outcomes, increased overall housing vulnerability in Canada. It is important to note that deinstitutionalization not only refers to a reduction in the duration of patient stay but also specifically entails offering patients alternate support services (Lamb & Bachrach, 2001). In some cases, institutions began to release mental health patients considerably earlier than recommended and needed due to widespread human rights movements.

These movements began because of how mentally ill persons were seen as confined to institutions where they experienced a loss of autonomy and were bound by non-therapeutic, desolate conditions (Lamb & Bachrach, 2001).

Among other reasons for discharge, research discusses the role of government setbacks as key to the rationale of pursuing deinstitutionalization. Community care is typically the alternative to institutions and theoretically offers patients more independence and control. However, during deinstitutionalization and after setbacks, policies did not sufficiently reallocate resources to these care facilities and thus they did not serve as viable alternatives (Read, 2009). For example, British Colombia

experienced expenditure cuts for psychiatric care as well as a reduction in money to be allocated towards to community care (Read, 2009). In 2008, psychiatric patients in British Columbia were found to be released 15 days prior to being considered stabilized which additionally significantly increased the likelihood of risk of re admittance, specifically within 30 days (Read, 2009). ). If individuals with compromised mental health are not able to receive support and therapeutic resources within the domain of psychiatry and community care then they are certainly not able to attain resources available out of hospital. Additionally, the mentally unstable population faces difficulties obtaining employment and housing. Evidently, these factors can worsen health status because of how they are unable to engage in support services, or even basic services.

Not only has there been neglect in the provision of therapeutic services, but sometimes processes of institutions specifically divert patients to homeless shelters, therefore acting as a direct precipitator in the observed state of homelessness. For example, in London, Ontario, Canada in both “...20012002 and 2002-2002, 11.8% and 7.6% of psychiatric ward patients, respectively, were discharged to shelters. In 2002 alone, this occurred at least 194 times (Echenberg and Jensen, 2012).

Evidently, it is not deinstitutionalization as an independent factor that has led to the housing vulnerability and thereby the initiation of the process towards homelessness, but rather, the way it has been carried out.

Field Notes 31

Stigma Stigma around homelessness is another moderating factor that breeds into how society understands homelessness in general as well as the causes and consequences of the problem. Stigma around homelessness corresponds to the idea of victim blaming, meaning that individuals are blamed for their condition (Ravenhill, 2008), and thus neglecting the social context and gradient. This attitude aligns with the more dominant way society tends to look at both poverty and health outcomes. This view operates through an isolated, individualized lens.

As homeless people are seen in public places, in open street life and excluded from private places, the tendency to stigmatize increases. This is because markers of homelessness become very visible on a daily basis to the non-homeless population. In turn homelessness is remarked upon as ‘disruptive’. What appear to be ‘disruptive behaviours’ then correspond with how society understands causes of homelessness. Furthermore, tendencies to blame the poor have become increasingly more prominent since the early 90’s. Those who are well off perceive poverty as having resulted from poor people having poor money management. In turn, welfare becomes considered “...wasteful or ineffective” (Phelan et al., 1997), and that solutions reside in employment opportunities.

Subsequently, these perceptions begin to formulate societal norms and influence policy initiatives about reducing homelessness and poor health outcomes.

Generalizations about homelessness can also be attributed to the availability heuristic. This is the idea

32

that perceptions of homelessness become oversimplified based only on what kind of homelessness is visible to them, physically or through media portrayals. Accordingly, if visible homelessness becomes characterized as disruptive and people who are un-aesthetically pleasing, then people grossly overestimate the prevalence of these characteristics in the homeless population. However, many studies have also demonstrated that people are gaining awareness about the role of structural forces and institutions in contributing to homelessness, as seen in the case of deinstitutionalization. As a result people know more about the responsibility of policies as opposed to looking at individual shortcomings.

Conclusion Through the evidence displayed, homelessness and health is characterized by a bidirectional, mutually reinforcing relationship. As opposed to a clear, one way, relationship, health status and homelessness repeatedly fuel one another. Confounding and moderating variables are significant factors that add to the reciprocal nature of the relationship. The relationship is also heavily influenced by a wide range of factors that contribute to pathways of both homelessness and health. These pathways consist of individual risk factors which influence health status, sometimes leading to homelessness. Societal factors come into play by interacting with those individual risk factors where the two further intersect causing homelessness.

Conversely, the relationship can manifest in other ways where homelessness and its conditions structure health status.

Difficulties arise in pinning health status as responsible for causing homelessness, and have led to extant literature to focus more on social causation theory. Furthermore, there is more emphasis put on how homelessness can cause poor health. This is specifically displayed through conditions of homelessness that cause high rates of infectious disease and shelter illness, as well as challenges in health care accessibility and delays. However, this portrayal may be influenced by the fact that it is relatively easier to measure how homelessness has exacerbated present health. It is likely difficult to collect data on prior health status which is needed to understand if the health condition was present before homelessness and therefore if health caused the problem or if the absence of housing was responsible. Moreover, there is a need for longitudinal and retrospective studies on health of homeless populations.

Looking at how health influences homelessness is especially difficult because of high rates of co-morbidity, concurrent disorders and dual diagnosis that homeless people tend to be uniquely burdened by. For example, the prevalence of having both substance abuse and mental illness are disproportionately high among homeless populations (Echenberg & Jensen, 2012). Uncertainty remains also in the questioning if homeless individuals are greater represented in consumption of cheaper and more dangerous drugs.

The differences in both the definition of homelessness and defining disease in general, especially mental

health thus mental illness further complicate looking at directionality. Different qualifications of what is considered mental ‘illness’ or ‘disability’ impacts how the time frame that the ensuing health outcome has been dependent on, will be measured. For example, one report may consider psychosis to only result during alter years of the life course as Wright et al. (1998) has found but other research may consider it to be a product of early childhood.

Not only are consistent definitions integral to understand causal mechanisms and subsequent direction, but time dependency and time scale are important predictors of risk factors as well. This will reveal if an individual had been an alcoholic or suffered from a mentally debilitating illness for their lifetime, or if it in fact it was a later development.

Housing is a necessity and arguably a right to life but homelessness is a consistent problem that has markedly been perpetuated by society. It has led individuals to bear devastating lives and worse health outcomes compared to those adequately housed. Structural models hold that investment and money must be put towards proper services for housing in combination with safety net strategies that extend to resource accessibility, to prevent homelessness and to abolish the social gradient in health. Ultimately, the hypothesis of a bidirectional relationship may prove useful in the provision of prevention policies within both ends of the homeless and health spectrum.

Field Notes 33

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Field Notes 35

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Retrieved October 31st, 2013, from http://homeless.samhsa.gov/Re sourceFiles/hrc_factsheet.pdf.

The Primary Health Care Experiences of Women who use Drugs in Van couver’s Downtown Eastside.

(2009). BC Women’s Health Research Institute. Retrieved March 4, 2014, from http:// www.bcwomens.ca/NR/rdonlyres/ C1AA97BC-FAAB-40E9-972DF377EE729080/36939/MeIm livingit.pdf Turnbull, J., Muckle, W. & Masters, C. (2007). Homelessness and Health. Canadian Medical Associa tion Journal, 177, pp 1065-166, Retrieved August 13th, 2013, from http://www.ecmaj.ca/cgi/content/ full/177/9/1065 United Nations Human Rights. (2008).

Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-dis crimination in this context. (n.d.).

Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-dis crimination in this context. Re trieved March 8, 2014, from http:// www.ohchr.org/en/issues/hous ing/p

The World Health Organization.

(2013). How can health care sys tems effectively deal with the major health care needs of homeless peo ple? Retrieved August 14th, 2013, from http://www.euro.who.int/ en/what-we-do/data-and-evi dence/health-evidence-net work-hen/publications/pre2009/ how-can-health-care-systems-ef fectively-deal-with-the-majorhealth-care-needs-of-homelesspeople.

The World Health Organization (2014). Progress on the implemen tation of the Rio Political Declara tion. Retrieved March 9th, 2014, from http://www.who.int/social_ determinants/en/ Walls, N., & Bell, S. (2011). Cor relates of Engaging in Survival Sex among Homeless Youth and Young Adults.Journal of Sex Research, 48(5), 423-436. Retrieved March 6 , 2014, from http://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/pubmed/20799134 Whitney, N., & Glazier, R. (2004). Fac tors Affecting Medication Adher ence among the Homeless: A Qual itative Study of Patients’ Perspec tives. University of Toronto Medical Journal, 1. Retrieved March 5, 2014, from http://utmj. org/archive/82-1/CH.pdf Wright, B. (1998). Factors Associated with Doubled‐Up Housing‐‐ A Common Precursor to Homeless ness. Social Service Review, 72(1), 92-111. Retrieved December 2, 2013, from http://www.jstor.org/ stable/10.1086/51574

Field Notes 37

Tomayto, Tomahto: A case study on sustainable produce acquisition in the Montreal wintertime Saamiah Ali, Andrea Wyers, & Jane Zhang

ABSTRACT A rapidly growing global population and increasing urbanization have raised concern over food security and brought attention to the sustainability of metropolitan food systems. Urban agriculture initiatives have cropped up in response to these challenges, and while the feasibility of such practices has been studied to an extent, studies often fail to consider the effects of seasonality on production. This is particularly true in continental cities where extreme climate variability brings agricultural production to a halt during the winter. This case study analyzes three metrics to explore the relative environmental and economic costs of winter-time production in urban agriculture compared to more conventional methods of acquisition in the city of Montreal. For this study we chose to measure the costs associated with bringing a 1-kg basket of tomatoes to market due to the magnitude of their consumption and relatively high input requirements. We measure differences in production via imported conventional agriculture, domestic greenhouse-grown, and local urban agriculture. Urban agriculture tomatoes were brought to market at relatively low environmental and economic costs, while imported tomatoes had by far the most detrimental impacts, despite being the least expensive to the consumer. These findings suggest that urban agriculture is environmentally sound and potentially a commercially viable method of produce acquisition.

38

Introduction Among the various impacts associated with climate change, questions regarding food security are of particular significance. The global rate of urbanization has increased rapidly (Pinstrup-Andersen, 2009), and the subsequent development of food deserts, or disadvantaged areas of cities with relatively poor access to healthy and affordable food (Larson, 2008), has brought to the foreground questions of sustainability around urban food systems. In response to these challenges, urban agriculture, or growing food within cities, has become increasingly popular as a more environmental and socially-accessible alternative to conventional food production. These practices aim to bring food sovereignty back to local communities, and claim to contribute to multiple ecosystem services, such as better urban air quality and greater presence of green space. The success of both public and private initiatives, in the form of community gardens, rooftop greenhouses, and inner-city farms, in cities around the world has sparked much debate over the extent and necessity of global food system reform.

While the arguments for conventional food production are varied depending on their source, many focus on the economic and ecological infeasibility of growing enough food to feed growing urban populations (Sexton, 2011, Desrochers, 2013). Haberman et. al (2012) conducted a feasibility study on Montreal’s spatial potential for urban agriculture and found that there was more than enough rooftop and land

space to feed the city several times over. What their study did not account for was seasonality. Montreal has a highly variable climate, which essentially halts agricultural productivity come wintertime. The winter alternative to summer production is greenhouse agriculture and crops grown indoors require relatively higher input costs (Latimer, J. G., et al. 2009). The question of whether or not these inputs are higher than those required by conventional agriculture inspired this examination of both the feasibility and favourability of urban agriculture as an adequate food source in Montreal.

To better understand the impacts of different food production systems, tomatoes as a single crop were isolated and their variable costs measured. Because of Canada’s unfavourable growing conditions, domestically-grown tomatoes require higher energy and carbon inputs and thus are likely represent an appropriate upper bound for what is required to grow food during Montreal’s winter months. The research question to be answered is as follows: What are the relative costs of acquiring tomatoes using urban agriculture versus conventional methods in Montreal wintertime? These costs have been quantified using both environmental and economic metrics.

The study aims to examine Montreal’s productive capacity and economic feasibility for urban agriculture in the winter months, as compared to conventionally sourced tomatoes: imported field-grown from abroad, and commercial greenhouse-grown in rural Quebec. By comparing the

Field Notes 39

environmental impacts of each of these three production methods, the ecological footprint required of each method to meet current consumption demands was evaluated.

By addressing the question of seasonality and weighing urban agriculture as an alternative to conventional agricultural production methods, this paper contributes to the dialogue on sustainable urban food systems and provides a starting point for future research on urban agriculture as a viable solution.

Methods Case Study Design Spatial and temporal boundaries of this study were defined by focusing on the winter growing of produce agriculture and consumption. Looking specifically at the production of tomatoes, winter months between November and March, i.e. the annual period where Montrealâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sunlight and temperature conditions are least conducive to tomato growth, were chosen as the period of study.

This timeframe also corresponds with months when greenhouses require higher inputs to be productive.

Spatially, we focused on tomato consumption within the Island of Montreal in Quebec, Canada.

Tomatoes are among the most popular and most abundantly consumed fresh vegetables in Canada.

The total supply of fresh tomatoes in 2012 was about 5.52kg per person. In 2011, Quebec households spent more annually on tomatoes than those in any other province, with an average of $60.00 per household per year (Statistics Canada, 2013). The popular variety of Tomato-on-Vine (TOV, S. lycopersicum) were chosen to standardize data because they are available year-round in Montreal supermarkets, including the winter months.

In order to compare tomatoes across three different production methods, a case study was designed around three representative acquisition types as outlined in the Table 1. The metrics and case acquisition methods are detailed in the following sections.

They are water usage (in L/kg tomato/ month), carbon emitted (in kg CO2/kg tomato/month), and market price (in CAD$/kg tomato).

Table 1: Case study design: comparing three metrics across three case methodologies.

40

Comparative Metrics To evaluate the environmental sustainability and economic viability of the selected acquisition methods, three different metrics of comparison were chosen that together capture a holistic picture of sustainability.

Water Usage As a measure for regional sustainability, water usage is a constant and significant input for all agricultural operations, whether indoor or outdoor, using hydroponics or soil culture.

The three methods were evaluated for their intensity of water usage, what water was used for, and whether water was recirculated. The CI method uses water for crop irrigation, mostly in the form of drip irrigation, and industrial sanitization processes. The CG and UA method both use water solely for hydroponics, and recycle some or all of their water.

Carbon Footprint To capture each farmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global impact on climate change, a carbon footprint was evaluated for each. The embedded and direct carbon footprint for each method was a combination of its energy use, fertilizer and chemical use, and transport emissions.

The monthly amount of energy used was considered in terms of quantity used, energy sources and energy-saving techniques. Greenhouses were expected to be fairly energy-intensive for their heating and lighting needs, and the CI method to use mechanized energy in its industrial processing.

All three methods use chemical fertilizer and/or pesticide inputs. For

the hydroponic greenhouses, a certain level of chemicals is constantly needed for the nutrient solutions. In Florida, large amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides are employed throughout the growing season.

Lastly, transport emissions were considered, relative to the distance travelled for delivery to Montreal. The use of standard Diesel-engine delivery trucks were assumed for calculations.

In this case, direct emissions were expected to be highest for CI, much smaller for CG and smallest for UA. Market Price Personal or household consumption was incorporated by evaluating the affordability of each methodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tomato as a proctor for attractiveness to consumers. To evaluate the affordability or economic attractiveness for consumers, the above environmental metrics were compared to the tomato market price per kilogram. Values for CI and CG were based on a survey of supermarkets across Montreal and for UA through Lufa Farmsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; online marketplace. This dollar value was used to see whether consumer costs aligned with environmental and social costs of tomato production in each case.

Methods of Acquisition Three types of food acquisition common in Montreal were compared in order to see how each of these methods measure in environmental impact and monetary cost on the market. The methods were conventional import (CI) and conventional greenhouse (CG) methods as our controls and urban agriculture (UA) as the independent variable. Data was

Field Notes 41

sourced from representative companies and literature on tomato production. All numbers were standardized to a value of per-kilogram basket of tomatoes for comparability.

Conventional Imports (CI) As one of two regions in North America suited to grow field tomatoes year-round (Reinhardt, 2008), Florida is Quebecâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main supplier of tomatoes during winter months. Florida is the largest producer of fresh market tomatoes in the US, ranking first in production value with cash receipts from annual production amounting to 25% of the total US value of tomato production, around $565 million USD (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, 2011). Because the majority of the industry data was proprietary, data was collected from the extensive scientific literature pertaining to Florida production rather than a single case company.

Optimal production methods as described in the literature were used to calculate inputs of typical commercial farming methods used to grow,

harvest, and distribute produce. For growth, production methods utilize ecosystem services such as natural sunlight and rainfall, but also rely heavily on technologies like fertigation, applying fertilizers through irrigation, and drip-irrigation, the conventional method of watering field crops by dripping water onto soil. In measuring these input costs against naturally provided savings, we hope to gain a more comprehensive picture of this acquisition methodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true expense to the environment and those who inhabit it. By evaluating resource use at individual steps in the field-growth production line, typical input and output values are calculated with known production data. Figure 1 shows the tomato-growing process (adapted from Olson, et al. 2013), as it would typically occur in Florida, where most imported tomatoes are grown (Statistics Canada, 2013). The diagram also indicates which metrics are measured in each step. Further explanation of each metric follows after.

Commercial tomato production line. (C) indicates carbon emissions, (E) electricity-use, and (W) water-use. Source: Olson, S.M. et al.

42

Monthly tomato production values were obtained from the USDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Agricultural Statistics Service as well as from their Economic Research Service. Monthly yield was calculated by multiplying the number of 25-lbs cartons by 25000 (original data was provided in 1000s of cartons), and then converted into kilograms.

For monthly harvest, the monthly yield was divided by the seasonal yield (USDA, NASS), multiplied by the seasonal harvest (USDA, NASS), and then multiplied by 0.405 to convert the final value into kilograms of tomato/ hectare.

Water usage was calculated by adding irrigation water with generated dump tank water. The irrigation requirement was determined by dividing the crop water requirement by the application efficiency of the irrigation method; the crop water requirement was determined by multiplying the crop coefficient by the reference evapotranspiration. The crop coefficient was different for each growth stage and the reference evapotranspiration value was determined monthly (Olson, S.M. et al, 2013). This resulted in a total number of gallons applied per acre per day, which was then converted into Litres per kg tomatoes.

The amount of water used for sanitation and processing purposes was determined by dividing the water generated each day by the quantity of tomatoes produced each day. Because of the large range cited in surveyed data, the value used to represent daily water use was determined by dividing the seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total water use by the

number of days in the season. The generated answer falls within the range described in published literature.

The carbon footprint was a sum of direct emissions from fertilizer use and soil conversions, farming machinery, and transportation. These direct emissions were those from trucking between field and packinghouse as well as from farmgate in Florida to distribution centre in Montreal. All of these, with the exception of trucking from farm to distribution centre were found in a University of Florida study conducted in 2010 (Jones et al.).

Their results, in kilograms of CO2 per hectare, were summed and multiplied by the number of hectares harvested each month (NASS USDA, 2012).

Transport emissions were determined by choosing the smallest distance route between south-central Florida and Montreal, then multiplying that by the number of shipments per month.

Energy usage was determined in a 2008 report (Cornell, New York state source) on the energy investments and CO2 emissions from fresh produce grown in New York State versus imported from other states. Energy use from electricity and diesel use was calculated from field-machinery and post-harvest processing, including cooling and packaging. Simple conversion factors were used to obtain a value that could be multiplied by monthly harvest values to receive a value in kWh/month.

Energy emissions were calculated using conversion factors for the types of energy and the percentage of the total energy use the types accounted for.

Field Notes 43

The factors are: 1. Diesel: 0245 kgCO2 /kWh (Carbontrust, 2013) 2. Coal generated electricity: 1.577 kgCO2 /kWh (Carbontrust, 2013) Conventional Greenhouse (CG) The second control method was the commercial greenhouse based in Quebec, which grows tomatoes using hydroponics. A subset of hydroculture, or growing crops in water-based nutrient solutions, hydroponics allows crops to be grown in a soilless medium. The type used for both CG and UA cases is the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), where plants grow in a shallow stream of water with dissolved nutrients. Hydroponics allows the advantage of water recycling, with a trade-off of disqualification from “organic” labelling in Canada.

Savoura, one of the largest tomato brands in Quebec, grows hydroponic tomatoes on 39 acres of greenhouses.

Its operations are generally representative of tomato growing methods in Quebec. Data was supplied directly from Savoura’s Saint-Étienne-des-Grès greenhouse site, the biggest of four tomato-only production sites, with 52,000 m2, and located 147 km from Montreal. The site grows six varieties of tomatoes with similar growth requirements, and harvests 365 days a year.

Monthly data was provided on water use, energy use, tomato production, and fertilizer use (Appendix C).

For all metrics, monthly figures from all given years were averaged for a single winter-month figure, then

44

divided by total production to give a per kilogram value.

The greenhouse produces an average of 166,016 kilograms of tomatoes per month, and this value was used to scale down the other input values to per-kilogram figures. In terms of water use, 40-50% of it is recycled, using 2.97L/kg tomato/month for hydroponic solutions.

Savoura’s carbon footprint was calculated based on its energy use, fertilizer inputs, and transport emissions and are 0.477, 0.14 and 0.012 kgCO2/ kg tomato respectively.

Energy was calculated based on heating and lighting inputs. Tomato plants need eight to ten hours of sunlight per day and ambient daytime temperatures between 21°C to 26°C and night time temperatures of 16°C to 18.5°C (Jensen, 2009).

To satisfy these conditions, Savoura employs 12,500 standard greenhouse High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) light bulbs at 1,000 Watts each. These use 33.48 kWh of hydroelectricity per month per kg tomatoes. To heat the greenhouse, Savoura uses 13.53 kWh of energy, 97.2% of which is biogas from a nearby landfill, and 2.8% from natural gas.

Energy emissions were calculated using conversion factors for the types of energy and the percentage of the total energy use the types accounted for. The factors are: 1.

Hydro: 0.01 kgCO2 /kWh (Hydro Quebec) 2.

Natural gas: 0.422 kgCO2 / kWh (IEA, 2000) 3.

Biogas: density of 1.27 kg/m3

and 20 Tonnes CO2/Tonne of biogas (CAUSE, 2013) The Fertilizer component of Savouraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s carbon footprint was calculated based on mineral requirements for hydroponic solutions found in the literature. They were converted into emissions using the following conversion factors (Lal, 2004): 1. Nitrogen: 1.3 kgCO2 /kWh 2. Potassium: 0.2 kgCO2 /kWh 3. Phosphorous: 0.15 kgCO2 / kWh For transport emissions, Savoura has uses three 53â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Diesel engine trucks that travel 200km each per day. A conversion factor of 2.663kg CO2/L diesel (BCIT, 2013) was used to calculate transport emissions.

Despite this value, Savoura actually sells 9,000 Tonnes of carbon credits per year (likely due to its use of biogas for heating), though was not factored into the carbon footprint as this may not be typical of other commercial greenhouses in Quebec.

Urban Agriculture (UA) Rooftop gardening was chosen as the representative urban agriculture method because non-greenhouse methods cannot operate in Montreal during winter. Also, in urban areas, rooftop greenhouses are likely to be the most convenient spatially since land is limited in cities. Lufa Farms, our representative UA company, uses rooftop greenhouses and had the most data available for our research.

Lufa Farms is the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first commercial rooftop greenhouse, started up in Montreal in 2011, and

currently serves over 3,000 urban households. They aim to feed a growing urban population, while minimizing their environmental impact. They conserve water by using precipitation, recycling 100% of the water used. They conserve energy by using solar energy, building heat, and by deploying energy curtains throughout the day as required. These reduce energy costs by 50-70% from a typical on-the-ground greenhouse. Lufa also uses biological controls instead of chemical pesticides and they compost 100% of their organic waste. Their closed-loop system is part of the eco-friendly philosophy that differentiates them from the conventional methods described above.

Using hydroponics, Lufa grows a variety of vegetables in its 0.712 acre greenhouse. Approximately 20% of the space is used for tomatoes, producing 2,500kg of tomatoes per week. Produce is grown and distributed year round.

Five times a week, vegetables are handpicked and delivered to drop points in CSA baskets by 2 delivery trucks.

As a relatively new and commercial operation, Lufa does not yet have as extensive a data collection as the control methods. Additionally, the company is relatively new, so their pricing and financial viability may not be completely settled yet. However, their estimates and rough data for resource consumption are meant to represent conventional UA methods and are more rigorous than other researched companies. Data provided was for the entire greenhouse, and thus scaled down to 20% to capture tomato impacts.

Field Notes 45

Water use was given as 8,000 Litres per day for a one-acre facility.

Heating and lighting figures were scaled down from greenhouse industry standards. Heating was given to be 40% less than that of a regular greenhouse, and lighting was 200 hours per month in the winter, using the same HPS bulbs as Savoura.

Because Lufa is already located in Montreal, carbon emissions from transport were calculated based intra-city delivery. Based on a Google Map of drop-off points and equal deliveries five times per week, a weekly distance of 484 km was calculated.

Conversion factors were based on standard Diesel trucks, just as for Savoura. Emissions from fertilizer were calculated using the same method as for CG.

because of Savouraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s larger size and the relative economies of scale, or cost advantages due to its larger size of operation.

Figure 2: Comparative graph of water use across the three sources.

Data & Analysis After collecting data from the three acquisition methods, we compiled standardized figures into comparative graphs for each metric.

Water Use Water use was highest for the CI method, and similar between the greenhouses. Importing from Florida required about 7.6L per kg tomato produced, compared to 2.972L for CG and 2.778L for UA. This is due to the large amount of water used in Florida for soil preparation and irrigation (99.8%), and a small remainder for sanitization vats in industrial processing. Despite Lufaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 100% recirculation of water, UA used slightly more water than CG per kilogram of tomato

46

Figure 3: Comparative graph of carbon emissions across the three sources.

Energy Use Both the amount of energy use and the source were considered in carbon footprint. Conversion calculations for energy were based on respective energy sources.

In terms of total energy use, CI used significantly less energy than the greenhouses. Florida only used 2.09 kWh/kg tomato/month, whereas UA used 14.65 kWh and CG used

47.01kWh. The greenhouses require significantly more energy to create natural climatic conditions, whereas Florida has natural heat and sunlight.

Because values were all per-kilogram of tomato, Florida also has the advantage of economy of scale; even though they use more energy in total, their crop production is also much larger. To account for the differences between UA and CI, Lufa Farms has natural energy advantages because of the urban heat island and rooftop heat savings, as well as its heat curtains.

Moreover, Savoura has a significantly larger operation site, which requires more energy to heat and light. That said, when factoring in the type of energy used and where it comes from, a different image is presented.

Figure 4: Energy sourcing for the three methods.

Based on given percentages for energy sources, Savoura actually used 99% renewable energy, versus 50% for Lufa and 0% in Florida. For CI, Savoura heats their greenhouse with biogas from a nearby landfill, thereby absorbing rather than emitting emissions.

Moreover, their lighting electricity is sourced from Hydro Quebec, notably a renewable energy source. The UA method has the natural benefit of building heat, which supplies half of its energy needed. The other half comes from natural gas, which is offset by the

reduction in distribution requirements over a 12-month period (Leah, 2012).

The CI method, however, is highly fossil-fuel intensive and uses all non-renewable energy sources. Electricity in the USA is supplied mainly by coal (see Appendix F), which is dirty in terms of greenhouse-gas emissions.

Chemical Use Emissions from fertiliser use were greatest for CI at 0.39 kgCO2 /kg of tomato and very small for CG and UA at 0.014 and 0.009 kgCO2/kg of tomato respectively. The nutrient requirements for hydroponics seem to be overshadowed by CIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heavy chemical use and have great externalities in terms of environment and health.

Transport Emissions The transport emissions were a direct function of the distance travelled from production site to the consumer market in Montreal. As expected, CI was by far the highest. Since intra-urban travel was only considered for UA, it gives the impression of having higher transport emissions than CG, whose transport emissions were only captured between greenhouse and city.

Market Price

Figure 5: Per kilogram prices for tomatoes from the three methods.

Field Notes 47

For our economic metric, we compared the consumer market price across the three methods. For CI and CG, there was a striking difference between their supermarket prices, with CG prices about five times higher than CI ones. This is likely due to the economies of scale that come into play in Florida, where the large scale of production drives down the cost of bringing bulk quantities to market compared to either CG or UA. That said, UA was found to have an intermediate price, signifying an affordable rate contrary to perceptions of UA being highly costly.

Figure 6: Market prices versus social cost of carbon.

Savouraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s price was highest mostly due to the relatively lighter weight of their packaged sizes. However, comparing market price to the environmental metrics, the CI has the lowest price despite the highest inputs, whereas CG has the highest price and intermediate inputs, and UA with an intermediate price and lowest inputs.

The discrepancy was explored further by comparing the three prices to their social cost of carbon (SCC).

48

A carbon price of $37/kg CO2 (Shelanski, 2013) was used to juxtapose social costs with actual costs. The magnitude of the SSCs reflect the respective carbon footprints of the three methods, showing that CI is least reflective of its environmental costs, whereas both CG and UA have higher prices than carbon costs, thus capturing social cost of carbon.

Surprisingly, the real price of carbon came out to a few pennies each, at approximately 1-4 cents, thus it appears that including the SCC at this price would not significantly impact market price.

Discussion & Conclusions Trade-offs between methods

Figure 7: Comparative graph of three methods across the three metrics.

An indexed comparative graph was created by directly comparing all the methods and metrics to better understand the tradeoffs. Acquisition methods varied in standing across metrics. CI had the highest environmental costs, using the most water and emitting the most carbon, and these costs were not reflected in its low market price. CG used the least water, and had the highest price, but uses

renewable energy sources. UA came out as the overall best, with low water using only 2.74% more than CG, the lowest carbon emissions at and an intermediary price that appears to capture at least some environmental costs.

CI was the most carbon and water intensive, Urban agriculture emitting the least amount of Carbon, and CG using the least amount of water. For CG, the energy and water costs from packaging operations were not incorporated, which would give carbon and water results lower than real amounts. UA showed promising potential, especially when considering the extra social and ecological benefits that were not included in this study, detailed in the Discussion section. Water usage impact is kept down, reusing all their water and using precipitation water; externalities are low through the absence of agricultural chemicals and the associated production, ecological and health externalities; increased biodiversity through the variety and celebration of the various types of produce, which adds to taste and aesthetic value; and finally, demand management techniques are efficiently employed, only providing what can be grown and aiming for goals beyond economic success.

Trade-offs within metrics Water footprint In order to assess any agricultural operation, it is important to situate it geographically within its greater watershed - for both the availability of water sources, and the importance

of water use for agriculture relative to other uses (e.g. drinking, hydropower, etc.)

Florida is situated in a wetland region, and its ecosystems are currently degrading due to increasing population and consumption pressures (Holt, 2005). The state sources 90% of its water from groundwater and 10% from surface water, and half of that surface water is used for agriculture. With population pressures and the intensity of industrial agricultural production in Florida, there are increasing strains on water resources in the region.

Montreal and Southern Quebec are situated in the St. Lawrence River drainage basin, which provides most of the area’s fresh water. Agriculture in Quebec uses 5% of the province’s total water resources (Tremblay et al, 2008).

Although Quebec’s water resources are relatively abundant compared to Florida’s, there is also an increasing trend in water consumption due to a growing population. Moreover, due to Quebec’s seasonal climate variability, much of the freshwater supply is frozen over winter months, thus less accessible for usage. Regardless, there is less total water available in Florida where more water is also required for production, making consumption of water in Florida less environmentally sustainable.

Carbon footprint An important consideration for carbon is the nature of the production processes, and whether they are labour or capital-intensive. The latter tend to favour the use of fossil fuels, machinery, and electric-powered processes rather than manual labour, increasing

Field Notes 49

overall carbon emissions.

A farm’s consumption of fossil fuels will be heavily influenced by the price of fuel and the availability of subsidies and security of government policies. In the USA, incentives to use fossil fuels exist in the form of subsidies and low fuel taxes. The US is the world’s largest fossil fuel subsidizer, handing out up to $52 billion annually to coal, oil, and gas companies (OCI, 2013). On the contrary, Canada’s oil taxes are three times as high, and Quebec has recently entered a cap and trade carbon market with California, which provides incentive for industries to move towards more renewable energy sources. Thus, Quebec currently has a more favourable political and economic climate to mitigate carbon emissions.

Moreover, geographic location was important to determine what energy sources were available for each method, and whether or not they were renewable. Most of Florida’s electricity is generated by non-renewable sources, the largest ones being coal, natural gas, and nuclear power (Avro, 2012). As a world leader in renewable energy generation, Quebec uses 97% renewable sources, primarily hydropower (Government of Quebec, 2013).

Therefore, in the case considered here, energy used in Quebec tends to come from cleaner sources.

Discussion Sources of Error While calculations and analysis were done to the utmost accuracy given the provided data, there are some sources of error that need to be taken

50

into account. First, tomato consumption data was only available for Quebec so we assumed provincial values to be representative of Montreal, which in reality may have a higher consumption rate.

One main discrepancy in the datasets is that Florida data was an aggregate of estimates from the literature, versus data collected directly from sample companies in the case of CG and UA. Furthermore, while Florida is believed to be a good representative of imported agriculture, in reality Montreal tomatoes are also sourced from Mexico and California. These places are likely to have differences in production practices due to their different climates. In addition, transport emissions for imported tomatoes did not capture its rather complex distribution route between distribution centres, and the fact that tomatoes are usually transported with other food items (which also applies to UA).

Moreover, UA energy figures were extrapolated in part from CI data. The statistics provided by Lufa were more general and adjustments were needed to ensure consistency in calculations throughout acquisition methods.

Additionally, because only proprietary data was used for both greenhouses, this only provided a snapshot of what either methodology could be. We believe that the companies chosen were representative of their acquisition methods, though each company may have its unique practices. For example, Savoura’s utilization of landfill biogas may set them apart from conventional greenhouses.

Further Research This research study can be seen as a launch pad for further research into sustainable vegetable production methods for cities. Several lines of research have been identified, which include, but are not limited, the following: There are many potential factors at play influencing the discrepancy between the market price of a certain basket of tomatoes and its true environmental and social costs. We began to explore this with the social cost of carbon, which already gave an interesting insight into the integrity of respective market prices. Other factors include government subsidies, the cost of labour, and the economy of scale. We recognize that government subsidies may artificially lower costs as in the case of fossil fuel and chemical inputs for Florida, and may also be in the form of grants for start-up UA initiatives. Moreover, a large uncaptured cost in the CI method is the massive amount of low-cost human labour, which contributes to overall energy input and likely deflates market price substantially. Finally, it may be important to examine how economies of scale play a role in production efficiency and overall sustainability. CI may have low per-kg costs, but perhaps a larger-scale comparison would reveal different trends. The question of “is more always better?” can also be examined in the context of sustainability in the current economic paradigm.

While this study focused on environmental impacts of production, there are many social costs and bene-

fits to be examined, such as labour as an input, health impacts of chemical use, and the quality, taste, and nutrition of the tomatoes themselves.

On an economic note, more research can also be done on the change in costs by product, season and location, across each of our acquisition methods. For instance, one could extrapolate the study to examine other produce items and how their prices fluctuate seasonally.

There are also barriers to scaling up commercial rooftop greenhouses that may impact their reliability as a future food source. In order to support current demand, production would need to be increased enough to cover decreased import from Florida.

Increasing production requires the construction of more greenhouses.

Buildings must support the weight of rooftop greenhouses, and furthermore, rooftops need to be big enough to make the construction of a greenhouse profitable. When considering the required infrastructure for lighting, heating, and water, it becomes clear that the start up costs would be very high.

Lufa Farms in its current state may to provide a sound environmental, financial, and organizational model.

Lastly, while the study examined the production side of the tomato market, perhaps true sustainability comes from changing consumption patterns to match seasonal and/or local conditions. This elicits the question “should we be consuming tomatoes in the first place?” Given globalized consumption preferences, perhaps substitutions need to be made, such as consuming

Field Notes 51

not-in-season produce storing or preserved instead of fresh.

Summary Given the results of this study, it can be concluded that CI tomatoes are the least environmentally favourable choice on the market in terms of water use and carbon emissions, despite their attractively low consumer price that occurs due to the large scale of CI production. The UA method appears economically viable despite popular conceptions and has a slightly higher ecological footprint than CG due to its smaller operation facilities. The current and projected expansion of Lufa Farms may lead to greater input and cost savings. The CG method remains a relatively sustainable method of acquisition based on water, energy and carbon usage. Its high costs appear to capture embedded environmental and social costs, and its popularity among consumers validate its economic viability, and reflects the presence of other consumer decision factors such as taste, quality, and nutrition.

In the water category, CG came out to be the best method. Especially in a wintertime context, hydroponics appears to be a water-efficient alternative production method to soil culture, given its recirculation potential.

With greater economy of scale than a smaller UA greenhouse and less water requirements than field-grown tomatoes, CG is the most water-friendly production method.

For carbon emissions, UA has the smallest footprint, and both greenhouses emit much less than the CI method. Despite energy savings for

52

heating and lighting, Floridaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s industrial tomato agriculture remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels and mechanized processes, contributing to overall energy use. Moreover, its extensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides contribute significantly to CI methodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s large carbon footprint.

The question posed was whether or not urban agriculture is sustainable or feasible in the Montreal wintertime.

We found that UA and CG presents environmentally sound alternatives to conventionally imported tomatoes, though the potential of UA to feed larger urban populations depends on other factors in scaling up urban greenhouse operations.

Acknowledgements This study would not have been possible without the input and assistance of the following people: Audrey Boulianne, greenhouse director of Savoura; Lauren Rathmell, greenhouse director of Lufa Farms; Professor Brian Robinson; the GEOG 460 peer review panel; Professor Navin Ramankutty; Carly Ziter from the ESM lab; Camille Ouellet Dallaire and Sarah Wilson, PhD students in Geography; and Carly Ziter, MS. References Beaudin, Monique. (2012, April 3) Urban agriculture takes root in Montreal. Montreal Gazette. Re trieved from http://blogs.montreal gazette.com/2012/04/03/urban-ag riculture-takes-root-in-montreal/ Bellows, A. C., Brown, K., & Smit, J. (2004). Health Benefits of Urban Agriculture. Fresno, CA: County of Fresno. Retrieved from http://www.

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Public health implications of Urban Agriculture. Journal of Public Health Policy, 21(1), 20-39.

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Field Notes 53

mie/ressources-naturelles/?lang=en Haberman, D., Canter, A., Clerq, A., Dreyer, W., Gillies, L., Pancrazi, L., …… & Martellozzo, F. (2012).

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Hogberg, J. (2012). European To matoes: Comparing global warm ing potential, energy use and water consumption from growing toma toes in Sweden, the Netherlands and the Canary Islands using life cycle assessment. (Master’s thesis).

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Jensen, M. (2009). Growing Hydro ponic Tomatoes. Retrieved from http://www.igrowhydro.com/InfoS heets/InfoSheet-HydroponicToma toes.pdf Jones, C. D., Fraisse, C. W., & Ozores-Hampton, M. (2011). Quan tification of greenhouse gas emis sions from open-field-grown Flor ida tomato production. Agricultural Systems, 113, 64-72.

Lal, R. (2004). Carbon emission from farm operations. Environment International, 30(7), 981-990.

Larson, K., & Gilliland, J. (2008). Map ping the evolution of ‘food des erts’ in a Canadian city: supermar ket accessibility in London, Ontario, 1961–2005. International Journal of Health Geographics, 7, 1-16.

Latimer, J. G. (2009). Dealing with the High Cost of Energy for Green house Operations. Virginia Cooper ative Extension, Virginia State Uni versity. Retrieved from http://pubs. ext.vt.edu/430/430-101/430-101_ pdf.pdf Lipman Produce. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.lipmanproduce.com/ Lufa Farms. (2011). Retrieved from http://montreal.lufa.com/en/aboutthe-farm.

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Nugent, R. A. (2001) Using economic analysis to measure the sustainabilit y of urban and peri-urban agricul ture: A comparison of cost-benefit and contingent valuation analyses.

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Nairobi, Kenya: Workshop on Appropriate Methodologies in Urban Agriculture Research, Plan ning, Implementation and Evaluat ion.

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Orsini, F., Kahane, R., Nono-Wom dim, R., & Gianquinto, G. (2013).

Urban agriculture in the develop ing world: a review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 33(4), 695-720.

Ozkan, B., Kurklu, A., & Akcaoz, H. (2004). An input–output energy analysis in greenhouse vegetable production: a case study for Antalya region of Turkey. Biomass and Bio energy 26, 89–95.

Ozkan, B., Ceylan, R. F., & Kizilay, H. (2011). Energy inputs and crop yield relationships in greenhouse winter crop tomato production.

Renewable Energy, 36(11), 32173221.

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Rippy, J. F. M., Peet, M. M., Louws, F. J., Nelson, P. V., Orr, D. B., & Sorensen, K. A. (2004). Plant devel opment and harvest yields of green house tomatoes in six organic growing systems. HortScience, 39(2), 223-229.

Sargent, S.A., J.K. Brecht, & T. Olczyk.

(2005). Handling Florida vegetable series-round and roma tomato types. Gainsville, FL: University of Florida. http://www.feagri.unicamp. br/unimac/pdfs/Handling_Flori da_Vegetables_Series.pdf Sethi, V. P., & Sharma, S. K. (2008).

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Energy, 82(9), 832-859.

Sexton, S. (2011, November 14). The Inefficiency of Local Food. Freako nomics. Retrieved from http://frea konomics.com/2011/11/14/the-in efficiency-of-local-food/ Shelanski, H. (2013). Refining Esti mates of the Social Cost of Car bon. Office of Management and Budget: The White House. Re trieved from http://www.white house.gov/blog/2013/11/01/refin ing-estimates-social-cost-carbon Shell, B., & Staley, L. M. (1985). Eco nomic analysis of greenhouse ener gy management techniques: a microcomputer spreadsheet model.

Energy in Agriculture, 4, 331-345.

Statistics Canada. (n.d.). Agricul ture - Crops and Horticulture Ta bles. Retrieved from http:// www5.statcan.gc.ca/sub ject-sujet/result-resultat.ac tion?pid=920&id=921&lang=eng& type=ARRAY&pa geNum=1&more=0 Steinhurst, W., Knight, P. & Schultz, M. (2012). Hydropower Green house Gas Emissions. Cambridge, MA: Synapse, Energy Economics.

Retrieved from http://www.clf.org/ wp-content/uploads/2012/02/ Hydropower-GHG-Emis sions-Feb.-14-2012.pdf Tremblay, C., Côté, O., & Gagné, C. (2008). Agriculture and Agrifood: Securing and Building the Future.

Montreal, QC : Commission sur l’avenir de l’agriculture et de l’agroalimentaire québécois (CAAAQ). Retrieved from: http:// www.caaaq.gouv.qc.ca/userfiles/

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File/Dossiers%2012%20fevrier/ Rapport%20CAAAQ%20anglais. pdf Vairavamoorthy, K., Gorantiwar, S. D., & Pathirana, A. (2008). Manag ing urban water supplies in devel oping countries- Climate change and water scarcity scenarios. Phys ics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C, 33 (5), 330-339 Van Veenhuizen, R. (Ed.). (2006).

Cities Farming for the Future: Ur ban Agriculture for Green and Pro ductive Cities. Ottawa, ON: Intern ational Development Research Center.

Ville De Montreal. (2011, December 2) Public consultation on the state of urban agriculture in Montréal.

Ville de Montreal. Retrieved from http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/ page?_pageid=6717,94852183&_ dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL Zezza, A., Tasciotti, L. (2010). Urban agriculture, poverty, and food secu rity: Empirical evidence from a sample of developing countries.

Food Policy, 35(4), 265-273.

The Benefits and Challenges of Protecting Urban Green Space in Montreal Rianna Deprez, Victor Lam and Melody Lynch

ABSTRACT This study assessed the ecosystem services provided by urban green space in Montreal and identified challenges facing its protection. Ecosystem services were recognized at global, regional and local scales. A mixed-method approach was followed, where quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted.

Parc La Fontaine was used as a case study for examining local and global benefits.

Out of 2566 trees, a total of 7581 tons of CO2 was stored and valued between $220,000 to $873,000 in carbon storage services. Questionnaires, participant observation and interviews reveal important values and perceptions of urban green space. By conducting conversational interviews with local organizations dealing with urban green space, regional benefits were associated with a range of diverse ecosystem services. Challenges associated with protecting urban green space were identified on the regional level involving politics and multiple stakeholder interests.

Limitations were acknowledged at each scale of the study. An approach was mapped out to study urban green space. Understanding of perceptions of urban green space was generated. A need for greater dialogue surrounding urban green space on regional and municipal realms was demonstrated. This study contributes to understanding the multifaceted nature of urban green space and human well-being. A toolbox for protecting urban green space was developed to address some of the issues surrounding urban green space protection. Acting upon these measures may help address some of the most pressing issues surrounding urban green space, ecosystem and human well-being in Montreal.

Field Notes 57

Introduction Urban Green Space and Ecosystem Services cosystem services (ES) are commonly understood as “the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and the species that make up, sustain and fulfill human life” (Daily, 1997:3). Urban green space (UGS) is generally defined as all areas of land consisting “predominantly of unsealed, permeable, ‘soft’ surfaces like soil, grass, and or trees,” (Swanwick et al., 2003:97-98). Examples include parks, gardens, woodlands, grasslands, and recreational areas that provide a number of ES, such as air purification, noise reduction, climate regulation, pollination, cognitive development and well-being (Gomez-Baggethun & Barton, 2013) which span across global, regional and local scales. With over 80% of Canada’s population presently living in urban areas, (Statistics Canada, 2011) and over 70% of the world population expected to be living in urban areas by 2050 (United Nations, 2007), it is becoming increasingly important to evaluate and understand the role of urban green space in urban areas (Bolund & Hunhammar, 1999).

With 6% of its area zoned as UGS, Montreal falls below average when compared to other Canadian cities (MUSE, 2012). This paper aims to investigate the importance of UGS in Montreal by identifying the ES provided at local, regional and global scales, and further identifying the challenges to protecting it. These results contribute to the diverse discourse surround-

E

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ing UGS, which spans across the disciplines of environmental science (Nowak et al., 2002; Budruk et al., 2009; Millward & Sabir, 2011; Baur et al., 2013), economics (McPherson et al., 1997; Nowak & Crane, 2002; Nowak et al., 2013) and health (Kaplan, 1995; Groenewegen, 2006).

Methods and Analysis Conceptual Framework A mixed-method approach was applied to gain a broad understanding of ES generated by UGS which comprised a literature review, quantitative biomass analysis of carbon storage capacity, and qualitative analysis of interview data, participation observation and questionnaires (Figure 1). This framework describes ES as benefits to society, with the benefits ranging from the global to the local or even individual scale.

Finally, the framework acknowledges that challenges do arise.

For investigating global and local benefits, Parc La Fontaine was selected as a case study (Figure 2). Spanning

35.9 hectares, it is one of the largest urban parks on the island of Montreal and is a designated urban large park in the agglomeration of Montreal (Ville de Montreal, 2013). With a variety of surface covers and park uses, Parc La Fontaine is a good representation of the various types of UGS across Montreal.

Carbon Storage Calculation and Value Carbon storage is one of the most valuable ecosystem services of UGS at the global level because it can play a critical role in helping to combat anthropogenic climate change (Nowak & Crane, 2002). Given the pressing concerns of climate change, quantifying carbon storage can give us an initial understanding of the benefit of this service in Montreal. Carbon dioxide (CO2) was used as a proxy for carbon.

Data of all trees in Parc La Fontaine was obtained from the City of Montreal Open Portal database (Ville de Montreal, 2012). Microsoft Excel was used to reconstruct this data on a spreadsheet for identification and analysis. Only aboveground biomass of trees was accounted for to minimize error and account for the lack of available data on root biomass. The primary data included the diameter at breast height (dbh) and date of record (2008-2010). Biomass equations were gathered from three principle sources: the GlobAllomeTree database, an international peer-reviewed platform for sharing tree allometric equations (GlobAllomeTree, 2013); Climate Action Reserve (CAR, 2010); and Monk et al. (1970), which was based off the bio-modeling dataset from a study on Totoket Mountains, by students at Yale University (Yale University, 1999).

Field Notes 59

These sources helped to locate specific biomass equations for each tree species. It was assumed that subspecies with allometric equations held equivalent allometric relationships as the species, so if no allometric equation could be found for an individual species, the equation of equivalent genera was substituted. If no genus equivalent equations were found, the remaining species were classified through an online tree database to generalize species with no species biomass equations within their respective tree classifications. These were classified as broadleaves, conifers, or hardwoods (CAR, 2010; Monk et al., 1970).

Table 1 shows the top ten and remaining tree species with their tree numbers, diameter at breast height (dbh) range, and carbon storage per tree by highest carbon storage. In total, there are 2566 individual trees across 83 different species, with approximately 71 trees per hectare of park space.

Of these, the most numerous tree species was Silver Maple.

Because these equations were pulled from multiple sources, standardization of units into centimeters for dbh and kilograms for weight was needed.

Equation (1):

Carbon storage was calculated in terms of tCO2 using equation (1). E represents the aboveground biomass equation for respective species. W is

60

the volume (m3) to weight (kg) conversion and D is the fresh to dry weight conversion. W and D are needed only for standardizing equations from CAR (2010). It was assumed that trees in UGS were maintained by city staff and thus, an urban tree factor of 0.8 was assigned (Nowak, 1994).

An estimated carbon in tree biomass through a carbon factor of 0.5 was assigned (Nowak 1994). A stoichiometric conversion of 3.67 was used to convert kgC to kgCO2, and divided by 1000 to obtain tCO2. This was applied according to tree species and their respective E, W, and D. Equation (2): tCO2 Value = carbon storage (tCO2) * (SCC/HRS) Once carbon storage was derived, equation (2) was used to assign monetary values for each tonne of CO2.

This would allow us to determine and account for carbon storage in monetary terms. According to Environment Canada, these values can be determined by multiplying carbon storage (tCO2) by the social cost of carbon (SCC) and the high risk scenario (HRS) (Environment Canada, 2013).

Values were determined through probabilistic modeling of the low (SCC) and high (HRS) end estimates of costs of damage inflicted by climate change for Canada. SCC and HRS were valued at $29.04/tCO2 and $115.18/tCO2 respectively (Environment Canada, 2013).

Field Notes 61

Conversational Interviews To understand regional benefits and challenges of protecting green space, conversational interviews were conducted with representatives of local organizations, where responses exposed their personal perceptions (Dunn, 2010). As stakeholders of UGS, these organizations have insights about UGS awareness and action at municipal and regional levels (MUSE, 2012).

A convenience sampling method was used in order to randomly choose respondents. From over ten local organizations contacted, five responded: Les Amis de Meadowbrook, Les Amis de la Montagne, Eco- Quartier Plateau Mont-Royal, Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science (QCBS), and Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Association for the Protection of Angell Woods (APAW). Interview questions ranged from identifying the role of the organization and reasons for valuing UGS to evaluating the extent of their work such as advocacy, knowledge sharing, and resistance and challenges.

These organizations all dealt with UGS in Montreal, but undertook different roles and perspectives, which yielded diverse responses. Responses will be discussed in Section 3.2.

Overt Participant Observation and Questionnaire Parc La Fontaine was visited four times in October and November to collect local level data. To reduce bias in our results, data was collected on weekends and weekdays, during mornings and afternoons. Overt participant observation involved taking notes and photos of observations while on site

62

(Laurier, 2008). This improved understanding of how and when people use the space.

Questionnaires composed of openand close-ended questions were created. This gave a detailed understanding about the ways in which people use and value the park, and their perspectives on UGS. Questions on psychological effects of UGS were developed following Kaplanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (1995) framework for analyzing the psychological ES of nature. A systematic sampling method was used. Respondents were sought out in different areas of the park to minimize bias. A total of 24 respondents were interviewed. The demographic of the sample population is described in Figure 3.

Participants were approached in person and presented with an informed consent form. Participants had the choice of responding in English or French. Each questionnaire took approximately 5 minutes to complete.

Qualitative Analysis Results of conversational interviews, participant observation and questionnaires were analyzed following a process of thematic coding, which entailed identifying recurring themes and ideas within the data (Kitchin & Tate, 2000). Themes across the literature were compared with the results and observations from participant observation.

Results Global Benefits: Carbon Storage Trees are integral to a globally balanced ecosystem, and trees in Parc La

Fontaine are no exception. As Parc La Fontaine trees capture and store atmospheric CO2 year round, they provide a global benefit. This study examines the critical component of carbon storage in order to understand this global benefit.

The average aboveground carbon storage of trees per dbh class is shown in Figure 4. As trees aged and increased in dbh, they stored more carbon. The total carbon storage in the park is 7581.6tCO2 and each tree had an average carbon storage of 2.95tCO2 (Table 1).

storage potential. Silver Maple, the most populous species, was valued at SCC $131.73 and HRS $522.10 per tree, and SCC $110,386.75 and HRS $437,520.52 in terms of total number of species. Conversely, Golden Weeping Willow, the least populous species, was worth SCC $8,861.83 and HRS $35,124.08 per tCO2. On average, each tree was valued at SCC $85.86 and HRS $340.31 per tCO2, and all trees in total were valued at SCC $220,320.30 and HRS $873,244.75. Montrealers emit an average of 7.2 tonnes CO2 per capita, (Ville de Montreal, 2006) meaning that carbon storage in Parc

Some tree species were more numerous and thus accounted for more stored carbon, while others had greater individual carbon storage potential.

For example, the one Golden Weeping Willow tree stored a total of 304.9 tCO2 with a dbh of 751 cm. Even though the general assumption that more trees equate greater carbon storage remains true, our results demonstrate the importance of considering tree age (dbh) and species.

Table 2 presents the SCC and HRS values for species with high carbon

La Fontaine is equivalent to slightly more than the annual CO2 emissions of 1000 Montrealers. While urban centers contribute a significant portion of global CO2 emissions, urban trees do provide this small, but important global benefit in minimizing CO2 emissions.

Regional Benefits: A Diversity of ES ES provided at the regional level was determined through conversational interviews with local organizations and compared with responses in the

Field Notes 63

literature. The most common response was that UGS helps to mitigate the urban heat island effect. Vegetation from UGS can significantly cool down urban areas and is one of the most promising measures in mitigating the urban heat island effect (Rizwan, Dennis, & Liu, 2008). Another common response was the role that UGS plays in mitigating urban floods. This also aligns with the literature which states that vegetation is important for flood mitigation (Givoni, 1991). Respondents identified improved air quality as a valuable ES for urban dwellers (Kuttler & Strassburger, 1999). Furthermore, attractions such as Mount Royal bring in many people to Montreal, and generate revenue for the city (Tourism Montreal, 2014), which is a case for the tourism benefit and cultural ES from UGS. On the other hand, some

64

benefits were mentioned but were not found in the literature, such as the use of UGS to provide areas for people to conduct research and educational grounds for children to learn about nature. One benefit that was indirectly stated by the organizations was community building through sharing space with people in the community in organized efforts to protect UGS. Local/Individual Benefits At the local scale, all questionnaire participants stated that UGS like Parc La Fontaine are important. Data was analyzed from the question: “do you think parks like these are important to have in Montreal? Why or why not?” and noted the recurring use of the word “space” in a variety ways. Respondents emphasized the importance of access to green space, community

space, shared space, and public space.

Another prominent theme was the emphasis on experiencing or feeling connected with nature. The third most common theme was the importance of parks for mental health and relaxation.

Other less prominent themes included fresh air and air quality, noise reduction, and microclimate regulation, which indicate that awareness of other services provided by the park does exist amongst its users.

Responses to the Likert scale questions displayed a significant trend (Figure 5). Each statement had at least 60% of participants reply with the positive responses “strongly agree” or “agree.” 100% of participants responded positively with the statements “the park makes me feel happy” and “the park makes me feel relaxed/ less stressed.” The statement “the park makes me feel socially connected” received the least amount of “strongly agree” responses, and tied with “the park makes me feel connected with myself ” as the statement with the lowest amount of total positive responses.

The most common use of the park as noted from our participant observation was exercise. Many people were observed walking, running, or cycling. When participant observation was conducted on a Sunday afternoon, there were a greater number of people in pairs or in groups, often families, walking together, as opposed to weekday afternoons where there was a greater occurrence of people alone in the park. This demonstrates multiple uses of the park and the variety of benefits received from it, with some

people using it to socialize, whereas others used it to be alone. As in the literature (Kaplan, 1995; Groenewegen, 2006), our observations and results support that UGS such as Parc La Fontaine increased physical and psychological well-being for its users.

Challenges As the results have shown, the benefits of UGS reach across scales; however, its protection is negotiated at the regional level. Municipal politics surrounding UGS are controversial.

There is an obvious tension between conserving UGS and urban development. With diminishing virgin land in Montreal, many organizational respondents felt that there is increasing pressure to develop on existing UGS. One respondent states, “territory is not elastic, so we cannot rely constantly on development to make a budget.”

Another respondent suggested, “the city of Montreal just hasn’t been very proactive. They are waiting for local groups to come up with solutions, but haven’t said that they themselves will save eco territories. They have done some acquisitions, but because the money was there they could have made more.” In response to these ‘poor politics,’ local organizations have taken matters into their own hands. However, this generated a new set of challenges as most of these local organizations are voluntarily run. According to a respondent, the cycling of volunteers make projects “active at some points, but fizzled out at others. It takes a lot of energy to keep these things going.”

The protection of UGS in Montreal is

Field Notes 65

seen as necessary, but complex.

Discussion Our analysis launches several points of discussion. First of all, organizations employed creative ways of protecting UGS around the city. A toolbox was compiled strategies for protecting UGS, whereby the choice of tool depends on the role and objective of the organization. A summary of tools and examples are provided in Box 1.

Second of all, the valuation of the park based on SCC and HRS can influence urban planning policies in Montreal. Our results show that some species are more valuable than others, but this is mainly due to the variance in age, number of tree distributed across the park and biomass equation composition. SCC and HRS values vary as it is difficult to determine how much damage will be inflicted based on climate change forecasts (Environment Canada, 2013). Hence, this approach must be considered as an approximation and range of projected damages and costs. This could help policy makers determine the monetary value of carbon storage benefits from trees, if they ceased to exist. These data and results can also inform how policy makers and urban planners draft tree policies (Ville de Montreal, 2005). For example, designating noteworthy trees by their species, age, and carbon storage potential, can act as a springboard for educating the public about benefits of urban trees in reducing atmospheric CO2, and other important regulating ecosystem services.

66

And last of all, based on the varied use of surface covers in Parc La Fontaine, an extrapolation was made based on the methods and results of this case study to estimate total carbon storage in all UGSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in Montreal.

Assuming an average of 71 trees/ha of UGS (as in Parc La Fontaine) over the 1715ha of UGS in Montreal with each tree storing 2.95tCO2, there would be approximately 359,000 tCO2 stored in 122,000 trees. This represents the annual CO2 emissions of about 50,000 Montrealers and would be equivalent to a SCC of $10.4 million or $41.4 million in the HRS. With the addition of the negligible contribution of urban vegetation and soils (Pataki et al., 2006), it can be inferred that this preliminary, rough estimate of carbon storage and sequestration of UGS in Montreal would be less than the total annual emissions of 1.9 million Montrealers (Vital Signs, 2010). The emissions offsets by UGS may be less than anticipated, but nonetheless, UGS continues to provide a critical array of ES for people in the city. Policy makers and urban planners should increase the span of UGS in Montreal and local communities should continue pressuring the municipal governments to do so. These policies should be combined with efforts to reduce CO2 emissions.

A limitation of the study was that it accounted for only aboveground biomass of trees through secondary data, given limited data on root biomass. Despite the comprehensive assessments on carbon storage and calculations, seasonality and carbon sequestration throughout the year was

beyond the scope of this study, limiting the usefulness of carbon storage quantification. Interviews with local organizations were informative to understand the nature and extent of their work but this was limited to those who responded. Since questionnaires were conducted in the span of weeks in autumn and during early daytime, the composition of the sample demographic may be limited to the sample period and season. A convenience sampling method may have affected how results were interpreted.

Future work should consider seasonality and carbon sequestration of all carbon pools. Research on carbon sequestration could help to determine

which trees are most suitable to plant (SÌbø et al., 2005) in Montreal. Furthermore, unlike Vancouver, Ottawa or Toronto, the city of Montreal is located on an island. Much of the island is already inhabited or occupied. This prevents further urban sprawl and increases pressure for concentrated population density at the city centre.

Thus, there is greater need to examine how urban green space and tree planning be integrated into the urban ecology of Montreal island. The vast knowledge on the numerous benefits and ES provided by UGS could open up discussion in the urban planning and decision-making process for reflecting demand of UGS in cities currently lacking UGS.

Conclusion UGS provides a variety of ES at the global, regional, and local levels.

With growing rates of urbanization, it has become increasingly important

to protect UGS and preserve these benefits critical to human-well being.

Although this study examines benefits across scales, it is not comprehensive in assessing all of the benefits that UGS

Field Notes 67

provides. Assessments of these ES are distinguished for detailed study, but they are not mutually exclusive.

Rather, they complement each other.

For example, trees store carbon and help to mitigate the heat island effect.

The amount of green space in Montreal is approximately half the national average for large Canadian cities, a number that will only diminish if efforts are not made to protect it. In this study, benefits of UGS in Montreal were assessed to its actual users, by analyzing its value on regional levels and providing a snapshot of its global value based on carbon storage within Parc La Fontaine. These results demonstrate and contribute to the understanding of the multifaceted nature of UGS and human well-being.

First, an approach was mapped out to study UGS across scales. Second, a detailed level of understanding and awareness was generated of people’s perceptions and value of UGS. And third, the analysis and discussion in ES from UGS demonstrates a greater need for dialogue on the regional and municipal policy realm, in the future of UGS for all stakeholders. Altogether, this study identifies the tools and issues that can aid in resolving some of the greatest challenges of protecting UGS. Surmounting these challenges is paramount to ensuring a greener future for Montreal.

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Field Notes 69

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Pataki, D. E., Alig, R. J., Fung, A. S., Golubiewski, N. E., Kennedy, C. A., McPherson, E. G., . . . Lankao, P. R. (2006). Urban ecosystems and the North American carbon cycle.

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(In French). Retrieved from http:// donnees.ville.montreal.qc.ca/data set/arbres/resource/41522593-fe4a4276-a2c0-a05f4016f756 Ville de Montreal. (2013). Parc La Fontaine. (In French). Retrieved from http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/por tal/page?_pageid=7297,74553682&_ dad=portal&_schema=portal Vital Signs. (2010). Demographic Con text: the Census Metropolitan Area of Montreal. Retrieved from http:// www.fgmtl.org/en/vitalsigns2010/ context.php.

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Field Notes 71

Climate Change and Country Food: An Analysis of the Cultural Security of Inuit in Canada

Yolanda Clatworthy

ABSTRACT The effects of climate change are being felt first and most forcefully in the Arctic regions, placing additional strain on environmentally vulnerable populations who live there. In this paper, I focus on the human dimension of climate change by exploring the intersection between climate change and food security amongst Inuit peoples in the Canadian Arctic. More specifically, I outline how climate change diminishes access to, safety of, and knowledge about, traditional â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; foods for Inuit. Country food carries an importance that extends beyond mere physiological nourishment; accessing food from the land integrates traditional knowledge and cultural practices, and therefore is of great socio-cultural importance. I contend that the threat which climate change poses to Inuit peoples therefore extends beyond food security to cultural security, an added layer of insecurity predicated not just on access to food, but on access to traditional food sources.

72

I

n the fall of 2012, the National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) announced that the Arctic sea ice reached a record low on September 16, 2012 (Hake, 2012). Just four months earlier, in May of 2012, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Right-to-Food, Oliver de Schutter, issued a scathing report condemning the rate of food insecurity in Canada as “unacceptable,” and highlighting the “desperate situation” of one million First Nations and 55 000 Inuit (Payton, 2012; Schutter, 2012). These two trends are not random; they both highlight the changing realities of the Canadian North. Nor do they occur in isolation of each other; recent research shows that climate change has been a major contributing factor in the high rates of food insecurity among the Inuit. In the course of this essay, I explore the interplay between climate change and food security in Canada. More specifically, I analyze the negative impacts that climate change has had on safety of, access to, and knowledge about traditional foods (henceforth referred to as ‘country’ food) that has created not just food insecurity, but also cultural insecurity among the Inuit.

Because cultural insecurity builds upon food security, Part One of my paper will contextualize and define food and cultural insecurity. In Part Two, I will analyze the diminishing accessibility, safety, and knowledge of country food in order to prove the presence of cultural insecurity among the Inuit of Canada.

Definitions & Context According to the 1996 Rome Declaration on World Food Security, food security “exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy lifestyle” (World Food Summit, nd). The Canadian government recognizes this definition, and has ratified the 1948 International Declaration of Human Rights and the 2002 Declaration on World Food Security, both mandating that governments ensure the food security of their citizenry (Power, 2008).

Yet Canada, which is consistently recognized as one of the countries in the world with the best qualities of living, does not guarantee food security to all of its citizens. Food insecurity is especially salient among the First Nations and the Inuit, a fact that garnered much international attention and media coverage in the aftermath of Schutter’s report. Quite aside from the political and economic reasons for the discrepancies between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians, which are beyond the scope of this paper, it is clear that the nature of food insecurity among Indigenous Canadians is different than that of the rest of the population. This is first and foremost a consequence of the relationship that many indigenous groups maintain with the land and with food that they harvest from it. It is perhaps Elaine Power, associate professor for sociocultural studies at Queens University, who

Field Notes 73

best encapsulates this relationship, when she writes that there are “unique food security concerns for Aboriginal people [which are] related to the harvesting, sharing, and consumption of country or traditional foods” (Power, 2008).

This is where the concept of cultural security comes in, which is defined as, “an additional level of food security beyond individual, household, and community levels” (Power, 2008).

Cultural insecurity, therefore, refers to the layer of food insecurity that indigenous populations face because of their partial reliance on country food.

Cultural (in)security builds upon the standard definition of food security outlined above, but is not constrained by it; the definition is expanded to include not just access and availability to food, but also to traditional sources of food. The difference between the two is highlighted by Paci et al., for whom the distinctness of food security among the Inuit is predicated on the “continued and predictable availability and access to food, derived from northern environments through indigenous cultural practices” (added emphasis) (Wesche, 2012).

While media reports often focus on the exorbitant prices of store bought food in the North, I contend that the cultural insecurity that stems from a diminishing access to country food potentially poses an even greater threat to the Inuit, for it threatens both their physical and socio-cultural well-being.

The physical benefits of country food are well documented. To begin

74

To begin with, it is more nutritious and “power-dense” than imported storebought food (Power, 2008). Flora and fauna that are harvested for country food have had to adapt to the same climate as the Inuit have, which means that they contain many nutrients that help to survive in the extreme Arctic conditions. Thus, country food is an excellent source of protein, omega 3, riboflavin, pyridoxine, iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorous: “Even a single portion of food derived from local animals is found to increase levels of important nutrients” (Wesche, 2012). Examples of country food include caribou, geese, char, seal, walrus, berries, polar bears, musk ox, beavers, and more.

While harder to pinpoint, the socio-cultural wellbeing of the Inuit is also impacted by a diminishing access to country food: “country food [is] an important cultural anchor providing both an economic and spiritual link with the land and wildlife” (Bone, 2012). This link is manifest in a myriad of ways. Firstly, days spent out on the tundra hunting and harvesting help Inuit to maintain their relationship with the land (Power, 2008). Secondly, because sharing and eating the country food is so highly ritualized, consuming it contributes to the social and cultural cohesion of Inuit communities (Power, 2008). Such social ties are evident even today, in the way that food banks and other community groups are combating food insecurity by establishing centres in which they distribute free country food to the needy, in a communal, sharing atmosphere (Davidee-

Aningmiuq, 2012). Thirdly, the search for country food is a practice through which elders can share knowledge and skills with younger generations, thereby acting as a conduit for the transmission of traditional knowledge (henceforth referred to as TK).

Fourthly, country food can in theory act as an equalizer between individuals and between communities; animals and plants can be freely harvested by anyone who puts in the effort, and the consequences of remoteness and living far from the nearest store can be mitigated by searching out the sources of food that come from the land around you (Power, 2008).

Unfortunately, accessing country food is becoming undemocratic due to the increasing reliance on expensive vehicles and technology to obtain the food.

Nevertheless, the cumulative effect of these four points demonstrates the importance of country food as a facet of socio-cultural well-being, so much so that the Nobel Peace Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) researcher James Ford, of McGill University, declared that, “The procurement, sharing, and consumption of traditional food contributes significantly to cultural identity, tradition, and social cohesion, and estimates of the value of Nunavut’s land-based economy are between 40 and 60 million Canadian dollars per year” (Ford et al, 2009). It is clear that country food contributes more than just physical nourishment to Inuit communities; it is also a source of nourishment for their communities, their economies, and their socio-cult

ural wellbeing.

Analysis In light of the important role that we have seen that country food plays in the physical, social, and cultural lives of the Inuit, it evident that considerations of food security among the Inuit should include an extra layer, that of cultural insecurity. I turn now to an analysis of three indicators that comprise cultural insecurity: access to country food, safety of the country food, and propagation of TK (Power, 2008). I will systematically examine the effects of climate change on each of these indicators to prove that climate change is negatively impacting the cultural security of the Inuit in Canada.

Access to Country Food

In a vicious, interrelated, and escalating phenomenon, various aspects of climate change have drastically reduced the capacity of Inuit to access certain key country foods. As a “global hot spot of climate change” (Ford, personal communication), the Arctic has undergone more dramatic climate change effects than the rest of the world. Acclaimed Inuit activist and member of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC), Sheila-Watt Cloutier, described the Arctic as the “canary in the coalmine, the barometer of the health of the planet” (Dingman, 2012), thereby highlighting the fact that impacts of climate change are felt first and experienced more forcefully in the Arctic than elsewhere. One of the most measurable changes has been an increase in temperature, which is

Field Notes 75

occurring at double the rate in the Arctic compared to the rest of the planet (Ford, personal communication), and has created numerous negative consequences for Inuit in pursuit of country food. Higher temperatures mean that the ice freezes over later in the fall, and thaws earlier in the spring.

This limits the time frame in which hunters can venture out onto the ice in search of game. One frustrated hunter had this to say of the changing access to ice travel: “Distinguished delegation I come from Ranklin Inlet of Nunavut where, last week, we were finally able to use our snow machines.

This was already one month later than they were able to use them in Repulse Bay” (Ernerk, 2003). His statement is further important because it alludes to another problem of unpredictable ice coverage, which is that it makes travel conditions more volatile, and more dangerous. Consequently, hunters must increasingly reroute their trajectories, which therefore means longer distances, more gas, more wear and tear on the vehicle, and more funds are needed. It also means that hunters are choosing to embark on shorter trips and to stay closer to home on well-known routes, a phenomenon that Ford labeled “spatial contraction” of hunting territory (Wesche, 2012; Furgal, 2006; Ford, personal communication). In addition to imposing an added strain on the population of the animals in the area, who stand the chance of being over-hunted, limiting the time and scope of their hunts results in a diminished return; hunters come back with fewer animals:

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“decreased hunter mobility often results in higher concentrations of hunters and fishers using a smaller area. Residents [. . . ] fear that this concentration will place undue pressure on local animal and fish populations” (Unikkaqatigiit np). Less ice cover also means more boat travel, which is more dangerous and more costly than travel by skidoo (Unikkaqatigiit np).

In addition to making it significantly more dangerous, costly, and time-consuming to go out on the land, climate change has also had an impact on the migratory routes of animals, which further exacerbates the difficulties that hunters face. In one study, in which researchers interviewed 25 hunters and 100 local households, residents declared their frustration at changing ice and snow patterns that locked in the lichen which sustains caribou. Consequently, the caribou had moved further south, out of the typical hunting range of that community (CECweb, 2012 ). Geese had also shifted their migratory routes, flying further east than they typically did (Wesche, 2012). Animal populations are decreasing as a result of the subsequent over-hunting of more accessible game, and of the increasing need for animals to forage further afield to find the same food. Consequently, the federal government has started imposing hunting quotas until stock is replenished, which further disadvantages hunters who are already struggling to find enough food (Ford, personal communication). Furthermore, the impact of changing snow cover and warming temperatures does not stop with game;

it extends into the plant world as well.

Many Inuit complain of shrubbery and other none-harvestable plants growing where there once were berries (Nunatsiaq News, np).

Collectively, these factors point to a significant reduction in access to country food. Climate change has resulted in reduced safety, shortened seasons, increasing costs, increasing strain on animal populations, the imposition of new ‘protective’ quotas, and the displacement of species (Wesche 2012; Ford, personal communication).

The cumulative effect of these changes is an overall decline in “species harvestability” (Wesche, 2012), which illustrates an increase in food and cultural insecurity for those Inuit who rely on caribou, geese, fish, and whales for their main energy intake (Wesche, 2012).

Safety of Country Food Consumption The second indicator that cultural insecurity is present is that of diminished ability to consume country foods because of safety concerns. As we shall see, climate change is once again an aggravating factor in the decline in country foods that are safe for human consumption.

At first glance, it would seem counterintuitive to label country food as unsafe for consumption; how can something harvested off of the land be any less healthy than the processed, sugary soda and potato chips that are sold in stores? As outlined in Section One, historically this was not the case.

Country food was an incredible source of necessary vitamins, nutrients, and other minerals. And, indeed, the

nutritional value of country food has not changed—except for one, glaring difference: the impact of climate change. There are a few principal ways in which climate change has rendered much country food unfit for consumption.

The first is through the increased circulation of pollutants; as sea ice melts and becomes water and circulates, it mixes in pollutants from southern industry that have come north through currents As is the norm when it comes to environmental issues, this results in spillovers into other areas: there is an increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the air, as well as the biomagnification of these pollutants in the food chain (in which the higher the species is on the food chain, the higher the concentration of contaminants that is present in their body) (Bone 2012; Dingman, 2012). Several environmental health studies demonstrate the impact of these contaminants. One of the most striking is that of the case of mercury levels in the Eastern Arctic, where one third of the population’s daily intake of mercury is higher than World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations allow (Bone, 2012). The negative effects of contamination are manifest in the psyche of the population as well; for fear of contaminants, many Inuit are choosing not to consume country food even when they do have access to it (Furgal, 2006).

Furthermore, increasing contamination and other climate change side effects also negatively impact the health of the animals that the Inuit

Field Notes 77

hunt. One of the most illustrative examples of this is the case of seals.

Thinning ice means that seal pups cannot be nursed as long, resulting in mature seals that are scrawnier than usual. Warmer temperatures also adversely affect the quality of seal furs, which become increasingly thin and patchy. The reduced size, health, and fur of the seals triggers a chain consequence which combines to negatively impact the food security of the Inuit: smaller seals sink faster when shot; hunters must move quicker in order to retrieve their carcasses; increased fuel consumption from faster boats increases expenses; patchier seal furs are less financially profitable (Unikkaqatigiit, np). Consequently, hunters must spend more money to hunt the same amount of seal, but with less financial return. Contamination means that hunters often cannot consume the seals that they hunt either, which exacerbates their reliance on storebought food and increases food costs.

All told, it paints a grim picture: hunters are facing increased hunting costs with a diminished monetary return, and any profits that are made must be re-invested into purchasing store food rather than eating traditional country food.

Climate change has increased soil erosion and sedimentation (Wesche, 2012). This has a twofold negative effect on the food and cultural insecurity of the Inuit. Firstly, less fish spawn because of the sedimentation, which diminishes fish stock (Wesche, 2012).

Moreover, as a result of the increased pollutants in the water outlined above,

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the fish that do remain are deformed and contaminated (Dingman, 2012), effectively rendering one of the traditional sources of country food unsafe for consumption. Secondly, it makes it increasingly difficult to access drinkable water (Nunatsiaq News np). The problem of sedimentation and erosion is compounded by the lower water levels from higher rates of evaporation, which means more algae in the water. Consequently, more and more residents are being forced to boil their water before drinking it (Unikkaqatigiit, np; Bone, 2012).

Finally, higher temperatures created by climate change have resulted in a significant increase in insects, parasite infections, food and water borne diseases, and spoilage of meat (Hassi, np; Inuit Tuttarvingat News, np). It is becoming increasingly challenging for hunters to prevent meat from spoiling while they are transporting it from the hunt to their community, and difficult to preserve and dry fish in the sun without it rotting (Unikkaqatigiit, np).

The combined effect of all of these factors is that Inuit are becoming increasingly suspicious of consumption of animals and fish, with a subsequent increase in waste as Inuit throw more food out (Unikkaqatigiit, np). Overall, Inuit are more hesitant to consume country food, even when they are able to access it (Wesche, 2012), â&#x20AC;&#x153;industrial and urban pollution, whether from local mines, distant coal burning plants, or contaminated sources of water, has introduced a health threat to those who consume country food on a daily basisâ&#x20AC;? (Bone 2012).

It is clear that, quite aside from a diminished access to country food, there are also valid and widespread safety concerns that hinder Inuit consumption of country food. Once more, climate change is demonstrated to have a marked effect on the growing levels of food and cultural insecurity among the Inuit.

Propagation of Traditional Knowledge (TK) Inuit TK, otherwise known as Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Statham, np), is the third indicator of cultural insecurity that has been impacted by climate change. The importance of TK on food security cannot be understated; indeed, it is even found in Section 26 of the Rome Declaration on Food Security: Food security depends, inter alia, on sustainable management of fish, forests, and wildlife. In many indigenous communities, these resources are the principal sources of protein in the diet. The traditional knowledge within indigenous communities also plays an important role in the achievement of food security for these communities and othersâ&#x20AC;? (World Food Summit, np).

TK continues to play an incredibly important role in the lives of Inuit in Canada todayâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a role which is being threatened by climate change. To be fair, some of the degradation of TK is attributable to changed realities of settlement living and a wage based economyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;when working from nine to five every day, there is little time, or need, to be out on the land hunting and harvesting. Yet it bears looking

into the link between effects of climate change on food security and TK, for it is stronger than it appears as first glance.

Climate change has negatively impacted the transmission of TK by changing the conditions of the land to such an extent that they are unpredictable, sometimes unrecognizable, to even the most experienced hunters. A driving reason behind this is the shift in prevailing winds in the Arctic; while the patterns that they carved into snow banks and ridges used to serve as navigational guides for the Inuit, winds no longer follow any sort of predictable pattern, and so Inuit are lost on the land (Unikkaqatigiit, np). Further exacerbations follow from the weather, which is increasingly harsh and unpredictable (Barnett, 2003). Nor does it help that the highly variable conditions created by climate change has altered snow and ice conditions; even necessities that were once taken for granted, such as the construction of igloos for shelter whilst travelling or hunting, are no longer a given (Furgal, 2006).

There is also harmful increased UV B exposure, and less access to potable water whilst out on the land (Furgal, 2006). These increasing hazards to being out on the land, combined with the rising costs of hunting and fishing, has resulted in a generation of hunters that are ill-prepared and fearful of venturing too far from their home villages. In turn, this contributes to the decrease in mental and physical prowess of potential hunters, for they are spending less time out on the land than ever before.

Thus when they do go out, they

Field Notes 79

are spending less time out on the land than ever before. Thus when they do go out, they are often at loss as to understanding weather patterns, interpreting navigational aids, knowing what to bring, or even deciding what to do in the case of danger. Instead of relying on skills acquired through the “institutional memory” of TK passed down through generations (Ford et al, 2009), the youngest generations of Inuit are increasingly dependent on technological gadgets to help them survive. And while technology has allowed TK to evolve and adapt, and serves as a reminder of how resilient and resourceful the Inuit are in the face of widespread change, it must also be noted that an increased reliance on technology has resulted in higher risk-taking, for new hunters do not have the skill-set to judge conditions for themselves and rely instead on the (sometimes incorrect) information that their gadgets feed them (Ford et al, 2009). This drastic reduction in the inculcation of TK in younger generations, which was in part caused by the changing climate conditions that rendered the Arctic unreadable even to those who know it best, has also contributed to a the cultural insecurity of Inuit—after all, it is rather hard to acquire country food if no one has the skill-set or know how to do so. Climate change has, “compounded this trend by increasing the dangers of a lack of hunting knowledge and skills” (Ford et al, 2009). It may not have started the process of erosion of TK, but climate change may well threaten the future of TK transmission among the Inuit.

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Closing Analysis It has been made clear throughout the course of this essay, that three indicators of cultural insecurity (access to, safety of, and knowledge about country food) have been negatively impacted by climate change. Arguably, the story is not wholly one of doom and gloom; by all accounts population of musk ox, moose, and beaver have been increasing since climate change, and melting sea ice has resulted in a longer boating season, the opening up of shipping routes, and the potential for job creation through the extraction of resources that have become accessible (Ford, personal communication).

Yet in spite of these positives, it would seem that the effects of climate change on access to country food among the Inuit are still overwhelmingly negative: “global climate change on ecosystems affects the availability, supply, and safety of traditional/country food” (Power, 2008). Residents are worried that future generations will not have access to country food, which, as has been proved above, is not just a matter of food rights but also of cultural rights; country food is connected to the “emotional, spiritual, social and cultural well-being” of Inuit societies (Wesche, 2012). In communities where typically 33.5 to 51.9 percent of meat still comes from the land (Wesche, 2012), and where traditional foods are still used more than four hundred times a year (Wein, 2003), the concomitance of an acceleration in climate change and a twenty-year decline in country food consumption rates cannot go ignored.

Conclusion As has been demonstrated, climate change has a significant and negative impact on both the food and the cultural security of the Inuit in Canada. This trend is not predicted to wane anytime soon; in fact, Ford has predicted that the rate of change will continue to accelerate and that the Arctic is facing an increase of six to seven degrees Celsius by the end of the century (Ford November 16, 2012).

Prominent Inuit representatives agree with him; Mary Simon is quotes as saying that “the issues have just escalated when you look at what is happening now with climate change” (Weber, 2012 ). In light of the gravity and urgency that this information brings forward, it is not an overreaction to say that effects of climate change will continue to threaten food security and endanger the socio-cultural fabric and survival mechanisms of Inuit communities. Because there is the potential for the effects of climate change to further erode food and cultural security in the Arctic, it is important that the Canadian government act now to mitigate the damage. Starting in May of 2013, Canada will chair the Inuit Circumpolar Conference for two years. As leader of the Arctic world during this crucial time, it is imperative that Canadians stray from their planned agenda of militarization and resource development of the North (Weber, 2012); the rest of the world is calling on us to “promote discussions on subjects such as food security—not just in the context of poverty, but also in relation to the ability to hunt and

maintain traditional food sources in the face of a changing Arctic climate (Duane Smith in Weber, 2012).

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Barnett, Jon. “Security and Climate Change.” Global Environmental Change 13 (2003): 7-17. Print.

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“Food Insecurity among Inuit Women Exacerbated by Socio-Eco nomic Stresses and Climate Change.” Canadian Journal for Pub lic Health 101.3 (2012): 196-201.

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Bielawski, Ellen. “Inuit Indigenous Knowledge and Science in the Ar tic.” Canadian Arctic Resources Committee. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http://www.carc.org/pubs/ v20no1/inuit.htm>.

Bone, Robert M.. The Canadian north: issues and challenges. 4. ed. Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.

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Montreal, Que.: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003. 193-194.

Field Notes 81

CECweb. “McGill Arctic food security updated small - YouTube.” YouTube.

N.p., 19 July 2012. Web. 7 Dec. 2012. <http://www.youtube. com/watch?feature=player_embed ded&v=Dn9bumObQ-4#!>.

Davidee-Aningmiuq, Elisapi. “Profile: The Iqaluit Community Tukisigia rvik Society on Vimeo.” Vimeo, Your Videos Belong Here. Tukisi giarvik Society, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2012. <http://vimeo com/12925366>.

Dingman, Erica. “Arctic Environment a Portent of the Future | World Policy Institute.” World Policy Institute | World Views on Global Challenges. N.p., 15 Nov. 2012.

Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http://www. worldpolicy.org/blog/2012/11/15/ arctic-environment-portent-fu ture>. doCip. “Update N 83-84.”

Indigenous Peoples’ Centre for Documentation, Research and In formation. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http://www.docip.org/ gsdl/collect/upd_en/index/assoc/ HASH0107.dir/Upd8384eng_1. pdf>.

Ernerk, Peter. “Insights of a Hunter on Recent Climatic Variations in Nu navut.” Canada’s changing North.

Rev. ed. Montreal, Que.: Mc Gill-Queen’s University Press, 2003.

396-398. Print.

Ford, James , Tristan Pearce, Bar ry Smit, Johanna Wandel, Mishak Allurut, Kik Shappa, Harry Ittusu jurat, and Kevin Qrunnut. “Reduc ing Vulnerability to Climate Change in the Arctic: The Case of Nunavut,

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Canada.” Arctic Institute of North America 60.2 (2007): 150-166.

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Ford, James , Barry Smit, Johanna Wandel, Mishak Allurut, Kik Shappa , Harry Ittusarjuats, and Kevin Qrunnuts. “Climate change in the Arctic: current and future vulnerability in two Inuit commu nities in Canada.” The Geographical Journal 174.1 (2008): 45-62. Print.

Ford, James. “Vulnerability of Inuit Food Systems to Food Insecurity as a Consequence of Climate Change: A Case Study from Igloolik, Nun avut.” Regional Environmental Change 9.2 (2009): 83-100. Print.

Furgal, Christopher, and Jacinthe Seguin. “Climate Change, Health, and Vulnerability in Canadian Northern Aboriginal Communi ties.” Environmental Health Per spectives 114.12 (2006): 1964-1970.

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Hake, Tony. “NASA releases imagery comparing record low Arctic sea ice to average levels - National Climate Change | Examiner.com.”

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2012. Web. 5 Dec. 2012. <http:// www.examiner.com/article/na sa-releases-imagery-comparing-re cord-low-sea-ice-to-average-lev els>.

Hassi, Juhani. “Environmental Health Risks of the Arctic Assessed.”

Circumpolar Health Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http://www. google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&es rc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0C DoQF

0CDo QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fw ww. circumpolarhealthjournal. net%2“Climate change poses health threats in Arctic | Inuit Tuttarvingat.” National Aborig inal Health Organization (NAHO) | Advancing the Well-being of First Nations, Inuit & Metis. N.p., 8 Dec. 2011. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http:// www.naho.ca/inuit/2011/12/08/ climate-change-poses-healththreats-in-arctic/>.

Krupnik, Igor, and Dyanna Jolly. The earth is faster now: indigenous observations of Arctic environment change. Fairbanks, Alaska: Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, 2002. Print.

Marketwatch. “Climate Change, Food Security, Inuit Education and Arct icSovereignty, Top Issues at Arc ticNet’s Annual Scientific Meeting MarketWatch.” MarketWatch - Stock Market Quotes, Business News, Financial News. N.p., 20 Nov. 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http:// www.marketwatch.com/story/ climate-change-food-security-in uit-education-and-arctic-sovereign ty-top-issues-at-arcticnets-annu al-scientific-meeting-2012-11-20>.

Parsons, Anne . “Human Rights and Climate Change: Shifting the Burden to the State?.” Sustainable Development Law & Policy 9.2 (2009): 21-68. Print.

Payton, Laura. “UN official sparks debate over Canadian food security - Politics - CBC News.”

CBC.ca - Canadian News Sports Entertainment Kids Docs Radio TV. N.p., 16 May 2012. Web. 8 Dec. 2012. <http://www.cbc.ca/ news/politics/story/2012/05/16/ pol-un-canada-food-security.html>.

Power, Elaine. “Conceptualizing Food Security for Aboriginal People in Canada.” canadian journal of public health 99.2 (2008): 95-98. Print.

Schutter, Oliver de. “DisplayNews .”

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights / OHCHR Welcome page . N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2012. <http://www.ohchr.org/ en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews. aspx?NewsID=12159&LangID=E>.

Schutter, Olivier De. “Canada: national food strategy can eradicate hunger amidst plenty – UN rights expert.”

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N.p., 16 May 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. <http://www.srfood.org/images/sto ries/pdf/press_releases/20120516_ canada_en.pdf>.

Statham, Sara, and James Ford. “Fee ding the family during times of stress: Food security, climate change and globalization in the Canadian North | Climate Change Adapta tion Research Group.” Climate Change Adaptation Research Group. N.p., 27 Apr. 2012. Web. 7 Dec. 2012. <http://www.jamesford. ca/research/foodsecurity>.

Statham, Sarah, and James s Ford.

“Inuit Food Security: Vulnerability system to climatic extremes during winter 2010/2011 in Iqaluit, Nun avut | Climate of the traditional food

Field Notes 83

Change Adaptation Research Group.” Climate Change Adaptation Research Group. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2012. <http://www.jamesford. ca/research/traditional_foodsecu rity>.

Stephens, Pamela. “Applying Human Rights Norms to Climate Change: The Elusive Remedy.” Washington & Lee Law School Current Law Journal Content 21.1 (2010): 49-83.

Print.

Unikkaaqatigiit. “Canadian Inuit Per spectives on Climate Change (Unik kaaqatigiit).” Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.

N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <https://www.itk.ca/publication/ canadian-inuit-perspectives-cli mate-change-unikkaaqatigiit>.

Weber, Bob. “Canada to focus on development at Arctic Council; experts fear wrong approach | CTV News .” CTV News | Top Stories Breaking News - Top News Head lines. N.p., 3 Dec. 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http://www.ctvnews.ca/ sci-tech/canada-to-focus-on-devel opment-at-arctic-council-expertsfear-wrong-approach-1.1063161>.

Wein, Eleanor, and Milton Freeman.

“Frequency of Traditional Food Use

by Three Yukon First Nations Living in Four Communities.” Canada’s changing North. Rev. ed. Montreal, Que.: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003. 190-199. Print.

Wesche, Sonia, and Hing Man Chan.

“Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change on Food Security among Inuit in the Western Canadian Arctic.” EcoHealth 7 (2012): 361373. Print.

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Wonders, William C.. “Insights of a Hunter on Recent Climatic Vari ations in Nunavut.” Canada’s chang ing North. Rev. ed. Montreal, Que.: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003. 39-. Print.

Wonders, William C.. Canada’s chang ing North. Rev. ed. Montreal, Que.: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003. Print.

World Food Summit. “Rome Declara tion and Plan of Action.” FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, for a world without hunger. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2012. <http://www.fao.org/ docrep/003/w3613e/w3613e00. htm>.

Is Gentrification Occurring in Parc-Extension?

James Glasspool, Ben Forstate, Dalia Goldberg Farah Momen, â&#x20AC;¨Amanda Pileggi

ABSTRACT Parc-Extension is one of Montrealâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most dense and diverse neighbourhoods, and is facing rising rents and displacement according to local community groups. In order to examine whether these perceived changes are occurring, and indicative of gentrification, a neighbourhood analysis was conducted.

Upon reviewing the existing literature related to gentrification in Montreal, it was apparent that there was a lack of research on Parc-Extension, and a bias towards census data analysis. In line with most of the research, we conducted an anlaysis of census data based on indicators related to gentrification. However in contrast to the existing literature, a built environment inventory was developed to determine whether any changes in census indicators have resulted in changes to the built environment. In our anlaysis, we challenge a single view of gentrification, and suggest that multiple processes may be occurring in the neighbourhood. The findings and analysis presented in this paper are intended to serve as a basis for future research on gentrification in Parc-Extension, and as a basis for any policy.

Field Notes 85

T

he Parc-Extension neighbourhood lies on the north end of Parc Avenue and is bounded

by Canadian National rail lines to the south and east, a wire fence along Boulevard de L’Acadie to the west, and Autoroute Metropolitaine to the north.

In the past century, it has attracted immigrants from Italy, Greece, Eastern Europe, and more recently, countries in South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Sasha Dyck, a community leader, activist and politician, co-founded a community coalition in response to the many “challenges” that face the neighbourhood - one of the most prominent ones being Université de Montreal’s new campus in Outremont on the southern border of Parc-Extension, scheduled to open in 2017.

Given its history, the neighbourhood has come to be known as a landing pad with a “proud immigrant and working-class tradition” (Dyck, 2013).

However this longstanding neighbourhood identity is on the cusp of change as a result of perceived increases in rents and displacement (Dyck, 2013).

The sudden influx of students may alter the demographics, affordability, and culture of Parc-Extension that have historically been formed by diverse and typically lower-income groups. For these reasons, it is important to assess whether or not the campus will accelerate any processes of gentrification, such as rent increases and displacement, that may currently be underway in the neighbourhood.

In the 1985 paper Gentrification, Abandonment and Displacement: Connections, Causes, and Policy

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Responses in New York City, Peter Marcuse defines gentrification as the concentrated displacement of former residents of a neighbourhood with new residents. While former residents are disproportionately low-income, ethnic minorities and the elderly, new residents are disproportionately young, white, in technical or managerial professions, with higher education and higher income than the previous residents. According to Marcuse, gentrification is characterized by “economic, social, and population changes that cause physical changes to the neighborhoods” (Marcuse, 1985, 199).

As Marcuse stipulates, gentrification is largely a product of the changing economy of the inner city. This is characterized by a shift from the manufacturing to service economy that results in a decreased demand for blue collar workers close to downtown and an increased demand for professionals, which is reflected in the transition of the housing stock close to the central business district. In this regard, gentrification is a product of the increasing polarization of the post-industrial North American urban economy and landscape (Marcuse, 1985). Although Marcuse argues that the physical are not the essence of the process, other scholars note that improvements to the built environment, such as the rehabilitation of old buildings and construction of new buildings, are a key part of the gentrification process (Van Criekingen and Decroly, 2003; Helms, 2003). In addition, others stipulate that new businesses catered towards young urban professionals,

bohemians and artists, and other gentrifying groups are often a harbinger of gentrification (Zukin et al, 2009). The investments made by this new professional, educated, and often white class result in increased rents and home values, and in turn displacement (Marcuse, 1985). In the following paper, we will use a synthesis of various definitions of gentrification to examine the Parc-Extension neighbourhood.

Due to the issue of displacement, research on the early stages of gentrification is crucial to understanding – and on a policy level, preventing – some of the spatial consequences that, according to Marcuse, adversely affect lower-income communities.

We have selected this definition to analyze gentrification in Parc-Extension because of its focus on economic, social and population elements as key factors, with physical evidence being secondary. With this definition in mind, we have decided to examine Parc-Extension to determine what, if any, evidence of gentrification exists.

To address this, the following question will serve as the basis for our research: Is there physical and/or non-physical evidence of gentrification in Parc-Extension? In order to answer this question, we conducted an analysis using both qualitative and quantitative methods. First, an analysis of census data was preformed, based on census indicators obtained in the literature review, to understand any economic and social changes that may be occurring. Next, a survey of the built environment was conducted to understand whether any economic and social changes ident-

ified through interviews or census data have resulted in physical upgrades to the built environment, as Marcuse predicted.

Parc-Extension Profile History The development of Parc-Extension is historically tied to Quebec’s changing immigration flows. Before the 20th century, the land at the northern extreme of Parc Avenue was semi-rural and contained a few farms and homesteads. The modern neighbourhood began to take shape after the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was completed in 1881. The railway both opened up the surrounding land for more intensive development, and created the neighbourhood’s northern and eastern boundaries. Eventually, European immigrants recruited to build the CPR the railway settled in the area. These immigrants built their homes on narrow 60 by 25 ft. lots that were subdivided from the farms. Since that time, the neighbourhood has been shaped by continuous waves of immigration. At first, the neighbourhood’s suburban nature attracted Italians who joined the primarily British CPR workers. After World War II, Parc-Extension became a focal point for Montreal’s burgeoning Jewish population, but by the 1960s and 70s transitioned to a center for Greek immigration (Ross, 2013). Parc-Extension continued to diversify throughout the 1990s, during which time Montreal was transforming economically, “coming back after years of fray and decay. Once the eastern shipping hub of the country, it [had

Field Notes 87

again] reinvented itself ” (Brooke, 2000). Today, the neighbourhood remains diverse and densely populated (Ross 2013).

Université de Montréal Campus An abandoned Canadian Pacific rail yard currently exists at the northern end of the Outremont borough, immediately south of Parc Extension.

In 2005, the Université de Montréal announced its intentions to construct a new Life Sciences campus on the site, and in 2006 purchased it from Canadian Pacific (Hébert et. al., 2012). The site is currently in the soil decontamination phase, with the project scheduled to be completed by 2017.

Construction has been postponed on the site partially due to the controversy surrounding the project. Initially, only residents and municipal officials from Outremont were consulted

by UdeM and their consulting partner, Convercité, in relation to the project.

After protests from Parc-Extension community groups, they were also included in the consultations, along with other surrounding boroughs. The primary concerns of Parc-Extension residents were displacement of local businesses, rising rents, and that the design and configuration of the site would cut off Parc-Extension from potential economic benefit (Hébert et. al., 2012). The proposed campus includes what some residents call a “wall of buildings” (Barry, 2011), with access to Parc-Extension restricted to a pedestrian tunnel designed to facilitate metro access to Acadie station (appendix 1).

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Due to the controversy surrounding the new campus, and its potential links to gentrification, we took the project into consideration when developing our methodology section.

Literature Review: Gentrification in Montreal There is a variety of literature that discusses gentrification in Montreal; however, much of this focuses on select inner-city neighbourhoods, or the city as a whole. At the neighbourhood level, areas such as St. Henri, and Southwest Montreal more generally, have been the focus of much of the research (Scozzari, 2007; DeVerteuil, 2004; Twigge-Molecay, 2009). Scholars analysing gentrification and neighbourhood revitalisation in the Southwest have used a variety of methodologies, which are both quantitative and qualitative in nature. For instance, Scozzari (2007) examines the impacts of gentrification on the remaining original residents of St. Henri, by conducting a series of qualitative interviews. Although not a specific analysis of gentrification, DeVerteuil (2004) makes a visual account of the neighbourhood using photographs to document the simultaneous decline, stability and upgrading that is occurring. On the other hand, Twigge-Molecey (2009) takes a more quantitative approach, using census indicators developed by Walks and Maaranen to determine if gentrification is occurring in neighbourhoods around the McGill University Health

Centre hospital site. There is also a variety of literature discussing citywide processes, often using quantitative approaches (Van Criekingen and Decroly, 2003; Patterson, 2011; Walks and Maaranen, 2008). Much like the neighbourhood-level literature, many scholars use census data to determine where gentrification is occurring in the city, often including other municipalities in the analysis. For instance, Walks and Maaranen use six indicators, drawn from the Canadian census, to “detect the presence, timing, and forms of upgrading in Canadian cities.” (Walks and Maaranen, 2008, 10). These indicators include changes to social status, income, arts employment, housing tenure, monthly rents, and average home values (Walks and Maaranen, 2008). Unlike the majority of the literature, Van Criekingen and Decroly (2003) oppose a single view of gentrification and use four indicators of renewal to interpret the changing landscape of a neighbourhood, where “each of these neighbourhood renewal processes is relevant on its own”. These include gentrification, marginal gentrification, upgrading and incumbent upgrading, all of which result in upgrades to the built environment (2454).

In determining whether there is evidence of gentrification in Parc-Extension, this report will be filling in several gaps in the literature. First, considering that most neighbourhood level research focuses on specific inner-city boroughs such as the Southwest, this report will extend the study of gentrification in Montreal beyond its traditional boundaries.

Second, rather than using one methodology exclusively, as was the case in much of the literature, the use of two different quantitative methodologies will be used to provide a more comprehensive neighbourhood analysis.

Methodology Census Methodology An analysis of census data was performed using indicators developed

by Walks and Maaranen (2008) to better understand some of the economic and social processes occurring.

Although there is a wealth of literature that uses census data to identify gentrifying areas, Walks and Maaranen’s methodology was utilized in a similar paper by Twigge- Molecay (2009), which analyzed gentrification in relation to another large institutional site.

As such, the development of the new Université De Montreal informed our decision to extend the methodology to the study of Parc-Extension. The first indicator tracked changes in the neighborhood’s average personal income; analyzing average personal income as a ratio to average personal income in the Census Metropolitan Area where the census tract is located aggregated this statistic. If the difference between the two figures declines, then the neighborhood’s economic capital is increasing.

The second indicator examines changes in the neighborhood’s class/ social status. This statistic was calculated by compiling and then combining the location quotients (LQ) for residents with collegiate degrees and residents employed in managerial

Field Notes 89

and professional job categories from the Canadian census. The specific census categories used were: residents at least 20 years old with a collegiate degree, those employed in managerial occupations; those employed in business, finance, or administrative occupations; those employed in the natural or applied sciences, those employed in healthcare occupations; and those employed in social science, education, religious, or governmental occupations. If the LQ for a neighborhood increased year over year, this indicated that both the level of education and the concentration of those employed in higher income occupations was growing-- a sign of later stage gentrification.

The third indicator was calculated by generating an LQ for those employed in arts, culture, or recreation and sport occupations. If the LQ for those employed in artistic occupations increased, this was an indication of earlier stage gentrification. The fourth indicator was compiled by analyzing changes in the housing tenure. This statistic was found by looking at the percentage of housing in the neighborhood that was owner versus renter occupied. If the percentage of housing that was renter occupied decreased, this was a sign that the neighborhood was going through some sort of transition. The exact nature of this transition was quantified through calculating the fifth and sixth indicators. The fifth indicator looked at average monthly rents compared as a ratio to average rents in the CMA. The sixth examines average home values compared as a ratio to home values in the CMA.

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If the ratios in either category increased, this was a sign that the neighborhood’s economic status was increasing.

For our neighborhood analysis we decided it was necessary to make a number of changes to Walks and Maaranen’s methodology. First, while the authors looked at multiple neighborhoods across the CMA, we derived our data by re-aggregating the six separate census tracts that constitute Parc-Extension. The second change we made was reducing the number of years from which we compiled our data. While the authors looked at data from as far back as the 1960 census, we began our analysis with the data the 1996 census. We chose to begin with the 1996 census in order to give us enough data to chart trends and to take a closer look at the transformations that have occurred as a result of the Montreal CMA’s improving economy. Third, due to changes in Statistics Canada’s methods for calculating average personal income in the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS), we made the decision to calculate ratios for average median income rather than average personal income. While this means we will not see the full scope of income growth in Parc-Extension, using the median is still a reliable method for viewing change. Finally, because Walks and Maaranen aggregated far more data for their study, they were able to go much further in their statistical analysis. Specifically, we felt we didn’t have enough data to perform significance testing on the data we derived from Parc-Extension

Built Environment Inventory In order to assess whether there is evidence of gentrification in the built environment, an inventory was developed to collect data related to new private investments. This methodology is intended to compliment the non-physical evidence to determine whether information obtained through census data corresponds with evidence in the built environment.

The assessment tool is based on the Irvine-Minnesota Inventory, which is used for “collecting data on physical environment features that are potentially linked to physical activity” (Day et al, 2005, 1). The inventory uses segments as the unit of analysis, which are generally defined as a block face, including both sides of the street (Day et al, 2005). For each segment, the observer fills in the inventory based on a series of 178 questions and statements, with a variety of binary and categorical responses possible (Day et al, 2005).

For instance, one question reads “How many of these land uses are present on this segment? ”, some/a lot=3, few=2, none=0. The user would then answer this question for every segment in the study area (Day et al, 2005). In the case of the Minnesota-Irvine inventory, the questions relate to neighbourhood walkability, so for the purposes of this study, a new inventory was developed.

Although the Irvine-Minnesota inventory is not intended to be a measure of gentrification, it is an effective tool for examining physical evidence in the built environment, and can be easily augmented to address different topics.

Moreover, the lack of built-environ-

ment assessment tools for gentrification more specifically warranted the adaptation of another tool.

Before beginning the assessment, the sample size had to be limited in order to make the study feasible. As a result of the large size of Parc-Extension, and due to time constraints, the study area was limited to the southern part of the neighbourhood as defined by Rue Saint-Roche to the North, Boulevard de L’Acadie to the east, the Canadian Pacific Rail tracks to the South, and the rail tracks to the west. This area was selected for several reasons. First, previous scholarly research has examined the relationship between metro stations and gentrification in the city of Montreal (Patterson, 2011). Second, there is also literature that examines gentrification in relation to large institutional sites (Twigge-Molecey, 2009). Lastly, due to resource constraints, the sample size had to be limited. Therefore the southern sector of Parc-Extension was selected as the study area, as there are two metro stations present (Parc and Acadie), along with the future Université de Montréal campus planned for this part of the neighbourhood.

Once the study area was selected, certain smaller segments were combined due to their size, resulting in uneven segment sizes. Segment sizes should ideally be equal, since larger segments may have more observations by nature of their scale; however, the morphology of Parc-Extension made this impossible. As such, north-south segments between Jean-Talon and Saint-Roche were combined. In

Field Notes 91

addition, the east-west streets of Jean-Talon, Saint-Roche and Beaumont were split at Bloomfield. Instead of using a large number of questions, the new inventory uses only 4, all of which are related to new private investments. For each segment, it was determined whether there was evidence of any of the following forms of new commercial and residential private investment: major renovations to existing residential buildings, new infill residential development, major renovations to existing commercial buildings and new infill commercial development. For each of these categories, there is a possible categorical response of either none (0 signs), some (1-2 signs), or many (3-5 signs). The use of the terminology “some” and “many” is intended to be a relative measure, since the results were coded and aggregated. To develop a score, “none” was coded as 0, “some” as 1, and “many” as 2. Therefore for each segment, there is a total possible score of 8, with 0 being the least new private investment and 8 being the most new private investment. Ideally, there would be a different scoring system for residential and commercial investments respectively; however, many segments in the study are mixed use, and thus require a mixed scoring system. Furthermore, due to constraints, the concept of “new” had to be based on a value judgment, with “new” defined as having been built or renovated within approximately 5 years.

In addition, not all renovations were counted as new private investment, since existing moderate-income

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residents may improve the built environment through “incumbent upgrading” (Van Criekingen and Decroly, 2003, 2456). As such, “major” renovations are defined by the presence of a new façade, or major upgrades to a façade that has occurred within the previous five years. This highlights the importance of gauging the influx of new ‘gentrifying’ populations that are disproportionately young, white, in technical or managerial professions, with higher education and higher income (Marcuse, 1985).

Findings Census Findings Personal Income: In 1996, Median Personal Income After Tax in Parc-Extension was $10,316 and in Montreal was $19,232. By 2011, the MPI after tax in Parc-Ex was $16,010 and in Montreal was $25,806. Between 1996 and 2011, the MPI for Parc-Extension increased from 54% to 62% of the total MPI for Montreal. For instance, in 1996 the MPI in Parc-Extension was $8916 lower than Montreal, compared to $9796 in 2011. Across the 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011 censuses, the MPI in Parc-Extension has been on average 60% lower than Montreal (Appendix II).

Location Quotient (LQ) Social Class: The LQ Social Class has remained relatively static when comparing the 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011 censuses. Specifically, the proportion of professional and managerial labour force in Parc-Extension has been approximately .004% of the LQ Social

Class for Montreal in the last four censuses (Appendix III.).

Location Quotient (LQ) Arts Employment: The LQ Arts Employment has fluctuated over the last four censuses, with .287% in 1996, .491% in 2001, .374% in 2006 and .42% in 2011.

When comparing the average rate of change between theses four censuses, Parc-Extension has shown a rate of 61% compared to 49% in Montreal (Appendix IV).

Proportion of Housing Stock Rented: In a comparison of the 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011 censuses the proportion of rental stock in Parc-Extension has been relatively static at approximately 80% of total dwellings, whereas the Montreal proportion has decreased from 51.5% in 1996 to 45% in 2011 (Appendix V).

Average Monthly Rents: The Average Monthly Rent of Parc-Extension in proportion to Montreal was 87% in 1996, 86% in 2001, 90% in 2006 and 83% in 2011 (Appendix VI). The rate of change in Average Monthly Rent for Parc-Extension indicates a small change between 1996 and 2001, and a much higher change between 2001 and 2006, which continues between 2006 and 2011 (Appendix VII). This differs from the Montreal rate of change, which does not show a large change until 2006 and 2011. However, Average Monthly Rents in Parc-Extension increased 76% between 1996 and 2011, compared to the 72% increase for all of Montreal.

Average Dwelling Values: The Average Dwelling Values in Parc-Extension follow a similar increasing

trend to the ADV in Montreal over the last four censuses. The neighbourhood ADV in 1996 was $143 310, in 2001 was $147 964, in 2006 was $272 967 and in 2011 was $356 520. A much larger increase occurs between 2001 and 2006, which is also apparent in Montreal (Appendix VIII).

Built Environment Inventory Findings Overall, there is a modest level of new private investment in the study area (Appendix IX). Although the possible scale of new investment ranges from 0 to 8, there were no segments with a score higher than 3. However considering that most segments with higher scores were not mixed use, we can treat the scores as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;highâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, considering that the inventory was split between residential and commercial. There are certain segments that have comparatively higher levels of new private investment, notably Rue Hutchison and Rue Durocher between Avenue Beaumont and Rue Jean Talon, both in proximity to the metro. Across the study area, there are few examples of new private investment in the commercial sector, with most new investments coming in the form of either residential renovations or infill projects. The only notable commercial development is a new co-op coffee shop on Avenue du Parc between Rue Jean-Talon and Avenue Beaumont (owned by Sasha Dyck). For this reason, on the main commercial thoroughfares of Jean-Talon and SaintRoche, there are low levels of new private investment. The lack of new commercial investment also

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contributes to the overall low scores observed. Although there is an investment level of 2 on Saint Roche between Boulevard de Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Acadie and Avenue Bloomfield, this was due to the presence of new residential buildings.

Upon summing the total scores of both residential renovations and residential infills for each segment, it is apparent that there are similar levels of both types of investments. That said, major renovations to residential buildings are slightly more common than infill projects in the study area.

As discussed in the methodology section, the study area was selected due to its proximity to both Acadie and Parc metro stations, along with the future UniversitĂŠ de MontrĂŠal campus. Although Rue Hutchison and Rue Durocher between Beaumont and Jean-Talon have higher levels of new private investments and are closest to the metro station, the level of investment on these segments is still quite low. Moreover, the segments south of Beaumont close to the future Universite de Montreal campus have low levels of new investment. From our observations, it is evident that there are 3 main typologies of new private residential investments in the study area. First, the most common typology is the upgraded townhouse or multiplex, present on most streets with new investments (appendix X). Second, another common typology is the infill residential development, which comes in the form of small apartment buildings under 8 stories or multiplexes (appendix XI).

Lastly, there is one example of an industrial loft conversion at the corner

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of Rue Durocher and Avenue Oglivy, however this was very uncommon (appendix XII).

Analysis Although there is a perception that the neighbourhood is gentrifying, the analysis of census data revealed that for the most part, the character of Parc-Ex has not changed dramatically over the last seventeen years. As noted in the findings section, there has been negligible change in the social class LQ and the amount of housing that is rented in the neighborhood has remained steady at 80% (Appendix V). Although there are several indicators that suggest gentrification might be occurring, the changes are moderate. First, the rate of change in the LQ Arts employment category from 1996 to 2011 was 61% compared to a 49% increase for the entire Montreal CMA. This means that the amount of artists in the neighborhood is growing faster than the city and could indicate that the neighborhood is entering an earlier stage of gentrification, as Walks and Maarnen (2008) stipulate. This indicator also corroborates the comments made by community members who, during our interview process, perceived an increase in the arts community.

The next notable statistics are the rapid rises in average rents and dwelling values in the neighborhood. As stated, home values in the neighborhood increased by $125,003 between 2001 and 2006 compared to $102,210 increase in the Montreal CMA during the same period. Additionally, Parc-Extension saw a 76% increase in average rents between 1996 and 2011,

compared to 72% in the Montreal CMA. Although these trends mirror similar trends in the Montreal CMA, they could reflect both the city’s improving economic situation across the CMA and the beginnings of gentrification in Parc Extension . The changes to the census indicators were also echoed in our interview with Sasha Dyck, who mentioned that residents are increasingly asking for higher home prices and rent rental rates: It’s really the prices that people are not going to be able to pay… they’ve shot up dramatically, not only rent prices but the asking price for the buildings here are insanely high because people have a very overestimated value of their property, considering the work that needs to be done” (Dyck, 2013).

It is unclear whether the socio-economic changes identified through census data have manifested within the built environment. That being said, many of the new investments observed were relatively recent, and may be reflective of some of the incremental changes to certain 2011 census indicators mentioned above. The increase in rents and home values may be reflected in new residential investment that we observed on several segments. In addition, the presence of a new co-op coffee shop on Parc, which holds a performance space, suggests that there is a demand for artistic spaces. This may be reflective of the increase in the LQ for arts employment in Parc Extension.

Unfortunately, the modest increases in certain census indicators cannot necessarily be tied to these modest changes

in the built environment. However it is likely that the new investments observed contributed, on some level, to the rent and home value increases in the neighbourhood. That being said, the lack of change to the LQ for social class suggests that there is not a large influx of professionals, which is key to the gentrification process, as defined

by Marcuse. Data from the next census, in 2016, in conjunction with another built environment assessment, will be able to tell us more about the nature of the changes that are occurring the in the neighborhood.

When looking at the potential effects of the proposed Université de Montréal campus, there is no apparent relationship with new investments in the study area. This observation is reflected in the case of the new super-hospital in Saint Henri, where “the trajectories of neighbourhood change in the neighborhoods surrounding the proposed MUHC are not uniform.

Indeed, looking at neighbourhood change at the scale of census tracts reveals that within each neighbourhood there is a fair amount of heterogeneity” (Twigge-Molecay, 2009, xi). In the case of Parc-Extension, the variation and dispersal of the segment scores indicate a similar level of heterogeneity within the neighbourhood, suggesting the trajectory of the neighbourhood may not be uniform, much like in Saint Henri.

Although not included in the built environment assessment, elements of disinvestment such as empty storefronts, damage to walk-ups and stairs, and weathered facades were observed

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on many segments. This suggests that there may be different processes occurring in the study area that are not indicative of gentrification. Other literature has examined the heterogeneity of neighbourhood revitalisation in Montreal, which may help explain changes observed in Parc-Extension.

For instance, DeVerteuil observed “upgrading (through photography over time); simultaneous and proximal decline and revitalization; decline; and stability” in Saint Henri (2004, 76).

DeVerteuil’s observations suggest that there are multiple processes at work in neighbourhoods that are often categorised as ‘gentrifying’ areas in other literature.

This may be explained by the differential processes of investment, all of which result in changes to the built environment (Van Criekingen and Decroly, 2003). Of particular importance, marginal gentrification results from the movement of middle class households who are “richer in cultural capital than in economic capital” into new inner-city neighbourhoods (Van Criekingen and Decroly, 2003, 2454).

This is supported by the increase in LQ for Arts Employment in Parc-Extension, with only negligible changes to income levels. Moreover, Van Criekingen and Decroly (2003) note that marginal gentrification may occur when ‘modestly earning professionals’ find niches in inner-city neighbourhoods as owners of modestly priced units (2454). This may explain why there were new infill developments observed in the built environment, but no changes in the LQ for social class in

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Parc-Extension.

Also relevant, incumbent upgrading is defined as a process where, “reinvestment is primarily achieved by long-term residents, often moderate-income owner-occupiers who seek to improve their own housing conditions. Incumbent upgrading, therefore, implies very little (if any) population change” (2456). This may also help to explain the changes observed in the built environment that do not correspond with changes in census data.

During the key interview, Sasha Dyck discussed how the middle-class Greek community, perceived as long-term residences in the community,are most often landlords and leaders. As such, the new private investments in the form of major renovation to homes may also be an example of incumbent upgrading by the Greek community.

In sum, the physical and non-physical evidence present in Parc-Extension may reflect a series of processes such as marginal gentrification or incumbent upgrading, rather than gentrification as defined by Marcuse (1985).

Limitations Census data patterns were traced back to the 1996 census because we are focusing on more recent trends in the neighbourhood; retrospectively speaking, it may have been advantageous to go back further to understand if trends emerged differently in Parc-Extension due to its immigrant history. Further, the last census was in 2011, so there are possibly recent developments that are not reflected in census information but speak more accurately to the

neighbourhood today. Finally, it was difficult to link census data to built environment because of the different scales they used; while each scale had a purpose that made sense for their separate analyses, it was difficult to compare and combine such different types of findings. There were also limitations when designing the scale of built environment indicator. While we wanted to focus on the southern part of the neighbourhood due to its proximity to the impending campus expansion, it is difficult to assess spatial patterns when looking at such a small area. It would be advantageous to study a larger area to speak more widely to gentrification in the neighbourhood, but due to time constraints this was not possible; future research would benefit from a more expansive analysis of Parc-Extension.

gathering evidence that examines both physical and non-physical evidence of gentrification; this involved a key interview with community leader Sasha Dyck, census analysis and a built environment survey. Our findings suggest that residents perceive gentrification based on rising prices, which is echoed in some census indicators. The built environment component also indicated that there was a modest level of new private investment. However the modest nature of these changes indicates another process, such as incumbent upgrading, or marginal gentrification, is responsible for these changes. That being said, the nature of these processes suggests that the neighbourhood is changing, and may eventually be subject to gentrification.

Conclusion Parc-Extension has historically been, and continues to be, a landing pad for immigrants in Montreal.

Recently, there has been increasing attention paid to the neighbourhood; community groups and residents perceive changes in their community, and our research explores these changes in the context of gentrification. In our review of the existing literature, we found a gap in the research on gentrification in Montreal. There was no existing research that examined gentrification in Parc-Extension, and no research on gentrification in Montreal that combined different quantitative analyses. We developed our multi- faceted approach with the purpose of

Field Notes 97

Appendices

Appendix I- Source: UdeM

Appendix II: Median Personal Income After Tax. Source: Statistics Canada

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References Barry, M. C. (2011, February 08).

Local indifference could cut Park Ex off from University of Montreal campus. Parc-Extension News, pp.

1-3.

Brooke, J. (2000, May 06). Montreal journal; no longer fading, city booms back into its own. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes.com/2000/05/06/world/ montreal-journal-no-longer-fad ingcity-booms-back-into-itsown.html?src=pm Day, K., Boarnet, M., & Alfonzo, M. (2005). Irvine-Minnesota Inventory for observation of physical envi ronment features linked to physical activity: Codebook. Retrieved from https://webfiles.uci.edu/kday/pub lic/Final_Codebook.1.pdf DeVerteuil, G. (2004). The changing landscapes of Southwest Montreal: a visual account. The Canadian Geog rapher/Le Géographe canadien, 48(1), 76-82.

Dyck, S. (2013, November 12). Inter view by F Momen [].

Dyck, S. (2013, September 22). In terview by J Summers []. Sasha Dyck seeking election to city coun cil in Park Ex., Retrieved from http://thelinknewspaper.ca/arti cle/4610 Hébert, N., Gosselin, D., Mirkhani, S. S., & Goldberg, D. (2012). Analysis of a planning issue: New Université de Montréal campus in Outremont.

Unpublished manuscript, School of Architecture, Department of Civil Engineering and Applied

Mechanics, McGill University, Montreal, QC. Helms, A. C. (November 01, 2003).

Understanding gentrification: an empirical analysis of the determi nants of urban housing renovation.

Journal of Urban Economics, 54, 3, 474-498.

Marcuse, P. (1985). Gentrification, abandonment, and displacement: Connections, causes, and policy responses in New York City. Wash.

UJ Urb. & Contemp. L., 28, 195.

Meligrana, J., & Skaburskis, A. (Jan uary 01, 2005). Extent, location and profiles of continuing gentrification in Canadian metropolitan areas, 1981-2001. Urban Studies, 42,9, 1569-1592.

Patterson Z., & Grube-Cavers A. (2011). Metros and Gentrification in Montreal: A survival analysis ap proach. Retrieved from http://facul ty.concordia.ca/patterson/doc uments/patte rson_grube_cavers_ TRB2011.pdf Rose, D. (January 01, 2004). Discours es and Experiences of Social Mix in Gentrifying Neighbourhoods: a Montreal Case Study. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 13, 2, 278-316.

Rose, D. (2010). Local state policy and ‘new‐build gentrification’in Mon tréal: the role of the ‘population factor’in a fragmented governance context. Population, Space and Place, 16(5), 413-428 Ross, A. T. (2013) Housing for New Immigrants in Park Extension, Montreal Quebec: Current Condi tions and Alternative Future Ad

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aptations (Honours Thesis, Mount Allison University).

Scozzari, A. (2007). Understanding gentrification and its implications for a revitalized St. Henri (Doctoral dissertation, Concordia University).

Twigge-Molecey, A. (2009). Is gentri fication taking place in the neigh bourhoods surrounding the MUHC? Van Criekingen, M., & Decroly, J. M. (2003). Revisiting the diversity of gentrification: neighbourhood renewal processes in Brussels and Montreal.Urban Studies, 40(12), 2451-2468.

Walks, R. A., & Maaranen, R. (2008).

The Timing, Patterning, & Forms of Gentrification & Neighbourhood Upgrading in Montreal, Toronto, & Vancouver, 1961 to 2001. Centre for Urban and Community Stud ies, Cities Centre, University of Toronto.

Zukin, S., Trujillo, V., Frase, P., Jack son, D., Recuber, T., & Walker, A. (March 01, 2009). New Retail Capital and Neighborhood Change: Boutiques and Gentrification in New York City. City & Community, 8, 1, 47-64.

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The Contributors SAAMIAH ALI Saamiah Ali is a U3 student in the interfaculty SSS program. Ali’s primary research interests are in sustainability in developing countries in both urban and rural areas, urban planning for a sustainable future in agriculture and transport specifically, and rural ethnic groups and how they are affected by development.

UZMA AHMED Uzma is an Urban Systems major with minors in both Environment and Social Studies of Medicine. She is in the final semester of her undergraduate degree and enjoys how her three areas of study intersect to highlight how the natural and built environment impact humans, with respect to health. She finds that her multidisciplinary degree always keeps things interesting. Upon graduation Uzma hopes to work in the humanitarian field and eventually take up a Masters degree in the social determinants of health.

COURTNEY AYUKAWA Courtney Ayukawa is a U3 student in the Sustainability, Science, and Society interfaculty program at McGill University. She is active in campus politics and sits on the Students Society of McGill University (SSMU) Council, as well as the Environment committee of the Council. Since May 2013, Courtney has been coordinating The ECOLE Project, which will be launched in September 2014 as a model for sustainable living and a hub of the McGill/Montreal sustainability communities. Through working on ECOLE, Courtney has connected with the McGill Apicultural Association (MAA) at McGill’s Macdonald campus. She is also completing an independent study on living learning communities as a teaching/learning model for sustainability.

MAGGIE CASCADDEN Maggie Cascadden is a U3 honours student in the Sustainability, Science and Society interfaculty program at McGill University. She has been involved in a number of environmental groups on campus, including the David Suzuki Foundation @ McGill, CKUT’s Ecolibrium radio show and Greening McGill. She currently sits on the executive of The Plate Club, is VP Academic for the Student Association of Sustainability, Science and Society, and is the Green Expectations Chairwoman for the Kappa Phi chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi. In addition, Maggie has been working at the Montreal Biosphere since April 2013, and has taken computer modelling, GIS and statistics classes. She hopes to use these computer and communication skills to study and promote sustainability.

Field Notes 101

YOLANDA CLATWORTHY Yolanda Clatworthy is studying Political Science (Honours) and Canadian Studies (Major), degrees that reflect her dual focus on international issues and localized experiences. Her interests in indigenous governance, peace building, international law, and the intersection between climate change and human rights have taken her to 41 countries spanning six continents. When in Montreal, she is actively involved in campus life, including the McGill Office of Sustainability, the Canadian Studies Association of Undergraduate Students, and research with the Centre for Democratic Citizenship. In her spare time, Yolanda loves photography and mountaineering.

RIANNA DEPREZ Rianna Deprez is a U3 student in the Sustainability, Science and Society program with a minor in Economics. Her primary academic interests focus on energy and water resources. In the future, she plans to pursue a career path in business and hopes to promote sustainable practices within the private sector.

JAMIE GLASSPOOL Jamie is a U3 Geography (Urban Systems) and International Development student, with an academic interest in social geography, urban planning and architecture. An aspiring urban planner, Jamie’s recent research interests relate to gentrification, gated communities, affordable housing and post-industrial landscapes. In September 2014, he will be completing his McGill degree at the University of Manchester, where he plans to further peruse his research interests. Upon graduation, he plans on persuing a master’s degree in urban planning in the United Kingdom. During his free time, Jamie enjoys skiing, travelling, attending concerts and catching up with friends.

DALIA GOLDBERG Dalia is a U3 Geography student majoring in Urban Systems. She is interested in the history, architecture, and social ecosystems of global cities. McGill’s Urban Systems program gave her ample opportunities to explore Montreal, one of her favourite cities, where it seems like there is always more to discover. She also enjoys doing Urban Systems research and is particularly interested in active transport and the impact of neighbourhood walkability on urban life. In her spare time, Dalia enjoys world travel.

VICTOR LAM Victor Lam is in U3 Arts and Science, with a major in Sustainability, Science, and Society, and a minor in Philosophy. He is particularly interested in how sustainability is framed, and the intersections of religion and ecology, more specifically, why and how religious individuals and communities can adapt and contribute

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in response to ecological changes on Earth. Victor also enjoys spending time doing outdoor activities such as hiking and ultimate Frisbee. He loves cooking for his peers, learning about sustainable agriculture and gardening, and living in community.

MELODY LYNCH Melody is a U3 Joint Honours student in Geography and Environment, with a Minor in Economics. Her current research interests include livelihoods, resistance, and the socio-economic/political aspects of environmental issues, particularly in South and Southeast Asia. When not working on her thesis in Burnside, Melody can be found practicing yoga or sharing stories with friends over a warm cup of coffee.

CLARA PAYRÓ Clara Payró is a U2 student in the Sustainability, Science and Society (SSS) interfaculty program at McGill University, minoring in East Asian Language and Literature. She is the vice-president internal of the SSS student association for the 2013-2014 school year. She has worked for several NGO including “Ingénieurs du Monde” as a permanent delegate at the United Nations in Geneva. She also co-founded a student-run and fund-raising association “Students for Hope Geneva” that aims at engaging students in development issues such as sustainability ANDREA WYERS Andrea Wyers is a U3 student in the interfaculty SSS program. Wyers’ research interests are in development economics, climate change policy, and sustainable urban planning.

JANE ZHANG Jane Zhang is a U3 student in the interfaculty SSS program. Zhang is currently conducting an honours research extending this research study to examine environmental impacts of several vegetable crops. Her research interests focus on urban and community planning for sustainable, healthy, and equitable food systems.

Field Notes 103