301A: Doing what needs to be done: Centering climate justice in planning

September 21, 2022

2:45PM - 3:15PM

As planners, we hold a responsibility to consider not just future generations, but also how past harms can be addressed and the most vulnerable in our communities can be protected and supported in the context of climate change. The issue of environmental justice is one that is being worked on across a range of sectors. To that end, an interdisciplinary approach to research, collaboration, and communications is needed as we work to build towards a climate-resilient future. The importance of applying a justice-oriented approach is critical considering the colonial planning context in Canada, systemic oppression of Indigenous communities, and disproportionate levels of vulnerability in Indigenous communities and for people with disabilities, racialized communities, and low-income communities as a result of historic and ongoing environmental injustices.

This session will:

• Highlight the current context of discussions around environmental justice;
• Discuss recent events that have exposed the high disparities in vulnerability in urban and rural communities;
• Draw from recent national and international reports on how planning can make a difference;
• Showcase how localized, downscaled data can be accessed, interpreted, and utilized in conjunction with socio-economic and other data, to visualize issues of vulnerability and guide the design of interventions and planning including related to communications and engagement, to directly address climate risks, centring vulnerable populations and those with the most exposure to climate hazards; and
• Highlight potential gaps in data and how these can be identified and filled through collaborative approaches to planning and engagement.

The approach will integrate opportunities for polling audience interaction and participation (using Mentimeter or other tools), applying a storytelling approach, sharing tools, and helping participants build their understanding of how to take an evidence-based approach to integrating climate justice into their community planning practice. 
 

Speakers