GGR 381 H1F: Field Course in Environmental Geography COURSE SCHEDULE and READINGS | FALL 2016

GGR 381 H1F: Field Course in Environmental Geography COURSE SCHEDULE AND READINGS | FALL 2016

Course Schedule Overview Tues. Sept. 6 In-class Session Introductory Session and Field Trip and trip to High Park (9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.) Meet at Sid Smith, Room 5017A at 9:30 a.m. Following class, meet at the north gates of High Park at 1:30 p.m. The gates are at the intersection of Colborne Lodge Drive and Bloor St. West, near the High Park TTC Station. Wed. Sept. 7 Field Trip The Port Lands (8:45 a.m. – 4 p.m.) Meet at the Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Plant (9 Leslie St., south of Lakeshore Blvd. East) at 8:45 a.m. In the afternoon we will be visiting the Portlands Energy Centre (470 Unwin Ave.) Thu. Sept. 8 Field Trip Food in the City (8:15 a.m. – 4 p.m.) Meet at the Ontario Food Terminal (165 The Queensway, east of Park Lawn Rd.) at 8:15 a.m. In the afternoon we will be visiting Black Creek Community Farm (4929 Jane St.) Fri. Sept. 9 Field Trip Mines and Airports (7:15 a.m. – 4:30 Meet at the Huron St. entrance to Sid Smith Hall, p.m.) 100 St George St. at 7:15 a.m. We will be traveling by bus and leaving at 7:30 a.m. sharp. We will be visiting the Aberfoyle Sand and Gravel Pits in the morning and Pearson International Airport in the afternoon. Fri. Sept. 16 In-class Session Sid Smith, Room 2101 (12 – 2 p.m.) Fri. Sept. 23 Field Trip Green Roofs (12 – 3:30 p.m.) Meet at 12:00 p.m. outside the front entrance of City Hall, 100 Queen St. West. Following a tour of the Podium Green Roof we will be walking approximately 20 minutes to Ryerson for a tour of their (rooftop) Urban Farm. Fri. Sept. 30 Archives Trip City of Toronto Archives (12 – 1:30 p.m. Meet on the first floor of the archives (255 Spadina OR 1:30 – 3 p.m.) Rd., north of Dupont St.). Meeting schedule TBD based on group assignments. Fri. Oct. 7 In-class Session Sid Smith, Room 2101 (12 – 2 p.m.) Fri. Oct. 14 Field Trip Reflection (Submit to Blackboard) Paper Due Fri. Oct. 21 Field Trip Solid Waste (12:30 – 3:30 p.m.) Meet at 12:30 p.m. at the Disco Transfer Station, 120 Disco Rd. (Etobicoke). We will also be visiting the adjacent Organics Processing Facility.

Fri. Nov. 11 Group Progress (Submit to Blackboard) Report Due Fri. Nov. 18 In-class Session Sid Smith, Room 2101 (12 – 2 p.m.) Mon. Nov. 21 Group meetings with Sid Smith, Room 5048. Progress meeting schedule Bryan (30-minute TBD based on group assignments. slots between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.) Fri. Dec. 2 Group Project: Final (Submit to Blackboard) Report Due Between Final Exam Details TBA Dec. 9 and Dec. 20 N.B. (1) See notes below about appropriate clothing to wear. (2) Schedule subject to change, although any changes would be minor. Notification would be provided in advance.

Tuesday September 6, 2016: Introductory Session and trip to High Park 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Meeting Location Meet at Sid Smith, Room 5017A at 9:30 a.m. Following class, arrange your own transportation and meet at the north gates of High Park at 1:30 p.m. The gates are at the intersection of Colborne Lodge Drive and Bloor Street West, near the High Park TTC Station. NOTE: Please bring comfortable close-toed walking shoes, weather appropriate field clothes, sunscreen and water. You may also want to bring a litterless lunch and arrive at the park early to eat it.

High Park High Park is Toronto's largest public park featuring hiking trails, diverse vegetation, and a zoo. The park, over one-third of which remains in a natural state, is home to many species of wildlife, including birds, fish and animals. Recognized as one of the most significant natural sites within the city of Toronto, the park contains an outstanding concentration of rare plant species. For example, about 1/3 of the park’s natural environment consists of nationally rare oak savannah, an open, park- like landscape that contains widely spaced black oaks, scattered low shrubs and a rich variety of prairie grasses and wildflowers. Indigenous peoples very likely used the High Park area historically. Nearby, at the Humber River, a well-used trade route linked Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay, and another historic trail ran along the eastern side of Grenadier Pond. - Sources: www.highparktoronto.com | www.highparknature.org | City of Toronto

Assigned Readings Keil, Roger (2003). Urban Political Ecology. Urban Geography, 24(8): 723–738.

Bobiwash, Rodney (1997). The History of Native People in the Toronto Area: An Overview. In: Sanderson, F. and H. Bobiwash (eds.), The Meeting Place: Aboriginal Life in Toronto. Toronto: Native Canadian Centre, pp. 5-24.

Additional Materials Swyngedouw, Erik (1996). The city as a hybrid: On nature, society and cyborg urbanization. Capitalism Nature Socialism, 7(2): 65-80.*

*This article is optional for this class and required for the last. It is recommended that you read it (albeit briefly) in advance.

Heynen, Nik (2014). Urban political ecology I: The urban century. Progress in Human Geography, 38(4): 598–604.

Heynen, Nik (2015). Urban political ecology II: The Abolitionist Century. Progress in Human Geography, 1-7. DOI: 10.1177/0309132515617394

Redclift, Michael (2000). Envisaging the Frontier: Land Settlement and Life Chances in Upper Canada, In: Redclift, M. (Ed.) Sustainability: Life Chances and Livelihoods. New York: Routledge, pp. 106-120. Available online through Roberts. ______

Wednesday September 7, 2016: The Port Lands 8:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Meeting Location Meet at 8:45 a.m. at the Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant, 9 Leslie Street. NOTE: Please bring a water bottle, sunscreen, weather-appropriate field clothes, a hat, and hiking boots or other close-toed shoes. Please also bring a litterless lunch (and snacks if you’d like). Sandals or other open-toed shoes are not allowed. Everyone must wear arm and leg coverings (i.e. no dresses, skirts, etc.).

Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant Wastewater is the mixture of liquid and solid materials that residents and businesses flush down toilets and empty down sinks and drains every day. This material then travels through the city’s sanitary sewer system to one of four wastewater treatment plants. Ashbridges Bay is one of Canada's largest, and oldest wastewater treatment plants. It was built in 1910 and was formerly called the Main Treatment Plant. The facility is housed on 40.5 hectares (100 acres) and operates 24/7, with a capacity to process 818,000 cubic metres per day. - From the City of Toronto Website

Portlands Energy Centre (PEC) PEC provides up to 550 megawatts of power, which is about 25 percent of central Toronto's needs. This helps ensure that we have enough power to keep our lights, furnaces, air conditioners and computers running and meets our long term needs as

3 the city continues to grow. PEC is fuelled by natural gas, one of the most efficient and cleanest fuels for generating electricity. We operate primarily during peak demand periods and when there are constraints on the transmission system currently supplying Toronto. During operation PEC has a "high efficiency factor," meaning that it will maximize its production of electricity from every unit of fuel used. The station's high efficiency factor translates into lower fuel usage and, as a result, lowers emissions. PEC operates primarily during peak demand periods and when there are constraints on the transmission system currently supplying Toronto. - From www.portlandsenergycentre.com

Assigned Readings Prudham, Scott, Gunter Gad and Richard Anderson (2011). Networks of power: Toronto’s waterfront energy systems from 1840 to 1970. In: Laidley, Jennefer and Gene Desfor (eds.), Reshaping Toronto's Waterfront. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 175-200.

Swyngedouw, Erik, Maria Kaika and Esteban Castro (2002). Urban water: A political-ecology perspective. Built Environment, 28(2): 124-137.

Gorrie, Peter (2009). Renewable Ontario. Alternatives Journal, 35(1): 22-24.

Additional Materials Pharasi, S. and Kennedy, C.A. (2002). Reflections on the financial history of Toronto's urban water infrastructure. In Proceedings of the 30th Annual Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Conference, Montreal, 5-8 June 2002. Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, Montreal, Que. GE-062: 1-10.

Prudham, Scott (2004). Poisoning the well: neoliberalism and the contamination of municipal water in Walkerton, Ontario. Geoforum, 35(3): 343-359.

Trebilcock, Michael J and Hrab, Roy (2005). Electricity Restructuring In Ontario. The Energy Journal, 26(1): 123-146. ______

Thursday September 8, 2016: Food in the City 8:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Meeting Location Meet at the main entrance to the Ontario Food Terminal, 165 The Queensway, east of Park Lawn Rd. In the afternoon we will be travelling to Black Creek Community Farm, 4929 Jane Street. Entrance to the farm is just south of Steeles Avenue West, on the east side of Jane Street. NOTE: Part of the afternoon trip will involve helping the farm staff out with some of their work… Please bring a water bottle, sunscreen, a hat, weather-appropriate field clothes (including pants), snacks (if you’d like),

4 work/garden gloves (if you have them), and hiking boots (or other appropriate close-toed footwear).

Ontario Food Terminal Established in 1954, the Ontario Food Terminal is the “stock exchange” for fruits and vegetables, where prices are determined by supply and demand and can change daily. The Terminal supports local farmers, local fruit and vegetable stores, independent and chain supermarkets, retailers, restaurants, foodservice, caterers, farmers’ markets, farm gate markets, florists, garden centres, landscapers, convenience stores and institutions. The Ontario Food Terminal is the largest wholesale fruit and produce distribution centre in Canada, and the third largest in North America. The terminal distributes over 2 billion pounds of produce annually (an average 5.5 million pounds per day). The Terminal is not open to the public (wholesale only), but works with 5,000 Registered Buyers, 21 Warehouse tenants, 400 Farmers’ Market tenants and 50 Office Tenants. - From www.oftb.com

Black Creek Community Farm Black Creek Community Farm (BCCF) is a seven-acre site located on conservation land in Toronto. The farm is uniquely situated between a major urban centre (Jane & Finch) and a major university (York). The project is being led by Everdale, a farm- based charity with 15 years of experience growing food and providing hands-on, solution-based food and farming education to children, youth, and aspiring new farmers. Everdale is joined by a group of partners: FoodShare, Afri-Can Food Basket, and Fresh City Farms. These four organizations have come together to launch a community urban farm. The farm will be staffed and supported by community residents and the harvests of fresh, healthy food will feed the local community. The farm will also be an intergenerational place of learning and training where youth will reconnect to the story of their food, a new generation of urban farmers will be trained and the community will gather to celebrate. The farm’s first harvests were in 2013. - From www.everdale.org

Assigned Readings Heynen, Nik (2006). Justice of eating in the city: The political ecology of urban hunger. In Heynen, Nik, Maria Kaika & Erik Swyngedouw (eds.) In the nature of cities: Urban political ecology and the politics of urban metabolism. New York: Routledge. pp.129-142.

Lister, Nina-Marie (2007). Placing Food: Toronto’s Edible Landscape. In: J. Knechtel (Ed.). Food. Boston: MIT Press. pp.148-185.

MacRae, Rod, Joe Nasr, James Kuhns, Lauren Baker, Russ Christianson, Martin Danyluk, Abra Snider, Eric Gallant, Penny Kaill-Vinish, Marc Michalak, Janet Oswald, Sima Patel, and Gerda Wekerle (2012). Could Toronto provide 10% of its fresh vegetable requirements from within its own boundaries? Part II, Policy 5 supports and program design. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 2(2): 147-169.

Additional Materials Levkoe, Charles and Wakefield, Sarah (2011). The Community Food Centre: Creating Space for a Just, Sustainable and Healthy Food System. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development, 2(1): 249-268.

Watts, D. C. H., Ilbery, B. and Maye, D. (2005). Making reconnections in agro-food geography: alternative systems of food provision. Progress in Human Geography, 29(1): 22–40. ______

Friday September 9, 2016: Mines and Airports 7:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Meeting Location Meet at 7:15 a.m. at Sid Smith Hall, 100 St George Street, University of Toronto on the Huron Street side of the building. We will be travelling by bus and will be leaving at 7:30 a.m. sharp. NOTE: Please bring comfortable close-toed walking shoes, weather appropriate field clothes, water, sunscreen, a hat and a lunch. Slacks are recommended (i.e. no dresses, skirts or the like). (We will be visiting the Aberfoyle Sand and Gravel Pit in the morning and Pearson International Airport in the afternoon, returning by bus to Sid Smith Hall for approximately 4:30 p.m.)

Aberfoyle Sand & Gravel Pits Canada Building Materials (CBM) operates the Aberfoyle Complex, which has 9 licensed aggregate properties in the area. The complex is especially valuable because a wide variety of high-grade aggregate products can be produced there and are easily shipped to major southern Ontario markets. Established principally in Ontario, CBM is the building materials division of St. Marys Cement. With the head office in Toronto, the company has more than 450 Ready-Mix trucks operating out of 40 plants. The plants are located in areas from Hull, Quebec in the east, 475 miles to Windsor in the west, with emphasis on the most heavily populated areas of the province. St. Marys CBM, with twelve sand and gravel operations and quarries, is also a major aggregate producer, competing in the Southern Ontario market, which consumes over 140 million tonnes of aggregate annually. - From www.canadabuildingmaterials.com

Pearson International Airport From the Etobicoke Creek Trail to our honeybees, we take extensive steps to protect the natural resources and wildlife habitats surrounding the airport. Toronto Pearson is committed to ensuring all airport activities are carried out in an environmentally responsible manner, while also meeting the demands of a growing air travel industry. Additionally, Toronto Pearson aims to reduce the airport’s

6 impact on surrounding communities and environments, while operating in a safe, secure, and financially sustainable manner, in order to be a good neighbour. The goals of our Environmental Services team include: Mitigating environmental impacts of the airport and airline operations; Ensuring the environmental compliance of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority's (GTAA) operations and those of Toronto Pearson tenants; and Supporting the social licence to operate. - From www.torontopearson.com/environment

Assigned Readings Patano, Sandra and Sandberg, L. Anders (2005). Winning back more than words? Power, discourse and quarrying on the Niagara Escarpment. The Canadian Geographer, 49(1): 25-41.

May, Murray (2006). Aviation meets ecology—redesigning policy and practice for air transport and tourism. Transport Engineering in Australia, 10(2): 117-128.

Additional Materials Macdonald, Sara and Roger Keil (2012). The Ontario Greenbelt: Shifting the Scales of the Sustainability Fix? The Professional Geographer, 64(1): 125-145.

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (2010). State of the Aggregate Resource in Ontario Study: Consolidated Report. Available at: https://www.ontario.ca/page/aggregate-resources-study

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (2016). Aggregate Resources. Available at: https://www.ontario.ca/page/aggregate-resources ______

Friday September 16, 2016: In-class Session 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. | Sid Smith Hall, Room 2101

Assigned Reading Gandy, Matthew (2005). Cyborg Urbanization: Complexity and Monstrosity in the Contemporary City. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 29(1): 26- 49. ______

Friday September 23, 2016: Green Roofs 12:00 to 3:30 p.m.

Meeting Location Meet at 12:00 p.m. outside the front entrance of City Hall, 100 Queen Street West. Following a tour of the Podium Green Roof at City Hall, we will be walking approximately 20 minutes to Ryerson for a tour of their (rooftop) Urban Farm.

NOTE: Please bring a water bottle, sunscreen, weather-appropriate field clothes, a hat, and comfortable walking shoes.

About Green Roofs In May 2009, the City of Toronto introduced a by-law that mandated green roofs be established on new industrial, commercial and residential buildings that are six stories high or more. Some felt that this was an innovative and progressive move on the part of City Council, while others felt that the legislation did not go far enough. Green roofs have many environmental benefits, from reducing storm water runoff and creating natural habitats to sequestering carbon dioxide, though they also add costs to building owners due to the structural requirements that need to be met in establishing these roofs. - See www.toronto.ca/greenroofs

City Hall's Podium Green Roof From concrete to living garden, the Toronto City Hall podium roof, where visiting dignitaries were once welcomed at the “front door” of the Council Chambers, has been reopened as a public green roof garden. Approximately 3,250 m2 (35,000 square feet) of concrete on the podium roof has been transformed into living vegetation to reduce the building’s environmental impact and for residents and visitors to enjoy all year around. - From the City’s Podium Green Roof page

Ryerson Urban Farm In the middle of the biggest city in Canada, the Ryerson Urban Farm (formerly Rye’s HomeGrown) is entering year four of operations. A student-run initiative to grow fresh food on campus, the [rooftop] farm provided 8,000 lbs of fresh, organic, local produce to campus kitchens, the Ryerson Farmer’s Market, and agencies like the Community Food Room in 2015. It has also helped foster a deeper understanding of urban agriculture issues in the broader community: more than 1,000 people have visited the farm through tours, workshops and volunteer events in the last four years. - From: Sloan 2016, A Green-roof Oasis - See also https://ryersonurbanfarm.wordpress.com/

Assigned Readings Lewington, Jennifer (2009). Council approves stringent green-roof rules. The Global and Mail, 27 May 2009. Available at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/council-approves-stringent- green-roof-rules/article1154619/

Allen, Kate (2013). Reducing Urban Heat Island effect in Toronto a matter of social justice, experts say. Toronto Star, 17 August 2013. Available at: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/08/17/reducing_urban_heat_island_e ffect_in_toronto_a_matter_of_social_justice_activists_say.html

McClintock, Nathan (2014). Radical, reformist, and garden-variety neoliberal: coming to terms with urban agriculture’s contradictions. Local Environment, 19(2): 147–171.

Additional Materials Mees, Heleen L.P., Peter P.J. Driessen, Hens A.C. Runhaar and Jennifer Stamatelos (2013). Who governs climate adaptation? Getting green roofs for stormwater retention off the ground. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 56(6): 802–825.

Friday September 30 – Archives Trip 12 – 1:30 p.m. OR 1:30 – 3 p.m. (Meeting schedule to be determined based on group assignments.) Meet on the first floor of the City of Toronto Archives (255 Spadina Rd., north of Dupont St.). See Group Research Project document for more info.

Friday October 7, 2016: In-class Session 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. | Sid Smith Hall, Room 2101

Assigned Readings Cronon, William (1995). The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature. In Cronon, William (ed.), Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. pp. 69-90. Available at: http://www.williamcronon.net/writing/Trouble_with_Wilderness_Main.html

Smith, Neil (2006). Forward. In Heynen, Nik, Maria Kaika & Erik Swyngedouw (eds.) In the nature of cities: Urban political ecology and the politics of urban metabolism. New York: Routledge. pp. xi-xv.

Friday October 14 – Field Trip Reflection Paper Due (Submit to Blackboard)

Friday October 21, 2016: Solid Waste 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Meeting Location Meet at 12:30 p.m. at the Disco Transfer Station, 120 Disco Rd. (Etobicoke). We will be starting at the transfer station and then proceeding to the adjacent Organics Processing Facility. NOTE: Sandals or other open-toed shoes are not allowed. Everyone must wear arm and leg coverings (i.e. no dresses, skirts, etc.).

About Solid Waste Management in Toronto The City of Toronto’s Solid Waste Management division operates 7 Transfer Stations, which have drop-off depots used to collect, sort and transfer all the city's waste. In July of this year, City Council approved a Long Term Waste Strategy. This strategy will guide waste management in Toronto for the next 30-50 years, which includes prioritizing the reduction of waste and minimizing the amount sent to landfill. This is important, as Toronto has faced ongoing challenges over the last few decades in terms of finding places to send its solid waste, as landfills have reached capacity and various jurisdictions and communities have resisted hosting new landfills. Since 2010, the city’s waste has been shipped to the Green Lane landfill near London, Ontario.

Disco Transfer Station and Disco Organics Processing Facility The Disco Transfer Station processes garbage, yard waste, Blue Bin items, household hazardous waste and electronic waste. Construction of the adjacent Organics Processing Facility began in 2011 and, as of early 2014, the facility was operating at full capacity, processing approximately 75,000 tonnes of organic (green bin) waste per year. - See the City of Toronto’s Recycling, Organics and Garbage web page

Assigned Readings Flynn, Greg (2011). Court Decisions, NIMBY Claims, and the Siting of Unwanted Facilities: Policy Frames and the Impact of Judicialization in Locating a Landfill for Toronto's Solid Waste. Canadian Public Policy, 37(3): 381-393.

Keil, Roger and Boudreau, Julie-Anne (2006). Metropolitics and metabolics: rolling out environmentalism in Toronto. In Heynen, Nik, Maria Kaika & Erik Swyngedouw (eds.) In the nature of cities: Urban political ecology and the politics of urban metabolism. New York: Routledge. pp.41-62.

Additional Materials Hartmann, Franz (2002). Citizens can prevail: a personal perspective on how public mobilization defeated the proposal to ship Toronto's waste to an abandoned mine in northern Ontario. Alternatives Journal, 28(3): 11-14.

Friday November 11 – Group Progress Report Due (Submit to Blackboard)

Friday November 18, 2016: In-class Session 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. | Sid Smith Hall, Room 2101

Assigned Reading Swyngedouw, Erik (1996). The city as a hybrid: On nature, society and cyborg urbanization. Capitalism Nature Socialism, 7(2): 65-80.

Monday November 21 – Group meetings with Bryan 30-minute slots between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. (Progress meeting schedule to be determined based on group assignments.) Meet at Sid Smith, Room 5048. See Group Research Project document for more info.

Friday December 2 – Group Project: Final Report Due (Submit to Blackboard)