Highlights from a TCAT report released in 2010 comparing the performance of active transportation in Toronto against other cities in Canada, the United States and Europe using key indicators as benchmarks. This paper will be presented at the Walk 21 Conference in Vancouver, BC on October 4, 2011 and published in their proceedings.
On May 24, 2011, Clean Air Partnership (CAP) and Toronto Public Health (TPH) jointly organized and hosted a Climate Change Adaptation and Health Equity workshop in order to initiate a broader discussion and subsequent action toward climate change adaptation and health equity. The workshop results will be of use to municipalities, NGO’s and other sectors who work with vulnerable populations.
The Climate Change Adaptation and Health Equity Background Report explores information on climate change adaptation and health equity to ensure that Toronto’s adaptation efforts do not further widen the health inequality gap. This report focuses primarily on research that is relevant to a first-world, urban city.
Prepared For: Healthy Public Policy Team, Toronto Public Health
OVERVIEW The 2010 Urban Heat Island Summit aims to provide a forum for knowledge exchange between local decision-makers (municipal public health, planning, water and engineering staff), heat researchers (academic, government and NGO), and industry group representatives (manufacturers, construction) in order to stimulate and share best practices and innovative policy approaches to mitigating and adapting to extreme heat. This one day event will focus on urban heat island reduction, with particular focus given to how these mitigation responses might be put into place in Canadian communities. The summit seeks to build on existing urban heat island mitigation and adaptation practice and research in order to facilitate the reduction of the UHI effect in Southern Ontario to protect health, improve energy efficiency, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and increase climate change resiliency. Approximately 100 participants are expected.
RATIONALE
Climate change is expected to raise temperatures in Canada 5–10°C by 2090, relative to 1975 temperatures. This increase will compound the urban heat island effect and exponentially increase heat stress on both infrastructure and people in urban areas (Meteorological Service of Canada, 2008). In terms of human health, Toronto Public Health projects that heat-related mortality in the Greater Toronto Area will triple by 2080 from 120 to 360 deaths per year (Pengelly et al., 2005). Climate change is also expected to increase ground-level ozone concentrations, and when taking account of air pollution levels on days of the year with extreme heat, the average daily mortality is projected to be twice as high as for comfortable days (McKeown, 2005). Urban heat island mitigation strategies change the heat balance of a city and decision makers want to understand how to implement them to effectively protect human health.
SUMMIT ORGANIZER
Clean Air Partnership (CAP) is a registered charity that promotes and coordinates actions to improve local air quality and reduce greenhouse gases for healthy communities. Our applied research on municipal policies strives to broaden public policy debate on air pollution and climate change issues. Our social marketing programs focus on energy conservation activities that motivate individuals, government, schools, utilities, businesses and communities to take action to clean the air.
In May 2002, Clean Air Partnership, Toronto Public Health, and the Toronto Atmospheric Fund hosted the first North American Urban Heat Island Summit, with the financial support of the Government of Canada’s Climate Change Action Fund. The Summit brought together municipal leaders, policy makers and researchers from across Canada and the U.S. to discuss best practices, policy developments, and the latest science on heat island adaptation and mitigation measures.
Building on this, Clean Air Partnership released numerous publications and reports, including; A Scan of Municipal Heat/Health Watch Warning Systems and Hot Weather Response Plans (2007), Time to Tackle Toronto’s Warming (2007) and Protecting Canadians from Extreme Heat Events: Urban Heat Island Mitigation in Canadian Communities (2009).
Clean Air Partnership
75 Elizabeth Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 1P4
