Medias

The city of Toronto was hit on Tuesday by torrential rains that caused major flooding; discussion with Sophie L. Van Neste, INRS professor and Canada Research Chair in Urban Climate Action. Radio Canada, Première Heure

2023 was the hottest summer in 2000 years. Sophie Van Neste talks to Radio-Canada about the increase in extreme heat in cities and the adaptation solutions to be put in place.

Carpentier, J. Entrevue avec Sophie Van Neste : été le plus chaud en 2000 ans, Radio-Canada, Panorama

Ménard, I. 15 mai 2024. 2023 : Été le plus chaud en 2000 ans. Radio-Canada, Dans la Mosaïque

Publication of the book, Transitions socioécologiques et milieux de vie. Entre expérimentation, politisation et institutionnalisation, edited by Sophie L. Van Neste, Patrice Melé and Corinne Larrue.

In the face of the climate crisis, the social-ecological transition is unfolding in the form of citizen initiatives that seek to transform living environments and are organized around practices in various fields of action, notably in zero waste, greening, modes of living or energy production. The politicization of these actions is varied and non-linear: some advocate a profound transformation of the world, while others claim a place for citizen experimentation that avoids conflict. This book, which explores the links between public and collective actions, as well as the effects of citizen action on existing policies, will be of interest to researchers and activists, as well as to those involved in accompanying transitions and planners. It focuses on everyday environmentalism, where citizens are prefiguring other ways of living, as well as on the sustainability of these experiments.

Download the book (in French)

Sophie L. Van Neste, Hélène Madénian, Émilie Houde-Tremblay and Geneviève Cloutier publish the article, Resilient climate urbanism and the politics of experimentation for adaptation, in the journal Urban Geograpyhy.

Livings Labs, as experimental learning spaces, can transform and improve climate urbanism, as well as reinforce negative trends, such as exacerbating inequalities and focusing on technical solutions. What is the situation in Montreal?

This article reports on Labo Climat Montréal’s action-research on adaptation to climate change, its advances, limitations and blind spots to be explored in greater depth. The article discusses Montreal’s advances in heavy rainfall adaptation and greening in the Lachine-Est sector, but also notes the lack of attention to social, equity and heat adaptation issues. The study also shows the value of understanding the subjectivities of the practitioners involved and the fields of political struggles where adaptation lands.

Van Neste, S. L., Madénian, H., Houde-Tremblay, É., & Cloutier, G. (2024). Resilient climate urbanism and the politics of experimentation for adaptation. Urban Geography, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2024.2336852

On May 24, a webinar will be held to launch the Cities, Climate and Inequalities Collection of reseach summary. During this event, you will have the chance to explore the key themes covered in the Collection, along with three presentations by contributors summarizing their research featured in the Collection. The audience will be able to share their perspectives and ask questions to the different contributors involved in the project.

During the webinar, Sophie L. Van Neste, professor at INRS and Canada Research Chair in Urban Climate Action, will present the Cities, Climate and Inequalities Collection. Three speakers will then present their research syntheses:

• Reciprocal Training: An Instrument of Epistemic Justice in Grassroot Campaigns for a Just Energy Transition, by Laurence Brière, Professor of environmental education at UQAM.
• Presence & Power: The Illusion of Indigenous Inclusion in Climate Adaptation Plans in Canada, by Janna Wale, Policy Advisor, Indigenous Research, Canadian Climate Institute
• Exploring equity and justice content in Vancouver’s environmental plans, by Andréanne Doyon, Professor at the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University.

A discussion between the three speakers and webinar participants will then be moderated by Hélène Madénian, postdoctoral fellow at INRS, Labo Équité Climat.

This webinar is a bilingual French-English event, with simultaneous translation.

Please confirm your attendance by completing this form before May 23, 2024.

INRS professors Sophie L. Van Neste and Xavier Leloup of INRS are looking for a student to join the Master’s program in Urban Studies and the Labo Équité Climat research team, working on equity in climate change adaptation. His involvement will focus on the impacts of anticipated decarbonization measures (energy efficiency) and housing adaptation to extreme heat, from a perspective of equity and protection of the rights of the most vulnerable tenants. Analysis of the experience and implications of housing committees and community organizations.

Profile required
Bachelor’s degree in social sciences (anthropology, sociology, political science), geography or environmental sciences.
Interest in the intersection of climate issues with housing and equity.
Interest in community action
Good writing skills, ability to read in English.

Financial support
Specialization scholarship: $10,000 / year for 2 years, with summer salary for the summer of 2025 ($5,000).

Access to an office and computer as needed. Team integration and support from a postdoctoral fellow and supervising professors.

Information and application form on the INRS website

Questions about the project: Xavier Leloup (xavier.leloup@inrs.ca) and Sophie L. Van Neste (sophiel.vanneste@inrs.ca)

Hélène Madénian will present the work of the Canada Research Chair in Urban Climate Action at the Third Rendez-vous de lutte contre la précarité énergétique, as part of the Collective Conversation: links between heat waves, climate change and energy poverty. At BANQ, February 8, 2024.

This research focused on understanding how climate governance has evolved in Montreal in the context of the development and implementation of the city’s new climate plan, published in 2020. More specifically, it identified the actors who stand out, the discourses they carry for climate action and equity, as well as the tools and instruments on which actors base their expectations to achieve a carbon-neutral and resilient city by 2050.

See information about the thesis defense

The book “Le Québec en mouvements, continuité et renouvellement des pratiques militantes”, edited by Pascale Dufour, Laurence Bherer and Geneviève Pagé, was launched at the N’était-ce pas l’été bookshop. It is the result of a collective effort by professors and doctoral students at CAPED, the Collectif Action politique en démocratie. Le Québec en mouvements follows on from a first edition published by Lux Éditeur in 2008 (ed. Francis Dupuis-Déri), which aimed to put social movements back at the heart of Quebec politics. Fifteen years on, what is the current state of these social movements? How have they changed?

A podcast episode presents the book.

Zaïnab El Guerrab writes the chapter: Transnational struggles against extractivism in Montreal: portrait of a nebula
Sophie L. Van Neste, Zaïnab El Guerrab, René Audet Hélène Madénian signs the chapter: Mobilizations and practices for “climate justice”: Social and urban struggles.

This thesis studies the energy transitions that took place in Montreal from 1945 to 1980. Through the study of wood and coal yards, gas stations, oil refineries, electricity demand forecasts and district heating, it demonstrates the profound consequences of energy transitions on energy infrastructure, the urban environment and energy-intensive lifestyles. It concludes that the urban energy transitions studied have led to an intensification and externalization of urban metabolisms, as energy production and transformation are amplified and now take place outside the city. These material and spatial modifications are leading to changes in energy consumption practices and the social expectations that frame them.

See information about the thesis defense

Clarence Hatton-Proulx wins the Prix Louise-Dandurand 2023

Sophie L. Van Neste takes part in Adaptation Futures to discuss transformational adaptation and equity in adaptation.

More information about the conference

On September 26, Zaïnab El Guerrab successfully defended her doctoral thesis in Urban Studies at INRS. Her thesis focuses on the involvement of migrants in transnational struggles against extractivism in Montreal.

Her thesis bears witness to intersecting narratives of engagement and migration that nourish Montreal and its sites of political engagement, redefining the anti-extractivism movement through political subjectivities rooted in the lived experience, here and elsewhere, of the violence of extractivism, of borders, but also of transformations sustained by politicized anchors in the city.

Members of the Canada Research Chair in Urban Climate Action have collaborated on the writing and design of this brand new toolbox on urban community greenhouses, intended to help practitioners and decision-makers set up such infrastructures. Find out more on the Communauserre website.

“This toolbox explores the political and technical issues to be considered when planning an urban community greenhouse.

You’ll find highlights, fact sheets on the energy efficiency of greenhouse envelopes, the potential of geothermal energy, rainwater and leachate management and a GHG calculator. You’ll also find case studies of the Jardins Gamelin, Bâtiment 7, Santropol Roulant, Jardins des Patriotes and Emily-de-Witt community greenhouses, followed by an exploration of the issues of green gentrification, financing, partnerships and inclusion with regard to the multiple missions that greenhouses can fulfill.

Consult the detailed bibliography, report methodology and GHG calculator on this website.

Please note that the toolkit will be translated into English by the end of summer 2023.”

This week, Le Devoir talks to Sophie L. Van Neste about the amplification of inequalities that could be created by the rise of the sustainable and ecological city. While the potential repercussions are very real, Van Neste points out that projects and means do exist to address this risk: “For example, the City of Montreal’s territorial equity index, local concertation approaches to ensure that investments meet local needs and aspirations, and the Labo Équité Climat, which aims to develop tools with stakeholders to reduce these inequities, a project with Ouranos, Nathan McClintock, Olivier Riffon, Geneviève Cloutier, Marie Fall, Stephane Guimont Marceau, Iona Radu and Marie-Ève Drouin-Gagné and the Laboratory for Open Innovation (LLio).”

Read the full article here.

*Credit photo of Le Devoir article, by Francis Vachon

In partnership with Ouranos, the Canada Research Chair in Urban Climate Action will host a workshop on May 23 during the Metropolitan Agora. The workshop aims to propose concrete ways to make the Metropolitan Planning and Development Plan (MPDP) the leader and implementer of a common vision of adaptation and resilience at the metropolitan level. It also aims to identify concrete leverages for implementation. All the details here.

ORGANIZING MEMBERS

• Sophie L. Van Neste, Professor in Urban Studies, INRS, Canada Research Chair in Urban Climate Action
• Nathalie Bleau, scientific coordinator – adaptation of living environments, Ouranos
• Hélène Madénian, doctoral student in urban studies at INRS, Urbanisation Culture Société center

PANELISTS

• Mélanie McDonald, Executive Director of Chemins de transition
• Catherine P. Perras, urban planner and land use and urban planning advisor, Vivre en Ville
• Nicholas Borne, City Councillor, Laval-les-Îles
• Lucile Ruiz, ZéN (zero net emissions) community manager, Common Front for the Energy Transition

Members of the Chair participate in the 90th ACFAS conference and the 2nd annual Montreal Climate Summit

The INRS research team led by Nathan McClintock and Jasmin Raymond is presenting the research results of the CommunityGreenhouse project. The Chair’s team is participating in this project: more information here.

The morning will include presentations on the social aspects (such as social inclusion, the risks of eco-subsidization and the importance of networks for the realization of greenhouse projects and their financing) and on the technical aspects (such as water and greenhouse gas management, energy efficiency and geothermal heating potential) of urban community greenhouses. A toolkit, providing a popularized synthesis of the results for citizens and decision makers, will also be unveiled.

When: Thursday, April 13, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Where: 2156 Saint-Catherine East (Metro Papineau)

Open to all!

Free of charge. Please register: https://bit.ly/3KvfB8E

As part of the AAG-Node Montreal, the Canada Research Chair in Urban Climate Action is co-organizing with the Canada Research Chair in Housing, Community and Health a day of conferences entitled Climate, Care and the Housing Crisis.

Thursday, March 23rd 2023
Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS)
Centre Urbanisation Culture Société
385 Sherbrooke est, corner of St-Denis, Sherbrooke metro, rooms 1106 and 2109
Free registration

This meeting in Montreal is part of a larger AAG program that aims to reduce the environmental impact of this major geographers’ conference by providing local opportunities for participation. Two other conference days are taking place in Montreal, at the University of Montreal and at Concordia University: program available here.

March 23rd program at INRS:

9:30 – 10:15 (EST) Coffee and welcome

10:30 – 11:50 (EST) Climate, Care and the Housing Crisis 1
Sessions Organizer(s): Sophie L. Van Neste, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), Anne-Marie D’Amours, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), Mylene Riva, McGill University
Mylene Riva, McGill University, Exploring the Spatial Distribution of Energy Poverty in Canada
Fabien Meslet, Arènes UMR, Education to energy saving to reduce fuel poverty in a French city (Nantes): types of instruments, modes of reception by target public and progressive bypassing by implementers in favor of a logic of social emancipation
Laurianne Debanne, McGill University, To heat or not to heat: Findings from a community-based study on energy poverty in the Town of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
Renaud Hourcade, CNRS, How may citizen organizations help poor consumers deal with high energy bills? Analysis of two grassroots initiatives against fuel poverty in London and Barcelona

12:30 – 13:40 (EST) Climate, Care and the Housing Crisis 2
Xavier Leloup, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), The “fight” against insalubrity in Montréal: how actors are assembling a moral urban policy through technical rapport?
Myriam Proulx, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), Energy empowerment for whom? Structural inequality in access to community geothermal energy for social and cooperative housing
Julien Simard, Université de Montréal (UdeM), Direct displacement of ageing homeowners and tenants in Quebec due to climate change : a prospective approach
Montserrat Emperador Badimon, Lyon 2, « Neither thirst, nor cold, nor darkness ». Mobilizing against energetic poverty amidst the housing crisis in Catalonia

14:50 – 16:10 (EST) Climate, Care and the Housing Crisis 3
Alexandra Lesnikowski, Concordia University, A national study of housing security and flood risk exposure in Canada
Zach Carriere, Concordia University, Determining flood risk exposure for social housing in Canada
Anne-Marie D’Amours, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), Climate change, austerity policies and community engagement caring for the most vulnerable in a warming city
Sophie Kingunza Makasi, McGill University, Energy poverty: understanding its impact on hospitalization among Canadian adults aged 40 and older

How is it possible to address the impacts of climate change at the city level without creating or reinforcing inequitable dynamics? In order to share answers to this question, the World Regions Cities Network and the Canada Research Chair in Urban Climate Action are launching the first “Directory of Research in Quebec: Cities, Climate and Inequalities”. 

The Directory aims to gather, mobilize and disseminate recent research on the relationship between inequalities, climate action and socio-ecological transition in cities of different sizes and in various regions and contexts of the province. The syntheses produced focus on actions and approaches taken to adapt to the impacts of climate change and reduce our carbon footprint, in order to reduce the extent of future climate disruption and the factors of vulnerability to these hazards.

For this first phase, 15 syntheses written by researchers and students from across Quebec were reviewed by a scientific committee and published on the VRM Network website. A variety of sub-themes are addressed: adaptation, vulnerability, inequalities, socio-ecological transition, citizen and community initiatives, policy, governance as well as action research and participatory approaches. Click here to learn more about the background of the project. (LINK TO BE MODIFIED)

A second phase will be launched in the spring of 2023 to expand the call across Canada. The objective will also be to cover more components of inequalities to be considered in climate action and social-ecological transition initiatives, including contributions that adopt feminist, anti-racist and indigenous knowledge and experience perspectives. 

About the World Cities Regions Network (VRM)

The VRM network brings together more than one hundred researchers and students in the field of urban studies in Quebec. The Network invests in the field of urban development and planning, ensures the dissemination of research and urban innovations carried out in Quebec and trains students and new researchers within the network and promotes their professional integration. 

About the Canada Research Chair in Urban Climate Action

The Canada Research Chair in Urban Climate Action analyzes and contributes to the various forms of collective action in the face of climate change in urban regions, through comparative research and partnerships rooted in the community. The Chair carries out several projects and collaborations through four research axes that are at the heart of its mission: urban infrastructure in transition, climate justice, the transformation of suburban living environments and the emotions of climate action.

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Contact

For all media inquiries, please contact the Chair’s professor, Sophie L. Van Neste (sophiel.vanneste@inrs.ca) 

With the Celsius group, the Chair participated on December 13th in the public consultation on the “Roadmap towards zero emission buildings in Montreal by 2040“, organized by the City of Montreal. The group welcomes the City’s ambition and emphasizes the importance of broadening the objectives beyond direct GHG reduction to include adaptation, equity, support for citizen action and the fight against energy insecurity.

The Celsius group proposes the establishment of local structures for collective action and an interdepartmental body to link this process to Transition en Commun. Click here to consult the group’s report, which was presented to the consultation.

Context of the report

This report is presented by a group of organizations and citizens who have been working together for several years on the adaptation of existing residential housing to support the socio-ecological transition in Montreal.

This group includes:

• Coop Celsius, a non-profit solidarity cooperative that relies on citizen action to build unifying energy transition projects while developing greener, fairer and more prosperous living environments.
• Solon, a non-profit organization that accompanies Montreal neighbourhoods in the transition.
• Coop Carbone, a non-profit solidarity cooperative that supports the development of collaborative GHG reduction projects in Quebec.
• The Canada Research Chair in Urban Climate Action, which aims to analyze and contribute to different forms of collective action in the face of climate change in urban areas, through comparative research and partnerships rooted in the community.

These actors are at the heart of the “Lab Celsius”, a partnership that has been in place for over a year and that also includes the BTER, PME Mtl and the Fonds Climat du Grand Montréal, with the objective of (1) establishing a common vision on the transition of existing residential buildings in Montreal and (2) identifying the barriers and levers that will allow this vision to be implemented

“What are citizen initiatives in suburban and peri-urban areas in Quebec about? What funding supports them? What can we learn from them? This report presents the results of a first database on citizen and non-profit organisations initiatives in suburban and peri-urban areas of Montreal and Quebec City in 2020-2022. The objectives are to give visibility to citizen actions in the suburbs, and to better understand the targeted themes and funding sources.”

“The results are as follows. Two themes clearly stand out as more important in terms of the number of initiatives: that of the protection of natural environments and biodiversity (87 initiatives, for 47% of the total) and that of the socio-ecological transition (34 initiatives, for 18% of the total). These are also the two most important themes of the unincorporated citizen groups, which also mobilize on food systems, while other issues are less present, such as mobility and the built environment. Very few of the initiatives listed link their actions to issues of inequality, social or environmental equity (16%).

The Chair’s new report, “Citizens’ Initiatives on the Environment and the Socio-Ecological Transition in Suburban and Peri-urban Settings” was co-authored by Agathe Parent Corriveau, Éric Bégin, Hélène Madénian and Sophie L. Van Neste. The document demonstrates the dynamism of citizen initiatives in the suburbs and the importance of the theme of protecting natural environments and biodiversity.

Read the full report here.

On December 1 and 2 of 2022, Ouranos held a symposium to share the state of knowledge in the field of climate change, from climate science to measuring the effectiveness of adaptation measures to promote their application at the national and regional levels. In total, the event brought together more than 400 scientists, civil servants, representatives of the private sector and NGOs, elected officials and decision-makers.

Among them, Sophie L. Van Neste took part in the panel “Towards adaptation without inequality”.

“Climate issues are of course intertwined with other issues that affect society. This complex environment must give rise to community resilience, which inevitably requires adaptation solutions that we want to be as fair as possible. The living laboratory approach seems to be well suited to deal with wicked problems such as adaptation to climate change, which involves several stakeholders from different backgrounds. This session will be a preparatory phase for a living lab approach on adaptation solutions and potential inequalities. As curious spectators, we will attend a working session between the lab’s ideator and panelists, who will in turn challenge each other with their ideas in order to improve the project under development, but also to evolve our thoughts on fair climate change adaptation.”

The Labo Climat also shared the results of its research, presented in a poster available here in high definition, which was created by Hélène Madénian and Alexis Guillemard.

How do environmentalist movements influence social protest? Sophie L. Van Neste will address this question in a SSHRC-funded project on the intersection of ecological struggles with student, union and territorial defence struggles. Pascale Dufour is the main investigator on this project which will take place over the next five years.

“This research project aims to understand the dynamics produced by the appropriation of ecological struggles by other social movements defined by other causes. The aim is to see how social protest is recomposed, understood as extra-institutional political action, taking place at the meso level of social groups and the micro level of the people involved. To better understand how environmentalist struggles are appropriated and modify or not other social struggles in Northern countries, we propose a comparative approach (Canada, France and the Netherlands), sensitive to the different scales of action (global, national, regional/provincial and local) in three sectors: post-secondary education, trade unionism, and the environment.
education, trade unionism and territorial defence.

Secondary objectives are:
1- To analyze the transformations brought about by the introduction of environmentalist struggles to the trade union, student and territorial defense movements, at different scales;
2- To analyze what the integration of environmentalist struggles does to the individual commitment on the relational and emotional level.”
3- Characterize the political structuring of the environmental/productivist divide in social protest in three countries and contribute theoretically to the theory of the divide from a social movement perspective.”

“Transition en commun” is launched! After several months of preparation and collective mobilization, the initiative was officially launched yesterday. Transition en commun is a citizen’s alliance for transition with which the City of Montreal is associated, and which aims to put in place the conditions to propel a just socio-ecological transition in Montreal’s neighbourhoods, by supporting citizen engagement, the establishment of commons and city-civil society collaborations. Sophie L. Van Neste, chair holder of the Canada Research Chair in Urban Climate Action, is proud to co-chair the Knowledge Committee of Transition in Common with Nancy Neamtan.