2024
Workshop Title: Co-Learning and Co-Design for Urban Environmental Challenges
Date: March 22, 2024
Location: MN 5218
Workshop Title: Building a mathematical and statistical theoretical framework for urban eco-evolutionary processes.
Date: February 24-25, 2024
2023
Event Title: CVC Research Colloquium (co-hosted by CUE UTM)
Date: December 6, 2023
Time: 8:30am -5pm
Location: Instructional Building room 120 ( IB120)
2022
Workshop Title: Ecosystem Functions and Services of Urban Ponds in Southern Ontario
Organizer: Prof. Nicholas Mandrak
Date: September 29-30, 2022
Description : Stormwater management ponds have been used extensively in North America to manage runoff in urban areas by mitigating the effects of precipitation events to urban streams. Such ponds are now mandated in new residential developments in Ontario, with over 1,000 in operation in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) alone. In addition to their hydrological function, stormwater ponds may also have additional ecosystem functions (e.g. as novel ecosystems) and services (e.g. pollinator habitat, recreation). Managers of stormwater water ponds are challenged to maintain hydrological function, while considering ecosystem functions and services. However, there is currently insufficient information to make informed decisions that optimize these often seemingly antagonistic goals. Therefore, there is a need to undertake a review of the current state of stormwater pond research and management to identify knowledge gaps that can be addressed with subsequent research.
The objectives of this workshop are: 1) to facilitate communication and collaboration among urban pond managers and researchers; 2) to conduct a review of the current state of needs and knowledge related to the ecosystem functions and services of urban ponds; and, 3) using a knowledge co-production approach, identify knowledge gaps and develop a conceptual research framework for urban stormwater ponds.
Workshop: Building a Circular Economy for Fashion in Canada
Organizer: Dr. Taylor Brydges, Postdoc, Centre for Urban Environments
Date: March 2, 2022
Industry roundtable
Diana Dai: Diana is a recent graduate of the Master of Science in Sustainability Management Program at the University of Toronto Mississauga. While in the program, she was the Sustianable Fashion Intern at the Toronto Fashion Incubator. She is also one of the founders of Zero Waste UTM and organized the UTM Trashion Show.
Lesley Hampton: Lesley (she/her) is an Anishinaabe Artist and Fashion Designer focused on mental health awareness, body positivity, and authentic representation in fashion, film, and media. She is the Creative Director of LESLEY HAMPTON, an indigenous-owned, size inclusive clothing and accessory brand based in Toronto, Ontario.
Dr. Colleen Kaiser: Colleen is a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Smart Prosperity Institute in Ottawa where she in the areas of agile regulatory systems and low-carbon transportation, and has a keen interest in the circular economy. Colleen holds a PhD in Environmental Studies from York University and a MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics.
Marilyn McNeil-Morin: Marilyn is the Director of the George Brown Fashion Exchange, a vibrant hub where fashion education, design, production, entrepreneurship and engagement come together under one roof in the heart of downtown Toronto.
Warren Steven Scott: Warren is a contemporary accessory designer, fashion designer, tailor, and craftsperson. His label was formed in 2018. Born in 1988 in White Rock, B.C., Scott is a member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation, whose territory is located in the interior of present-day British Columbia.
Keynote Speaker- Dr. Claudia E. Henninger is a Senior Lecturer in Fashion Marketing Management and teaches a number of units at BSc and MSc level in the Department of Materials relating to fashion marketing, online marketing, consumer behaviour, and sustainability. Her research interest is in sustainability, the circular economy, and more specifically collaborative consumption, in the context of the fashion industry. Her work has been widely published in the European Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Fashion Marketing & Management, and the International Journal of Management Review, and she has edited a variety of books on sustainable fashion, including “Sustainability in Fashion – A Cradle to Upcycle Approach”.
2021
Our Planet, Our Health - Ecosystem approaches to forecasting zoonotic diseases
Date: Jan. 22, 2021
CUE Faculty Host: Prof. John Ratcliffe
Speaker: Prof. Kate Jones, Professor of Ecology and Biodiversity at University College London and Director of the Nature-Smart Centre in the Institute of Future Living
Seminar Abstract:Today we live longer and more prosperous lives than ever before, as a species we have made huge advances to create conditions for better health for billions of people, however this progress is taking a heavy toll on the planet's natural systems. I will explore the links and interdependencies between our health and the health of our planet with particular reference to understanding how rapid global environmental change impacts the emergence and spread of high impact infectious diseases like Ebola or Covid. I will discuss how recent advances in the resolution and coverage of remote-sensing satellite data and cutting-edge machine-learning algorithms open up the possibilities of developing global early warning systems to prevent and manage future epidemics.
2020
CUE Annual General Meeting
Date: Dec. 15, 2020
Location: Virtual meeting
Experiencing Nature and Happiness in Washington Square Park: A mixed-method study of the relationship of urban green space to well-being
Date: Feb. 26, 2020
Speaker: Dr. Megan Maurer, Columbia University
Poster
'Just' cities: Traffic-related air pollution and justice in the context of urban sustainability.
Date: Feb. 5, 2020
CUE Faculty Host: Prof. Matthew Adams
Speaker: Prof. Julian Marshall, University of Washington
2019
Thinking beyond the park: Landscape structure, land-use history and biodiversity shape urban ecosystem services
Date: Sept. 20, 2019
CUE Faculty Host: Prof. Marc Johnson
Speaker: Dr. Carly Ziter , Concordia University
Evolution in an Urbanizing World
Date: Aug. 22, 2019
Organizers: Anne Charmantier, Adrien Frantz, Julien Gasparini and Marc Johnson
Description: This symposium featured eight leading edge talks and 10 posters, examining how urbanization affects the evolution of species in the wild. It was an invited symposium as part of the Joint Congress of Evolutionary Biology in Montpellier.
UrbEnNet: Air pollution monitoring system
Date: June 27, 2019
Speaker: Prof. Matthew Adams (University of Toronto)
CUE Faculty Host: Prof. Marc Johnson
French American Climate Talks – Biodiversity
Date: June 20, 2019
Organizers: Stephen Wright, Asher Cutter with the French Embassy
Description: An affiliated event of the G20 in France, this panel discussion was a collaboration between the French embassy, the Faculty of Arts and Science at U of T, the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Centre for Urban Environments. CUE helped to organize the event and was a co-sponsor.
UrbEnNet: Laboratory Analysis System
Date: June 13, 2019
Speaker: Profs. Yuhong He (University of Toronto), Tim Duval (University of Toronto) and Myrna Simpson (University of Toronto)
CUE Faculty Host: Prof. Marc Johnson
UrbEnNet: The urban ecotron
Date: May 27, 2019
Speaker: Profs. Marc Cadotte (University of Toronto) and Kenneth Welch (University of Toronto)
CUE Faculty Host: Prof. Marc Johnson
Growing our Green Infrastructure
Date: May 24, 2019
Organizers: Prof. Tenley Conway and Ian Mell
Description: CUE co-sponsored and provided administrative support for this one-day symposium, which brought together academics, government, conservation organizations, city officials and industry to discuss and learn the best practice in green infrastructure that can contribute to more sustainable cities.
Overview of the UrbEnNet Project
Date: May 6, 2019
Speaker: Prof. Marc Johnson (University of Toronto)
CUE Faculty Host: Prof. Marc Johnson
Water Affordability in the United States: Paths into (and maybe out of) a crisis
Date: March 14, 2019
Speaker: Prof. Manny Teodoro (Texas A&M University)
CUE Faculty Host: Prof. Sara Hughes
Cities and the Environment: Challenges and opportunities
Date: Feb. 7, 2019
Speaker: Prof. Matti Siemiatycki (School of Cities, University of Toronto)
CUE Faculty Host: Prof. Marc Johnson
Ecological Modernization and Waste Management in China
Date: Jan. 17, 2019
Speaker: Prof. Amy Zhang (New York University)
CUE Faculty Host: Prof. Andrea Muehlebach
2018
Investigating Urban Ecology and Sustainability Through the Lens of Ecological Infrastructure
Date: Nov. 5, 2018
Presenter: Prof. Daniel Childers (Arizona State University)
CUE Faculty Host: Prof. Marc Johnson
2017
The past, present and future of our urban environment
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017
Organizers: Marc Johnson, Christoph Richter, M.J. Fortin
Description: This one-day symposium was the official launch of the Centre for Urban Environments. It included one keynote speaker (Mayor Bonnie Crombie), three plenary spears (Deputy Chief of the Mississauga of Credit, President Meric Gertler, Dr. Steward Pickett), seven short talks and two panel discussions. Speakers and attendees included academics, students, politicians, policy members, conservation organizations, private industry and members of the public.