No. 3: Slump
Skating helps the slump. Retrofit poverty. Last push: Green and Just recovery for Toronto City Budget.
Hello groovy groundhogs,
I missed you! While my general intention is to send this out every two weeks, I am trying not to beat myself up for the occasional newsletter showing up in your inboxes after three weeks. Time doesn’t really make sense anymore.
More than usual, I felt quite low-energy and in a bit of a slump over the last few weeks. A few years ago, I was astounded by a coworker taking a week off in February (didn’t we just come back from the winter holidays?!). But alas, as a grad student, I’m on reading week this week, and my god did I need it.
For this edition, I wanted to share some of the work I’ve been doing recently (in my professional life and in my attempts to formulate a Masters’ research project and proposal). Before I dive into it, I wanted to share something fun we did this weekend -- skating on High Park’s Grenadier Pond!
I hope you too are finding ways to enjoy the endless winter. Spring feels somehow close but also miles away. Here are some of the things that have brought me joy or reminded me of our collective resilience:
“A reminder that *we will grow revolutionary love*” (Posted by Ausma Malik)
Video: Go slow in the Year of the Ox (Tanya Lok)
Anjali’s revolutionary social change mirror glaze cake on CBC’s Great Canadian Baking Show Episode 1: Cake Week!
HOUSING & CLIMATE JUSTICE
either or both or taxing the rich
Like this newsletter, my Master’s research (in Critical Human Geography) is supposed to lie at the intersection of housing and climate issues in Toronto -- but what does that actually look like? How do I choose a project?
Some of my current slump is attributed to the existential dread (half joking) I feel when thinking about my draft research project and proposal.
I had written out a project outline in the fall for a grant application (still waiting on it). A few weeks ago, my supervisor suggested I go through this Design Thinking Bootleg to conceptualize what I actually wanted to learn and achieve, whose side I was on, and how this research was connected to addressing community needs. “By learning ______, I will help ________”.
At this point (although this shifts a little each day), I’m most intrigued by addressing repair issues at the same time we implement energy efficiency measures. Other than the obvious “we don’t have enough money!” criticism, what stops us from doing this? Anecdotally, I know there are significant deferred maintenance issues (pests, leaks, mold, etc.) in Toronto’s aging housing stock.
The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute published this report on “Warm, cool and energy affordable housing policy solutions for low-income renters” last year. Similarly, Australian researchers looked at “Retrofit Poverty: Socioeconomic Spatial Disparities in Retrofit Subsidies Uptake” aka do low-income people take up market-based energy efficiency certificate programs? (tl;dr no).
Let me know if you’ve seen any examples where this approach of repairs and retrofits is done simultaneously. It could look like existing building retrofit strategies that incorporate repairs in other cities (Toronto is supposed to launch theirs this Spring and I’ll analyze it through an equity lens when it comes out).
As I continue mulling over possibilities, here are some upcoming housing events that may be of interest:
Police, Housing, and the Environment: Panel Discussion - Environmental Equity Week 2021 (Victoria College at University of Toronto)
Student Workers Will Not Pay for the Housing Crisis! (Coalition of unions)
Social Purpose Real Estate Training Modules (School of Cities)
TORONTO
life, activism, politics
I will shut up about the City Budget after this newsletter. However, I did want to share (for those who don’t have me on LinkedIn), I recently started as a part-time Climate Projects Specialist at Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA). One of my first projects was to work on this petition.
In our last hoorah before Toronto City Council votes tomorrow (Thursday), TEA is advocating for climate action and green and just recovery funding in the 2021 City Budget.
I urge you to send a message to the Mayor and your local City Councillor to get back on track with meeting Toronto's climate emergency commitments. Each year, residents try to shift the budget and occasionally win incremental gains. It’s frustrating to feel like the City presents a near final version; are community voices even being heard so late in the process?
Regardless, this year, Mayor Tory and City Council has doubled down on the financial limitations due to the pandemic. One crisis does not overwrite another.
And… for anyone still keen on budget things, the Federal budget consultations are underway -- another opportunity to provide your input. So much of Toronto’s inaction is blamed on insufficient funding from higher levels of government. Thinking of scale, a Federal green and just recovery plan could be substantial (although as many of you know, I don’t have too much faith in our current government to not be climate hypocrites).
That’s all for now!
xoxo, cheers, and solidarity,
Diana