Greening Parks and Playgrounds for Children in Windsor, Ontario

Written by Kim Perrotta

Background

Ever since it conducted a heat study that showed its playgrounds were often not cool enough to use in the summer, the City of Windsor in Ontario has been greening its parks and playgrounds to make them healthier and more inviting for children and their caretakers. 

It all started in 2012, when Karina Richters, Supervisor of Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change for the City of Windsor and the mother of a young child herself noticed that it was often too hot to enjoy Windsor’s playgrounds in the summer months.  

Her experience was affirmed by staff at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit who believe that the high temperatures at playgrounds can be dangerous for children and discourage children from getting the physical activity needed to maintain good health.  Public health staff also expressed concerns about the UV exposure that children can experience at playgrounds because it may increase their risk of skin cancer later in life.  

Looking to address hot temperatures in Windsor’s playgrounds, Karina sought support from Health Canada staff, who provided technical advice and a small amount of funding so Windsor could hire a student for three summers to conduct a “thermal comfort study” in the city’s parks and downtown core. 

The study, conducted in collaboration with the Parks Department, was directed at playgrounds in six of the 202 parks in Windsor – two neighbourhood parks, two community parks, and two regional parks. It found that parks with more vegetation and shade coverage are much cooler, water features attract more park users, and certain materials, such as asphalt, can drive up surface temperatures on hot, sunny summer days. 

Policy changes and Interventions

The findings of the thermal comfort study motivated the city to take action. 

Since conducting the thermal comfort study in 2012, the City has:

  • Installed shade structures at 14 parks
  • Provided shaded seating at five parks
  • Installed splash pads at four parks
  • Installed four water bottle filling stations at three parks
  • And planted trees at all 27 new playgrounds.

The Parks Department also established policies that require the City to locate and design new playgrounds with a consideration for shade provided by mature trees and existing vegetation in the park.  These policies have been integrated into the 20-year Parks and Outdoor Recreation Master Plan that the City will implement until 2035. This Plan specifically mandates shade targets for all parks:

“Determine shade targets through Forestry and Environmental Services as a follow-up to the Shade Audit for all parks in the Parks Greenway System as well as rights-of-ways in order to provide healthy shaded access throughout the city and help offset the impact of climate change.”

It also includes a recommendation for splash pads with the recognition that these amenities are needed to adapt to climate change and address “the intensity of heat that Windsor experiences in the summer months”. The new Master Plan also includes equity-based language to ensure that neighbourhoods with greater needs are well serviced by parks and playgrounds

There have been some unexpected spin-off benefits associated with Windsor’s work on playgrounds.  The Canadian Safety Association (CSA) has added an appendix to its Playground Equipment and Surfacing Guidelines that addresses heat and shade informed by the findings and experience in Windsor. These are guidelines that can be used by communities across the country.

Toronto Introduces Equity Lens to Cycling Infrastructure

Written by Kim Perrotta

The Challenge

Historical practices have resulted in the inequitable delivery of services to some areas of Toronto. The unequal burden of COVID-19 among residents revealed the economic, racial, health and social disparities that exist in some neighbourhoods. 

But even before the pandemic, the City recognized the need to transform many of its systems, including how transportation projects are planned and implemented, to address those inequities. This applies to cycling infrastructure as well as other modes of transportation.  

“Historically, there has been much more investment in on-street cycling infrastructure in the downtown core of Toronto, than in the suburbs. This has meant that a number of lower income neighbourhoods in the City’s suburbs have not been well served by cycling investments,” offered Katie Wittmann, Project Lead, Capital Projects and Program, Transportation Services. “In 2019, we developed a Cycling Network Plan that applied an equity lens for the first time to give greater priority to underserved neighbourhoods in the city. A similar equity-based approach is being applied to other modes of transportation as well.”  

The Process

The equity lens applied to the 2019 Cycling Network Plan was grounded in the Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs) that were identified by the City in 2014. Toronto’s 140 neighbourhoods were scored using 15 indicators of neighbourhood inequity with statistics related to issues such as income levels, education, the walkability of neighbourhoods, voter turnout, and health risks such as diabetes. The results were used to score neighbourhoods on a Neighbourhood Equity Index. Neighbourhoods that passed a certain threshold were identified as NIAs that would receive additional staff support and funding to address inequities. The 2019 Cycling Network Plan added NIAs to the prioritization process for future cycling investments.  

The 2021 Cycling Network Plan Update, which was approved by City Council in December 2021, applies an expanded equity-based approach.  This time, staff combined a neighbourhood analysis of cycling infrastructure with a neighbourhood analysis of equity to create a Neighbourhood Cycling and Equity Map that combines both ratings and their overlap to prioritize investments. The 2021 Cycling Network Plan Update also shares analyses of other equity-related variables, such as crowded transit routes and areas that need more parkland, which are also considered in the expanded prioritization process. 

“We engaged with some advocacy, academic, and community groups on the revised approach but were limited in our ability to consult because of the pandemic,” noted Katie. “There was overall support for the updated analyses and approach, but we would like to do more consultation on the broader transportation programming process in the coming years, in addition to the project-specific consultations that already take place for each cycling route.” 

The Outcome

The installation of cycling infrastructure over the last three years has been unprecedented in Toronto’s history. From 2019 to 2021, 65 km of new bikeways were installed and 47 km of existing cycling routes were upgraded or enhanced. This work has accelerated progress towards the City’s goal of making cycling infrastructure accessible (i.e. within 250 to 500 metres) to all of the City’s population and jobs. The percentage of people and jobs that have access to cycling infrastructure has increased from 62.8% to 67.1% over the last three years. This means that about 180,000 more people are living or working within close proximity of a cycling route today than in 2018.   

“We have also seen some concrete improvements in underserved neighbourhoods over the last few years. For example, many cycling routes have been installed in Thorncliffe Park & Flemingdon Park (#55 and #44 on the map) and near York University and Downsview (#27 and #26 on the map), and there are more routes in these and other NIAs planned for the near-term” said Katie. 

The 2021 Cycling Network Plan identifies the need to increase the cycling budget to enhance public consultations, hire more staff to support design, consultation and delivery of cycling infrastructure, and for an increase in the capital budget from $16 million per year to $20 million per year.

“Since 2016, we have not increased the cycling budget to meet our equity goals; we have simply re-allocated existing funds for those goals,” explained Katie. “However, the pandemic brought a huge demand for cycling infrastructure from residents and Councillors alike which resulted in increased spending in 2020 to meet that demand, and we don’t see that demand changing in the future.”

All photos courtesy of Kanchan Maharaj.

Planting Trees to Attenuate Heat Waves in Montreal

Written by Kim Perrotta

Goals

A new project is aiming to turn down the temperature in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Montreal.  Vert le Nord aims to green urban spaces to reduce the urban heat island effect and improve the quality of life and work in the north end of Montreal.

Inspired by the ILEAU campaign run by the Montreal Regional Environmental Council (CRE-Montreal), this project is led by the non-profit organization, Ville en vert, in collaboration with the non-profit organization, VertCité. The Vert le Nord project is directed at neighborhoods in Montreal that rate high both as urban heat islands and for social deprivation.

“One of our goals is to create green, cool spaces in neighbourhoods that can experience extreme heat because they have too few trees, too little shade, and too much pavement, that are also home to socially disadvantaged populations,” offered Clementine Mosdale, Project Manager for Vert le Nord. “These populations can be more sensitive to extreme heat because social disadvantages – such as low incomes and poor working conditions – can put these populations at greater risk for negative health outcomes.  These populations can also be more vulnerable to extreme heat because they are less likely to have access to air conditioning, cool parks or swimming pools that offer relief from high temperatures.”

“We also want to raise awareness about environmental issues in the City and the actions that people can take to address them,” noted Tiphanie Lebeaupin, the Communications Officer for both Vert le Nord and Ville en vert. “With the Vert le Nord project, we particularly want to increase public awareness about both, the negative health impacts that can result from extreme heat, and the health benefits that can be provided by trees.”

Process

The project is funded for three years (2020-2022) by the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ), which put out an open call for proposals from organizations to “combat” the urban heat island effects in Montreal. This funding is part of Quebec’s 2013-20 Climate Change Action Plan.

Vert le Nord is focused on, and supported by, three administrative boroughs – Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Saint-Laurent, and Villeray—Saint-Michel—Parc-Extension. These are high-density boroughs that are characterized by heat islands.

“We want to work with municipalities, schools, residents and some local businesses to identify the projects that can green their neighbourhoods while meeting other needs they have identified for themselves,” explains Clémentine.“We want to find synergies with them; see if we can meet more than one need at a time. For example, green places that create social spaces where people can meet and interact, while also reducing the urban heat island effect and the hazards it presents.” 

“We really work to educate and mobilize the community. We want to engage them in the decisions that affect their neighbourhoods and in the planting of trees,” noted Tiphanie.

Outcomes

The project began in 2020. While constrained by the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project team was still able to accomplish a great deal. That first year was spent contacting local residents and organizations, identifying potential locations for projects, and convening meetings with partners to discuss project ideas.

There was more “on the ground” work in the second year. The Vert le Nord team completed 10 projects in 2021: one with a non-profit organization, one with an early childhood center, two with businesses, four green alley projects with the municipality, and two that involved planting trees on private property. In 2021, Vert le Nord removed 51 square metres of pavement and supported the planting of 40 trees and 316 shrubs and perennial plants.

“We are eager to do work on school properties because children are particularly sensitive to heat and school yards often have a lot of pavement, very few trees, and little shade,” noted Clémentine. “We were unable to complete any school projects in 2021 but plan to do so in 2022.”

Learn More

To find out more about the project, visit the vertlenord.ca website, or watch their videos:

Photos courtesy of Vert le Nord.

Increasing Vegetation to Improve Health in Low-Income Neighbourhoods in Montreal

Written by Kim Perrotta

For six years, the Local Interventions in Environment and Urban Planning (ILEAU) program has been working to green the east side of Montreal.

“Many of the residents in the east end of Montreal are disadvantaged populations; they are people with lower incomes or newcomers to the country for example,” said Nilson Zepeda, Campaign Coordinator for ILEAU. “They have a life expectancy that is 10 years shorter than the average for the city.  This makes them more vulnerable to extreme events such as heat waves. In addition, these neighbourhoods get hotter and stay hotter longer than other neighbourhoods in Montreal because there are fewer trees, less vegetation and more pavement and concrete.” 

The ILEAU program is run by the non-profit organization, Montreal Regional Environmental Council (CRE-Montréal). Since it began in 2015, it has received $1.2 million from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ) which it uses to employ 2.5 staff and support a wide range of interventions by collaborating with local and regional organizations.

“We are interested in funding projects that address the health and social needs of our partners as well as our green objectives”, explained Béatrice Viens Côté, the Communications and Marketing Officer for ILEAU. “For example, we funded a project at a housing co-op that involved lifting pavement, planting trees, and creating a space where residents can meet and socialize.  This intervention promises to foster social engagement and a sense of community which can improve the mental and physical health of the residents, while also providing shade and reducing the temperature in and around the buildings.”

One initiative ILEAU funded aims to create two major links between the St. Lawrence River and the Rivière des Prairies to provide both an ecological corridor that can strengthen biological diversity and an active mobility corridor that increases neighbourhood resiliency and access to green space. Another project aims to develop safe and user-friendly bus stops and transportation access points by organizing participatory urban planning activities such as exploratory walks and community workshops. ILEAU is also supporting the development of cycling infrastructure to provide an alternate transportation option where residents are poorly served by public transit.

Evaluating a project such as ILEAU is difficult because it may take many years to see the full impact of planted trees and connected nature corridors on the physical environment, local ecosystems, and the health of local residents. However, the benefits of these actions will be felt for decades. In the short-term, ILEAU has documented its impact with measurable actions. Over the last six years, its staff have:

  •  Convened 450 meetings with stakeholders
  •  Cultivated 60 local and regional partners
  • Collaborated on projects with 26 schools and daycares, 71 companies, and 200 property owners
  • Completed 202 field projects
  • Removed 3,058 square meters of asphalt
  • Planted 31,840 trees and other plants
  • Engaged 206 citizens in seven citizen campaigns
  • Leveraged almost $1.2 in cash and in-kind contributions from partners and owners
  • Organized 15 exploratory walks (foot + bicycle) in collaboration with local stakeholders around public transport hubs, health establishments and greenspaces
  • Co-produced and launched the Guide “Reinventing the wait for the bus” with the University of Montreal and Concordia University
  • Produced 50 newsletters, 40 press releases, and generated 150 media reports (television, radio, newspapers, etc.)

“With all of the projects funded, we have worked closely with our partners who know their needs better than us, to find interventions that meet their needs as well as ours.  We are particularly interested in interventions that address social inequities that contribute to poor health in these neighbourhoods” noted Nilson. “With this collaborative approach, we have also been able to match our funding with $1.4 million in cash, and some in-kind funding, from our partners over the last six years.” 

All photos courtesy of ILEAU.