In the fall of 2024, CAFES Ottawa will be partnering with a 2nd year sociology/anthropology class from Carleton University, Fletcher Wildlife Garden and several local community associations to carry out the 4th annual CAFES & Carleton University Community Engagement Project.
This year, the theme of our project will be on pollinator gardens! So far, students will be partnering with the following community associations (CA): Centretown, Fisher Heights, Glebe, Hintonburg, Overbrook, Westboro and the Bel Air's Maitland Area Pollinator Projects (MAPP).
The idea behind this community engagement project is for student groups to partner with CAs and create products targeted toward audiences in the CA's neighbourhood. This could include Instagram posts, infographics, videos, posters, news articles, presentations and more - all relating to this year's theme. Students will analyze and discuss insights and experiences gained as they bring their conceptual learning in the course together with their experience of working towards achieving the objectives of a real-world project.
For this year's pollinator garden theme, students will be able to tour the Fletcher Wildlife Garden, visit CA community gardens, learn all about planting with pollinators and biodiversity in mind, explore current topics like planting in the City Right of Way, and much more.
For the CAs, this is an opportunity to learn and engage with important issues relating to pollinators, biodiversity and gardening in their community, connect with the students in their group, and have their neighbourhoods benefit from the deliverables the students are able to create for them.
Please don't hesitate to sign up as a community partner if you are interesting in joining this enriching project!
Want to see what we got up to last year? Check out the 2023 CAFES Carleton project here where we partnered with Safe Wings Ottawa to promote bird-window safety.
Currently CAFES convenes three caucuses:
Schedule of upcoming caucus meetings:
CAFES Climate Caucus --
Tuesday, August 20, 2024,
12 pm-2 pm (EST)
via Zoom.
See agenda and register here.
CAFES Waste and Circular Economy Caucus
Date: TBD
CAFES Trees and Green Space Caucus
Date: TBD
The CAFES network currently convenes caucuses on the themes of Climate, Waste & Circular Economy, and Trees & Green Space. A caucus is a meeting of concerned and engaged residents of Ottawa around a shared topic or issue area.
These meetings bring people together to discuss current issues impacting Ottawa. We share knowledge and ideas, and collaborate on possible solutions and plans of action.
Since COVID we have been meeting by zoom. Typically meetings are scheduled around lunch time from noon to 2pm.
CAFES believes that the environmental and climate challenges cannot be addressed only by individual actions but that local community, neighbourhood and collective actions and advocacy for system changes are required. This means that we need spaces to discuss and deliberate on issues together.
The purpose of the caucuses is to connect, inform and empower Ottawa residents.
Connect: For each caucus meeting, we set aside time for people to introduce themselves and share some information about their latest actions and concerns. Depending on how busy the agenda is, we do a ‘tour-de-table’ or we use the chat. The meetings of the Caucus provide attendees with hope, inspiration and support. Everybody’s voice matters.
Inform: The caucus serves as a conduit for knowledge about topical municipal policy issues. Local leaders and knowledge holders from inside our network and outside guests are invited to make short presentations.
If you have started a local neighbourhood initiative, please share! Similarly, concerns can be discussed, and how to support each other across neighbourhoods. And successes in one neighbourhood can serve to inspire action in others!
The CAFES network keeps a keen eye on the City of Ottawa legislative agenda of environmental and climate decisions, policies, regulations and programs. Whenever possible briefings are provided and discussed. This deliberation then informs CAFES’ policy positions.
Empower: The caucuses give confidence and support for residents to speak up about environment and climate issues, take local action, contact councillors and make public delegations. The CAFES network seeks to foster local leadership and mutual support.
Everyone is welcome, the more voices the better! The caucuses are attended by CAFES Members, community groups, activists, non-profit representatives, and individuals who are interested in the topic and want to learn more.
The meeting may be recorded for note-taking purposes (we will announce at beginning if so). The meeting notes include the names of the attendees. The meeting notes include the information that individuals share during the tour-de-table. The meeting notes do not include any personal attribution of comments during the discussion sections of the caucus. Meeting notes are shared with the attendees of a particular meeting and inside the CAFES network (Forum); they are not shared in a public facing way.
The underlying idea is that the caucus space is a space of like-minded individuals concerned about the public and ecological interest. We agree that human-caused climate change is real. We play nice and serve as sounding boards for each other's ideas for solutions to our shared concerns.
The agenda is set by CAFES staff with input from members of the CAFES network. Frequently, the agenda follows the municipal legislative agenda. If you have an issue of concern that you would like to see discussed at a future CAFES Caucus meeting please write to Mitzi MacDonald at info@cafesottawa.ca.
CAFES Ottawa wants to equip and empower you to address climate misinformation in your everyday life during conversations with family, friends and co-workers. And then we would like you to consider speaking up in public dialogue and in municipal policy-making spaces.
Climate change poses a dire, existential threat, but alongside this crisis, another is taking hold: the widespread dissemination of climate change misinformation. This intentional spread of falsehoods undermines scientific consensus, stalls public action, and leaves us more vulnerable.
The CAFES Climate Information Team hopes to help to inoculate Ottawans against misinformation and extreme beliefs.
How to Use These Backgrounders
In each backgrounder, you will find the misinformation it addresses and speaking notes to help you respond to it, with credible information to back it up. We encourage you to get curious and check out the resources. We took the time to find credible facts and sources to help you quickly gain the confidence to speak up!
Supporting You to Speak Up
Most Canadians are concerned about climate change, but only a few speak up. We want to help change that.
In addition to our backgrounders below, which give you speaking notes to address misinformation, here are more resources to support you. When we talk about climate action in our everyday lives and municipal decision-making spaces, we are helping accelerate climate action in the City of Ottawa.
For questions and suggestions, please contact the CAFES Climate Misinformation Volunteer team at info@cafesottawa.ca
This backgrounder is finished, and we are working hard to get it online to support you.
Please check back soon.
Use this brief to respond to concerns, such as:
Speaking Notes:
Further reading
Climate Justice
An article by the United Nations that introduces and explains climate justice. “The impacts of climate change will not be borne equally or fairly, between rich and poor, women and men, and older and younger generations. Consequently, there has been a growing focus on climate justice, which looks at the climate crisis through a human rights lens and on the belief that by working together we can create a better future for present and future generations.”
Cobalt Mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Addressing Root Causes of Human Rights Abuses
A well-rounded and concise discussion of the complex issue – and potential solutions.”Based on field research conducted in the DRC, the analysis details how the formalization of [Artisanal Small-Scale Mining] is a viable approach for addressing root causes of human rights abuses in cobalt mining, alleviating extreme poverty in mining communities, and meeting the projected global demand for cobalt.”
The constitutional distribution of legislative powers
“In Canada, there are two orders of government: the federal government and provincial governments…Municipal government is not a constitutional order of government. Municipalities are established by the provincial legislatures which delegate some of their powers to municipal governments.”
Fighting against forced and child labour in supply chains
“Starting in January 2024, many Canadian companies will have to report in writing what they did this year to prevent or reduce forced or child labour in their supply chains…According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), nearly 28 million people, including children, were in situations of forced labour in 2021, an increase of 2.7 million over 2016 global estimates.”
U.S. Seeks To Limit Products Containing Minerals Mined With Child Labour In The D.R.C.
“A ban targeting working conditions which infringe on human rights and the partnerships which allow those conditions to exist would strike a firm blow against child labour and its proponents. The U.S. must stop supporting child labour and by extension, through the ownership of the mines, China, through its purchase of cobalt from the D.R.C.”
The Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy. From Exploration to Recycling: Powering the Green and Digital Economy for Canada and the World
“Critical minerals are the building blocks for the green and digital economy. There is no energy transition without critical minerals: no batteries, no electric cars, no wind turbines and no solar panels. The sun provides raw energy, but electricity flows through copper. Wind turbines need manganese, platinum and rare earth magnets. Nuclear power requires uranium. Electric vehicles require batteries made with lithium, cobalt and nickel and magnets. Indium and tellurium are integral to solar panel manufacturing….It is therefore paramount for countries around the world to establish and maintain resilient critical minerals value chains that adhere to the highest ESG standards. It is also important that we partner with Indigenous peoples — including ensuring that long-term benefits flow to Indigenous communities.”
Use this brief to respond to climate misinformation, such as:
Speaking notes:
Further reading
Wind Energy Bird & Bat Monitoring Database - Project resources
The Wind Energy Bird and Bat Monitoring Database (“the Database”) is described as a joint initiative established in 2008. It was established to enable the collection and analysis of bird and bat monitoring information from Canadian wind power projects.
Longcore, T., and P. A. Smith. 2013. On avian mortality associated with human activities. Avian Conservation and Ecology 8(2): 1
This study compares various sources of mortality of birds in Canada.
Major threats to birds in Canada. Birds Canada | Oiseaux Canada
If you’d like to learn more about birds, then Birds Canada is a great resource to start with. They’re one of Canada’s national bird conservation organizations dedicated to the conservation of birds. Their website offers accessible material to learn more about the leading causes of bird mortality in Canada of most concern.
Mississauga cat owners urged to keep their pets indoors to save the birds
Read about how the City of Mississauga is addressing the free-roaming cat problem in cities with keeping birds safe as the objective.
Ottawa bird deaths prompt scrutiny of window collisions
Local news in Ottawa that highlights the point about infrastructure, building and window collisions as a threat to birds.
“Live in a house? Have a bird feeder? Ever hear a thud from a window? Chances are that it was a bird collision.”
Use this Nature Canada resource to understand more about the direct human causes of bird deaths of more concern.
Davy, C. M., Squires, K., & Zimmerling, J. R. (2021). Estimation of spatiotemporal trends in bat abundance from mortality data collected at wind turbines. Conservation Biology, 35(1), 227-238. A research paper that details the mortality data collected to support the work on understanding bat species decline.
Use this brief to respond to climate misinformation, such as:
Closing the streets to cars: bad for business? False: Summary of studies showing that removing automobile traffic from commercial streets is generally good for business (reposted and translated from Fermer les rues aux voitures: mauvais pour le commerce? Faux).
Economic impact study of bike lanes in Toronto's Bloor Annex and Korea Town neighbourhoods: Studied how the addition of bike lanes and removal of street parking along a portion of Bloor Street in Toronto in 2016 affected businesses. It found that most customers arrived by foot or by bike, and that these customers spent more in total than those who arrived by car (they spent slightly less per visit, but visited more frequently). The number of customers increased after the bike lanes were installed. There is a blog post that summarizes the study, Bikes and business on Bloor: An economic study from Toronto.
These animated videos show just how much space cars waste in our cities: Simulations showing the relative space efficiency of each transportation mode when clearing an intersection. The parameters were tweaked to be biased in favour of cars, yet cars still perform far worse than every other mode.
Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in our Lives: A book that argues, based on both research and personal experience, that we are much happier living in cities when automobile traffic is limited. It touches on how retail businesses are affected by less car- centric planning, but is primarily about the health benefits – physical, mental, and social – of living in a safer, quieter, less polluted, and more accessible place. When we’re deciding how to design our cities, there’s a lot more at stake than the balance sheets of businesses!
What happened when they banned cars (YouTube): A video about examples of main streets where cars were banned (i.e., pedestrian or transit malls), including Market Street in San Francisco, State Street in Madison, Wisconsin, and the 14th Street Busway in New York City. Retail shops continued to be viable; in fact, in the case of State Street, removing cars helped to reverse the trend of losing shops to suburban shopping centres.
Why car-free streets may be here to stay (YouTube): A video by Bloomberg published a few months after the start of the pandemic focuses on Market Street in San Francisco and the 14th Street Busway in New York City. Again, research showed that fears of harm to retail businesses and of traffic spilling over to neighbouring streets never materialized.
Why walkable streets are more economically productive: An article by Strong Towns about the economics of walkable streets, more from the point of view of the city – its revenue and liabilities – than an individual business. But the financial well-being of the city affects that of its residents and businesses.
The value of cycling: According to this report commissioned in the United Kingdom to provide a review of the literature on the value of cycling, “Cyclists visit local shops more regularly, spending more than users of most other modes of transport… Public realm improvements, including those that cater for cycling, have been shown to result in increased trade at local businesses; up to 49% in New York City.”
The business case for active transportation: The economic benefits of walking and cycling: This 2004 Canadian report found “A survey of cities around the world, concerning their pedestrianisation schemes, revealed environmental improvement closely related to the removal of traffic. The survey also showed that 49% of all the pedestrian areas developed experienced an upward trend in retail turnover, while only 2% experienced a decrease.”
Use this brief to respond to the following climate misinformation:
AutoSmart driver training:Driving and the environment.
Videos and transcripts that describe driving and the environment in Canada.
Catalytic Converters. Let's Talk Science.
A deep dive into the function of the catalytic converter and how it deals with criteria air contaminants (CACs). Carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides make up 1%-5% of emissions. Learn how these CACs are processed within a catalytic converter to help prevent the release of smog causing gases.
Greenhouse gas emissions — National Inventory Report (NIR) : Canadian Centre for Energy Information.
See a graphical view of how Canada’s emissions have changed since 1990. View the information at the national or provincial level and zoom into a specific sector like transportation which shows an increase of about 27%.
Natural Resources Canada. (2014). Learn the facts: Emissions from your vehicle.
The difference between CACs and greenhouse gases is well explained. The interesting quote is “Today’s vehicles produce 99% fewer CACs than vehicles built in the 1970s thanks to advances in engine and emission control technologies and improved fuel quality standards.” This refers to the 1%-5% of the overall vehicle emissions. This has nothing to do with the remaining 95% to 99% of vehicle emissions!
The Loophole That Made Cars in America So Big.
Light duty trucks were allowed to bypass regulations that mandated improvements to fuel efficiency starting in the 1970s. SUVs were lumped into the light duty truck bucket as they were classified as off-road.
Accomplishments and Successes of Reducing Air Pollution from Transportation in the United States. The US EPA also makes it clear that the emissions reductions that have been dramatically reduced do not include carbon dioxide (CO2). “Compared to 1970 vehicle models, new cars, SUVs and pickup trucks are roughly 99 percent cleaner for common pollutants (hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particle emissions).“
What are the Car Exhaust Gases & Emissions?
An automotive industry view on how the catalytic converter manages CACs. From industry's perspective, C02 is one of the three “most desirable by-products of combustion”. Even with perfect engine combustion, the only way to eliminate emissions of carbon dioxide is to stop burning gas.
Cars sit idle 96% of the time in Canada
" And yet three out of four Canadians feel life would be impossible without one "
Use this brief to respond to climate misinformation, such as:
Further Reading
Fact check: Is climate change increasing the cost of insurance in Canada?
Newman R, Noy I. The global costs of extreme weather that are attributable to climate change. Nature Communications [Internet]. 2023 Sep 29;14(1):6103. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41888-1
This study estimated the global costs of damage attributable to climate change to average 143 billion USD per year from 2000-2019. The authors noted that this likely underestimates the true costs due to the lack of data from certain regions. It also doesn’t account for indirect impacts, such as loss of productivity or trauma.
Uninsured (Grist)
A four-part series about how climate change is destabilizing the global insurance market, with a particular focus on the U.S. It starts with an overview of the problem, and then focuses on specific risks: flooding, wildfire, and crop failure.
From Research to Action: The Growing Impact of Attribution Science - Union of Concerned Scientists (ucsusa.org)
A summary of attribution science and how it can be used.
Wildfire climate connection (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Canada’s Changing Climate Report
“Canada’s Changing Climate Report (CCCR), completed in 2019, assessed the state of knowledge on how and why Canada’s climate has changed and what changes are projected for the future. The report is national in scope and provides the Canadian context to the issue of global-scale climate change. The CCCR builds on information from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments available at the time.” (Canada’s Changing Climate Report - Canada.ca)
Canada’s Changing Climate Report in Light of the Latest Global Science Assessment
“This new report is a Supplement to the 2019 Canada’s Changing Climate Report. It provides some perspectives on the implications of the findings of the recently completed IPCC report Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis for the conclusions of the 2019 Canada’s Changing Climate Report.” (Canada’s Changing Climate Report - Canada.ca)
Adapting to Climate Change (National Capital Commission)
Climate Risks Report (Insurance Institute of Canada)
Flood Plain Mapping and Climate Change (City of Ottawa)
Climate Resiliency (City of Ottawa)
The First Public Report of the National Risk Profile (Public Safety Canada)
Adapting to Rising Flood Risk - An Analysis of Insurance Solutions for Canada (Public Safety Canada)
City of Ottawa 2022 Annual Report
Use this brief to respond to climate misinformation, such as:
Four Harmful Myths About Housing Affordability: A video by “Oh The Urbanity!” that rebuts some housing affordability myths. The myth most relevant to this issue is #2: Supply & Demand Doesn’t Apply. It shows how insufficient supply is the main driver of high housing prices.
The Economic Implications of Housing Supply: A study of U.S. housing markets that found housing is affordable when demand is matched by construction.
Case-Shiller National Index up 19.8% Year-over-year in February; New Record Monthly Increase: Shows the inverse relationship between months of inventory and housing prices in the U.S.
Vacancy Rates and Rent Change, 2021 Update: Shows the inverse relationship between vacancy rates and rents in Canada.
Forecast for Failure: A report by the Smart Prosperity Institute that links the explosion of home prices in Southern Ontario to the government’s failure to plan for population growth in the GTA.
Myth #1, that new housing must be affordable to count, is also relevant. Even expensive housing helps affordability, as shown in the paper City-wide effects of new housing supply: Evidence from moving chains.
The Cost of Sprawl: Another report by the Smart Prosperity Institute, about the costs of Canada’s suburban sprawl. has also published some related infographics.
Suburban expansion costs increase to $465 per person per year in Ottawa | CBC News: A study commissioned by our city showed that high-density infill development is subsidizing low-density homes built on undeveloped land.
Suburbia is Subsidized: Here's the Math: A video that shows how downtown subsidizes suburbia, referencing research by Urban3, with a particular focus on Lafayette, Louisiana.
Evaluating Criticism of Smart Growth: A detailed report that counters criticism of “smart growth” (higher density development paired with sound urban planning). “Critics claim that Smart Growth increases housing costs by reducing land supply, but ignore various ways it reduces household costs by reducing unit land requirements, increasing housing options, reducing parking and infrastructure costs, and reducing consumer transport costs. The evidence critics use to evaluate housing affordability fails to account for confounding factors, such as higher housing costs in larger cities, and the tendency of Smart Growth to be implemented in areas experiencing rapid population and economic growth, which tends to raise housing costs.”
Adding missing middle housing and simplifying regulations in low density neighbourhoods | Shape Your City Vancouver: Information about the “missing middle” – housing that is higher density than detached houses but lower density than apartment buildings – from a Vancouver perspective. It links to this video about Vancouver’s missing middle (which mentions housing affordability) and another that shows a fly-over of a block with a multiplex and other housing types. Understanding the missing middle may help to reassure people who worry that a trend toward higher density means that everyone will have to live in highrises.
Regarding how this will be implemented here in Ottawa, see NEW Urban Design Guidelines for Low-Rise Infill Housing | Engage Ottawa.
Use this brief to respond to climate misinformation, such as:
We used AI to measure Canada’s urban sprawl: An interactive article by Radio Canada with sobering statistics about how Canada’s metropolitan areas have grown primarily through increased sprawl from 2001 to 2021. “According to our analysis, in neighbourhoods built less than 20 years ago, 60 per cent of the population lives in single-family homes. But this type of neighborhood exacerbates road congestion and pollution: 81 per cent of those residents use their cars to go to work. By comparison, in historic neighbourhoods, only 38 per cent of residents live in houses and 65 per cent drive their cars to work.”
The best country in the world for drivers: A video by Not Just Bikes about how the Netherlands – a country with high population density – achieves low traffic congestion and pleasant driving conditions through good urban planning and traffic engineering. It mentions a study by Waze that ranked countries and cities by driving experience (see also Surprise: Bike-friendly Netherlands named best place in the world to be a driver).
Evaluating criticism of smart growth: A detailed report that counters criticism of “smart growth” (high-density development paired with sound urban planning). “Critics claim that Smart Growth increases traffic congestion and therefore reduces transport system quality, based on simple models of the relationship between density and trip generation. However, Smart Growth also increases accessibility and travel options, and provides incentives to reduce vehicle travel which reduces congestion. Traffic congestion alone is an ineffective indication of transport system quality; it is important to consider the quality of other modes. Empirical data indicate that Smart Growth reduces per-capita congestion delay.”
What happened when they banned cars (YouTube): A video about examples of streets where cars were banned (i.e., pedestrian or transit malls), including Market Street in San Francisco, and State Street in Madison, Wisconsin. Interestingly, there was little or no increase in traffic along adjacent streets.
Transport strategies for net-zero systems by design: An online book by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on how to decarbonize urban transportation. It takes a systems-oriented approach that emphasizes reducing the demand for automobile use through urban design instead of simply substituting electric vehicles for gas-powered ones. “The systems we create are a result of what we do, which is in turn determined by what we measure and the mental models that ‘filter’ what we see. For decades, transport policies have focused on supporting mobility (erroneously conflated with well-being) instead of accessibility, which is the combination of mobility and proximity. A mobility focus has led to reducing proximity, which mobility-oriented policies compensate with yet more mobility, locking territories into unsustainable dynamics. An analytical, rather than systemic, mind-set has also reduced the problem to identifying the part in the system (e.g., combustion cars), causing the undesired result.”
Adding missing middle housing and simplifying regulations in low density neighbourhoods | Shape Your City Vancouver: Information about the “missing middle” – housing that is higher density than detached houses but lower density than apartment buildings – from a Vancouver perspective. It links to this video about Vancouver’s missing middle and another that shows a fly-over of a block with a multiplex and other housing types. Understanding the missing middle may help to reassure people who worry that a trend toward higher density means that everyone will have to live in high rises.
See New urban design guidelines for low-rise infill housing | Engage Ottawa regarding how the missing middle housing will be implemented here in Ottawa.
Use this brief to respond to climate misinformation, such as:
Don’t be fooled by anyone who claims 15-minute neighbourhoods are part of a strategy to lock us in neighbourhoods. Mobility is protected by our charter rights. In Canada, freedom to move about, also called mobility rights, is enshrined and protected by Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedom. It would be unconstitutional and illegal for the City of Ottawa to create a by-law that would restrict our freedom to a 15-minute walk from home.
What are 15-minute neighbourhoods? It is a conceptual idea. Everyone’s 15-minute neighbourhood will be different. It is about each of us having more of what we need and enjoy (like groceries, medical services, schools, and entertainment) within a 15-minute walk from home.
Imagine popping out to get a few ingredients for breakfast within a 15-minute walk from home. You can walk your dog at the same time. Along the way, you can chat with familiar and unfamiliar faces. Imagine if we could create this quality of life for ourselves, where we live right now!
It’s about asking ourselves the question, "Can I get to a coffee shop, a grocery store, a park, and a library in just a 15-minute walk from my home?" If you can’t, you are forced to use your car to get what you need and enjoy.
15-minute cities increase our freedom to live our lives the way we want to. People enjoy this quality of life in other cities around the world every day! For example, 94% of Parisiens live within a five-minute walk of a bakery. You have the freedom to choose to go wherever you please. Most everything you need and enjoy is within a 15-minute walk from home and you are also free to jump on your bike, the bus, the train or in your car to travel farther.
It’s more like creating small-town living in a big city. When we say 15-minute neighbourhoods, we don’t mean create more “downtowns.” Downtowns typically are financial and commercial districts where most of us commute for work. They also are the location of large-scale venues, such as convention centres and our biggest entertainment and sports facilities. With 15-minute cities, we are talking about having smaller businesses (gyms, libraries, grocery stores, pharmacies, bookstores) serve local neighbourhoods. Imagine the small business community that could evolve!
People in Ottawa want to live their lives close to home. In a 2020 survey of over 4000 residents of the City of Ottawa, the top three choices for amenities to have within a 15-minute walk from home were:
1. Grocery stores and supermarkets
2. Parks with or without playgrounds or splash pads
3. Retail/commercial, such as restaurants, bookstores, laundry/dry cleaners, bakeries, pet stores, bars, and convenience stores
Unfortunately, we typically build cities for cars instead of people. We’re forced to drive to different areas of the city to get what we need. That’s not freedom; it’s forced adaptation. It’s no wonder we “prefer” cars! Walking, taking the bus, or biking to other parts of our city is often absurdly time-consuming and unpleasant.
For more information
The 15-Minute City Freakout Is a Case Study in Conspiracy Paranoia
“The term doesn’t describe a discrete area with barriers — it’s a planning approach that tries to ensure that schools, health-care facilities, parks and other amenities are spread equitably across neighborhoods, limiting the need for lengthy commutes and expanding job access. The time span in the name refers simply to what a person can easily reach from their home. Every resident’s 15 minute radius is going to be different; a city of a million homes will have a million overlapping 15-minute cities.”
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Mobility rights are a protected right in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Scroll down and find mobility rights listed third (Sections 6[1] and 6[2]), immediately after Fundamental Freedoms and Democratic Rights.
What People Get Wrong About Dense Urban Living – Oh the Urbanity!
A 7-minute video by Oh the Urbanity! “Discussions of urbanism often devolve into fights between ‘downtown living’ and ‘suburban (or small town) living.’ This misses something big — most city-dwellers don't actually live ‘downtown.’ They live in dense residential neighbourhoods outside of downtown. We understand the aversion that many people have to ‘downtown living’ because it can feel overwhelming, noisy, and crowded, but urban density does not have to be like that. It can actually be quite peaceful and calming. In this video, we cover our experiences based on living in older, denser parts of Toronto and Montreal.”
Urbanism: Not Just a Big City Thing!
An 11-minute video by Oh the Urbanity! “We usually talk about big cities on this channel — Toronto, Montreal, San Francisco, New York. But most of the same ideas about housing and transportation also apply to smaller cities too. In this video, we take a look at Halifax, a smaller city in Atlantic Canada.”
7 Rules for Creating 15-Minute Neighbourhoods
Daniel Herriges’ rules for making 15-minute neighbourhoods:
Walkable Ottawa is taking practical steps to create walkable neighbourhoods in Ottawa to help make us smarter, healthier, happier, safer and greener.
Complete Streets in the 15-Minute City
An intern at The Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT) wrote this report to better understand the reciprocal nature of the urban planning concepts of Complete Streets and the 15 Minute City.
The 15-Minute Cities Conspiracy (with Adam Something)
A 40-minute video by the Urbanist Agenda. “The 15-minute cities conspiracy has almost nothing to do with urban planning, and everything to do with climate change denialism. Urban planning has just become the latest topic to get caught up in the culture war.”
Ottawa’s New Official Plan: 15-minute Neighbourhoods
“The 15-minute neighbourhood study is the first step at understanding the components of a 15-minute neighbourhood as they evolve across Ottawa’s urban, suburban, and rural transects. This study of 15-minute neighbourhoods is composed primarily of two different mapping exercises, one looking at access to available services and amenities, and the other focuses on the safety and enjoyability of the pedestrian environment with respect to walking to these services and amenities.”
“An online public survey was conducted in summer 2020 to understand the public’s needs and desires for a 15-minute neighbourhood. The survey duration was approximately six weeks and received over 4,000 respondents. The survey included optional demographic questions including age, gender, those with and without children at home, and those who use mobility aids.”
During autumn 2023, CAFES Ottawa partnered with a 2nd year sociology/anthropology class from Carleton University, four local community associations and Safe Wings Ottawa to carry out the 3rd annual CAFES & Carleton University Community Engagement Project.
This year's project was inspired by the research being conducted by Carleton University's professor and ornithologist, Rachel Buxton. Bird-window collisions are a significant cause of bird mortality. The modest estimate is 250,000 birds die as a result of colliding with glass structures or windows in Ottawa each year – and about half are residential collisions. While the technologies exist to reduce bird-window collisions, community uptake has been slow. There has been little research exploring the reasons for this. Thus, CAFES, Carleton and Safe Wings Ottawa planned a comprehensive community engagement project to combat the issue, including creating a survey, awareness raising campaigns and planning an informational workshop for mid-November.
The survey was intended to investigate public attitudes towards the issue as well as connect with residents who were interested in taking action. The foundations course, led by professor Deborah Conners, includes a portion of work where students break up into groups and pair with a local Community Association (CA). The groups each worked with their partnered CA representatives to develop a campaign to disseminate the survey in their CA's neighbourhood. To connect with Ottawa citizen who were interested in taking action against this issue, CAFES and Safe Wings organized engagement opportunities which were posed in the survey, including receiving a free sample kit of window tools to prevent bird collisions at home; receiving information of the upcoming informational workshop hosted by CAFES and Safe Wings; and/or receiving more information on the issue.
The student groups created products targeted at audiences in their partnered CA's neighbourhood including Instagram posts, infographics, videos, posters, news articles, presentations and more. Students analyzed and discussed insights and experiences gained as they brought their conceptual learning in the course together with their experience of working towards achieving the objectives of a real-world project.
For the CAs, this was an opportunity to learn and engage with an important issue in their community, connect with the students in their group, and connect with survey participants in their area who indicated that they would like to take action. Below are the four community associations who volunteered for the 2023 project. Click on any of the association names below to check out their website.
The community outreach projects concluded with the four group's presentations taking place in early December 2023. CA & CAFES representatives, as well as some members of the public attended the presentations in person alongside Professor Connors and students. Students presentations showcased their achievements of the semester including social media product campaigns, lessons learned, and successes.
The achievements of each group are presented below in the following order; Fisher Heights and Area CA, Glebe CA, Hintonburg CA, Westboro CA, followed by the informational workshop report.
The Fisher Heights and Area Community Association (FHACA) student group created a variety of products to connect with the diverse audiences in the Fisher Heights area, including posters, social media posts, writing an article for the FHACA local newsletter, and canvassing in high-traffic outlets in the area.
Below is are two posters made by the students.
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Below is an informational brochure used by the students to spread awareness on the issues as well as invite citizens to participate in the survey.
This student group created a variety of informative and useful products to disseminate the survey and spread awareness in the Fisher Heights area.
The results of their efforts:
The Glebe Community Association (GCA) student group planned their campaign to connect with diverse audiences in the GCA area. This happened through creating posters, social media posts, contacting local organizations, and writing an article for a local newsletter.
Below is a beautifully drawn poster by one of the GCA students to disseminate the survey.
Below is an informative poster created by the GCA students.
Below are the graphics made by GCA students for an Instagram post to promote the survey.
This student group created a variety of useful and informative promotional products to disseminate the survey and awareness in the GCA Area.
The results of their efforts:
The Hintonburg Community Association (HCA) student group planned to disseminate their survey to the diverse residents of the HCA area through creating a video, coasters, posters, a brochure, social media posts, writing an article for the local newsletter, and contacting local organizations.
Below is the promotional video created by the students.
Below is the front and back of the coaster design created to be handed out to local restaurants and businesses as well as residents.
Below is an informational newsletter created by the students.
Below is a series of informational posters created by the students.
Below is an informational brochure created by the HCA student group.
This student group created an impressive variety of informative and useful products to disseminate the survey and awareness in the HCA Area.
The results of their efforts:
The Westboro Community Association (WCA) group worked cohesively together to reach diverse audiences in the WCA area through a variety of tools and efforts. The student group created an informational document, posters, a presentation for local high school students, an article for a local newsletter, as well as contacting local stakeholders and organizations.
Below is a informational document to spread awareness of the issue and draw attention to the survey.
Below is a promotional poster made by the WCA student group.
Below is the presentation created by the Westboro student group who presented to local high school students. Although the high school students don't own their own residences, the intention was that the high school students would bring that information home to their parents who could fill out the survey regarding their residence.
This student group created a variety of informative and useful products to disseminate the survey and awareness in the Fisher Heights Area. The Westboro group succeeded in acquiring the most survey responses out of the four groups.
The results of their efforts:
CAFES Ottawa, in partnership with Safe Wings Ottawa, hosted a workshop dedicated to offering comprehensive information to interested survey participants and the public. The event was well-attended and featured presentations from Safe Wings Ottawa about the issue as well as product demonstrations to try at home. The workshop also featured a presentation around bird-safe building design from Toon Dreessen, the President and Architect for DCA, a group of architects. The evening finished with a presentation on the engagement efforts by a few representatives of the 2nd year foundations in community engagement course taught by Deborah Conners, as well as a presentation by a few students of Carleton professor and ornithologist, Rachel Buxton, on mitigation efforts and research being done at Carleton University.
CAFES would like to extend a huge thank you to all involved, with special thanks the community associations and Safe Wings volunteers who took time out of their autumn season to work and connect with the Carleton University students and Ottawa citizens around a significant environmental concern in the City of Ottawa. Learning and meaningful engagement was experienced by all involved.
This was the 3rd annual community engagement project conducted with the 2nd year Carleton course and local community associations. Check out our previous CAFES and Carleton University community engagement projects by clicking on the links below!
If you and/or your community association are interested in joining a future community engagement project please contact us at info@cafesottwa.ca
CAFES is excited to share our final report on the Climate Resiliency Community Dialogues.
The first document below is the main final report, the second document is the annexes.
In May 2023, with support from the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, CAFES partnered with Forêt Capitale Forest, Forest Ontario, and the office of M.P. Yasir Naqvi to pilot a Mother’s Day Tree Give-Away planting project to promote backyard tree planting, with the purpose of boosting the City of Ottawa's urban tree canopy.
Ottawa currently does not have a backyard tree planting program. The City’s current tree planting program, Trees in Trust, offers residents a free tree in their front yard in the City Right of Way. A backyard tree planting program would bolster Ottawa’s capacity to combat tree loss in the face of extreme weather events, climate changes and development and would help diversify the tree canopy in urban and suburban Ottawa.
This event was held on Mother’s Day weekend, and the project was intended for students to gift a tree to their mother or parent. A total of 70 trees (1-2 gallons in size) were matched to pre-screened recipients and were taken home to be planted. After the tree give-away, area tree planting was planned to i) meet equity concerns for those that do not have a planting space on their property but would still like to participate in the pilot project, ii) guarantee a planting space for any leftover trees from the give-away, and iii) enhance an urban greenspace area. Together, 40 individuals planted 40 trees in the space across from Billings Bridge, between the Rideau River and Riverside Drive.
Below you can find the Final Report for this project, as well as the Tree Sapling Planting Instructions guide that was created and handed out at the give-away event to educate tree recipients on proper tree planting and care.
As we continue to feel the impacts of climate change in the coming decades, it is critical that we prepare our communities. The City of Ottawa is currently developing a Climate Resiliency Strategy to identify Ottawa’s largest vulnerabilities and create an action plan to mitigate these in the face of climate change.
The City’s Climate Change and Resiliency unit is looking to hear from communities across Ottawa to inform the Climate Resiliency Strategy and programming, recognizing that people will face different impacts based on many factors including geographic location, age, gender, race, and income.
CAFES entered into agreement with The City of Ottawa to organize approximately 10 in person Climate Resiliency Community Dialogues in partnership with Community and Citizens Associations across Ottawa! These Community Dialogues focused on climate resiliency and community preparedness for climate impacts such as extreme weather events, flooding, and higher temperatures. The workshops took place between May and June.
The goal of these dialogues was to foster discussion around what climate impacts residents and communities are most concerned about, how prepared they feel, and potential solutions to mitigate these impacts. The insights from these workshops will be considered in the city’s creation of a Climate Resiliency Strategy, and will be shared with host Community and Citizens Associations. CAFES is organizing follow up Climate Caucus meetings to facilitate information sharing after the workshops.
You can find the list of workshops, along with our partner Community/ Citizen's Association and the report from each workshop in the table below.
| Ward | Neighbourhood | Date and Time | Dialogue Report |
| 17 | Old Ottawa East | May 12th from 7 - 9 PM | Old Ottawa East Report |
| 4 | Kanata North | May 13th from 9 - 11 AM | Kanata Report |
| 21 | Burritts Rapids | May 16th from 7 - 9 PM | Burritts Rapids Report |
| 3 & 24 | Barrhaven West & Barrhaven East | May 17th from 7:15 - 9:15 PM | Barrhaven Report |
| 15 | Hintonburg, Mechanicsville, Champlain Park, Wellington Village | May 23rd from 7 - 9 PM | Ward 15 Report |
| 12 & 13 | Lindenlea, Manor Park, New Edinburgh, Overbrook, Rockcliffe, Vanier | May 30th from 6:30 - 8:30 PM | Community Collective (Wards 12&13) Report |
| 18 | Riverview Park & Alta Vista | June 6th from 7 - 9 PM | Riverview Park & Alta Vista Report |
| TBD | Orleans | June 9th from 6:30-8:30 PM | Orléans Report |
| 14 | Somerset (with Dalhousie & Centretown Community Associations) | June 13th from 6:30-8:30 PM | Dalhousie & Centretown Report |
| 5 | West Carleton | June 29th from 6:30-8:30 PM | West Carleton Report |
| City wide | Virtual | June 19th from 6:00-8:00 PM | Virtual Report |
You can find a list of resources on climate impacts and resiliency at this link.
Please note the following guidelines/ expectations that we had for these events (the scope was the same for the workshop reports)
Be kind and respectful. There will be no tolerance for disruptive behaviour and we will be asking people to leave if necessary.
The purpose of the session is to share how climate change impacts are affecting you and your community; and to learn and share about how to respond at the individual, community and city level. Facilitators will be guiding participants to stay on this topic.
CAFES is informed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Assessment Reports on the global state of climate change. The IPCC is the United Nations body that assesses the science behind climate change and has 195 member governments. Experts review thousands of scientific papers to create Assessment Reports which are in turn reviewed by governments. We are not here to discuss the validity of the IPCC scientific and governmental consensus on the climate emergency.
The City is taking action on Climate Change based on direction from City Council and the Provincial Government
Council has declared a climate emergency and given staff direction to do this work
The province requires the City to consider and address climate change through the Planning Act and Asset Management Regulations
There are many environment and climate related events happening across Ottawa – it can be hard to keep up with all the events and actions. This calendar makes sharing events easy! CAFES is now hosting this calendar on our website under the "Events" menu label.
Initiated by Veronika Kratz and the Carleton Climate Commons, we are hosting the calendar on the CAFES website and hope for it to be a collaborative project. We would love for any interested organizations to become regular collaborators on this calendar to share events they are aware of. If you would like to become a regular contributor with admin rights, please email info@cafesottawa.ca.
Please feel free to share this calendar with your networks. Let’s build a better connected, mobilised environment and climate community in Ottawa!
We are hosting and updating this calendar thanks to the generous support of Alterna Savings.
On December 20th, 2022, we launched a Climate Action Survey to learn about what Ottawa residents know and think about individual and collective climate actions. We developed this pilot survey with the help of a Carleton practicum student. We received 337 responses, with the following highlights:
You can find a presentation of the survey findings below:
During autumn 2022, CAFES Ottawa partnered with a sociology/anthropology class from Carleton University, to carry out the 2022 CAFES & Carleton University Community Engagement Project.
The Carleton University undergraduate sociology/anthropology class SOCI 2180: Foundations in Community Engagement is led by professor Deborah Conners. A portion of the foundations course involves students breaking up in to groups and pairing with a local community association (CA).
At the beginning of the semester, the five CAs outline specific goals they are trying to achieve and the second-year sociology students consult and collaborate with the CAs during the semester to help reach those goals. The projects are intended to engage diverse communities in climate change and environmental resilience efforts. Professor Conners guides the students and community associations through the community outreach projects to foster an educational and beneficial experience for all involved.
Students created products such Instagram posts, infographics, videos, posters, press releases, news articles and in some cases planning community engagement events. Students analyzed and discussed insights and experiences gained as they brought their conceptual learning in the course together with their experience of working towards achieving the objectives of a real-world project.
This outreach project was a unique learning experience about the challenges of doing community outreach during a pandemic. The COVID pandemic has highlighted the need for reimagining community outreach. After two years of coming in and out of lockdowns, people are isolated from society. Leading to a need to find avenues to bring people together in a real way and to rebuild the community ties that were destroyed during the pandemic.
The community outreach projects concluded with a series of presentations taking place in early December 2022. CA & CAFES representatives, as well as some members of the public attended the presentations in person and virtually alongside Professor Connors and students. Students presentations showcased their achievements of the semester including social media product campaigns, lessons learned, and successes.
Below are the five community associations who volunteered for the 2022 project. Click on any of the association names below to check out their website.
The achievements of each group are showcased below. Beginning with the combined group of Centertown community association (CCA) & Glebe community association (GCA), next being the Dalhousie community association (DCA), followed by the Hunt Club community association (HCCA), and finally the Kanata greenspace protection coalition (KGPC).
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The groups of Centertown community association (CCA) and Glebe community association (GCA) combined forces during the semester.
The main goals of the GCA during the semester were to
The mains goals of the CCA during the semester were to
The combined student group worked towards the common goals to help in the planning, promotion, and execution of the virtual panel discussion on climate resiliency hosted by the GCA and CCA in November 2022. As a part of the workshop planning, the large group of students created posters, a newsletter, social media posts and flyers to promote the event, as well as creating resources for the community associations to use for other purposes going forward including infographics, an informational video and maps.
In November 2022, the combined GCA and CCA group hosted the virtual workshop drawing a large audience to learn from the featured panel of environmental experts and leaders, which was followed by a community discussion regarding concerns and solutions towards climate resiliency in the Centertown and Glebe communities. The CAs and students decided to host the workshop virtually as the course took place in recently post-pandemic times. Below is a short clip of the workshop that took place.
Below is a newsletter report made with the goal being to share information about the scope and seriousness of climate change impacts facing their communities. This was shared via email to hundreds of community members with the intention of reaching out to middle-aged adults and local businesses, as well as to ensure inclusiveness with community members who do not have social media or cannot easily connect online.
As a part of creating resources and products that the CCA & GCA could use beyond the panel discussion in November, part of the student group created or modified existing maps to demonstrate the importance of tree canopy stewardship to combat the heat island effect in these communities. Following the maps are infographics, educational resources, to share more detailed information about the state of the two community's tree canopy and the need for regeneration.
The Dalhousie Community Association brought two key community engagement goals to their student group.
In order to tackle both goals, the team worked to create an informational video, brochures and posters to promote expansion of greenspace through community involvement and deepening connections through shared goals.
Below features a clip of the video created by students to help capture the attention of the targeted audiences in a visual way. The video includes current tasks and future goals of the DCA, showing potential members why they should engage and how their contribution will benefit the community. If you'd like to check out the full video, visit the DCA website - it is posted on their home page.
Students created a brochure showcasing the DCA, a product that offers information about the Dalhousie community to inform residents of the benefits of being more involved in the community and through introducing ways in which the public can contribute to the goals of the community. This contributes to the overall goals by being a product that be distributed to the target audiences at local events, businesses and pubic gathering spaces.
The Hunt Club Community Association brought four key goals to their student group, including
To achieve these goals, students created a pollinator garden data sheet for the association to keep track and promote their project, including interactive maps of existing pollinator gardens. Secondly students created an Instagram page where the HCCA can share educational and informative posts to engage a wider, more diverse audience to participate in existing and upcoming projects. Thirdly students created educational resources, infographics, that the HCCA could have on-hand to promote their project either online or with printed copies.
The pollinator plant garden map used gathered data of existing pollinator plant gardens to create a greater visualization of the project's community reach. This, like the data sheet, intends to spark excitement and to improve the methods of sharing the pollinator garden details in the Hunt Club community. Below is a link to the interactive pollinator garden map, followed by a screenshot of the community's pollinator gardens on the map.
The Instagram page was created to get a wider audience, specifically youth, to engage with the community and join projects to make Hunt Club a better, greener and safe space. The posts created aimed to spark "a buzz" about the ButterflyWay project; generate pride and passion in the community for environmental efforts; to shed light on the diversity of the community, and to build strong relations, and bridges with different neighbourhoods and people of the area.
Posts included diverse information, such as a call for new board members; introducing viewers to the concept of pollinator gardens, the benefits of gardens designed for pollinators, and gardens in relation to climate change impacts; the David Suzuki Butterflyway Project concept; and the new & existing gardens in the Hunt Club community. Students worked to make the Instagram account professional, using graphic design resources like Canva to create educational and visually appealing posts.
Below are the infographics created by the HCCA student group with the intention of providing another avenue of outreach towards gaining community support for their pollinator garden projects.
The student group working with the Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition worked towards the goal of greater outreach to a larger audience in Kanata and to activate civic engagement to protect greenspace under threat in the region.
In this effort, the university students, firstly, reached out to younger audiences through emailing different high schools in the Kanata and Stittsville communities. This included distributing a digital flyer with logos and statements about the group's project to save greenspace in Kanata, and how other students can get involved in greenspace protection.
Secondly, the team reached out to local community organizations such as Ecology Ottawa to help spread their mission's message across the city, in hopes to build alliances and gain more supporters for the coalition.
Thirdly, the students created in depth infographics and other multimedia content to inform and emotionally engage an audience, building community relations. Enhancing the KGPC social media page, and sharing these products to their audience.
Students created a digital flyer with logos and statements about their cause to spread awareness amongst high school students about the KGPC projects, and how high school students can get involved to help save the greenspace. Forming these relationships with young students can aid the KGPC in getting more activity and engagement on their social media pages and/or the events that they hold.
The student team created a Students supporting the KGPC Instagram page to draw a more diverse audience from the community to stay informed as to what is happening to the local greenspace and how to get involved.
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Students then created a press release to communicate with the Kanata, surrounding communities, as well as Carleton University students. The message being that developers are threatening the natural spaces that are essential to the regions biodiversity, climate resiliency, and overall population health and wellbeing.
Overall
Each group overcame unique challenges through the semester such as coordinating a larger student group; composing a feasible campaign plan that works within the limited time given in the semester; various technology challenges; working around pandemic restrictions and public attitudes at the time and effectively reaching community members and targeted audiences.
Despite challenges, the benefits met by students and community associations was apparent. For many of the students, this is their first experience consulting and collaborating with a real-world organization. What the students produce will not only go towards their course grade, but will continue to be used by community associations. This fosters a sense of added purpose for the students as going forward their work will be used by an organization, which typically isn't the case in undergraduate settings.
Community associations met benefits such as added or new skills in social media; obtaining living documents and products that can be edited and reused in the future such as promotional products, informational products, and even community engagement events; connecting with a more diverse audience through the use of promotional products made by students, as well as connecting with a student body who are interested and/or passionate about community engagement. Although the level of success is challenging to quantify, there were benefits to be gained by all involved, as well as a generally positive experience.
A big thank you to the community associations who volunteered their time to connect with the students involved, as well as Carleton University and Professor Deborah Conners for making this unique collaborative community engagement project possible. Congratulations to all students who completed the 2022 Foundations in Community Engagement course.
Stay tuned to hear about our upcoming 2023 Carleton x CAFES Community Engagement Project!
