Existing capacity and best practices for the integration of future energy systems into Canadian cities and First Nations Communities

Cities and towns account for between 37 and 49 percent of global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. Much of this results from burning natural gas to heat residential and commercial buildings, burning gasoline and diesel fuel in the cars and trucks moving throughout the cities every day, and, of course, consuming electricity that still largely comes from coal-fired or natural gas power plants. Future energy systems (FES)—such as solar power, geothermal, wind power, and others—are vital to making communities smart and sustainable, and thus reducing GHG emissions. Direct energy systems, district cooling systems and retrieving energy from the residential waste are some of the ways cities and other communities are combatting current and new challenges. 


Unfortunately, we do not know enough about how prepared Canadian municipalities and First Nations communities are to adopt to future energy systems, from a governance and policy perspective. The quesiton that Canadian cities are currently grappling with is whether we can plan a city or neighborhood based on energy and emission production scenarios described in the Paris Accord. Using a mixed methods approach to data collection and international comparators as benchmark, this research intends to examine strategic plans, policies, bylaws, and/or projects undertaken by municipalities across Canada to assess how prepared they are to adapt to future energy systems. In the third year of this project, similar information and perspectives will be sought from First Nations communities. 


Currently, the project is working in three strands to achieve this: 



  1. Municipalities and energy transition: Municipalities across Canada have formulated energy transition plans with ambitious goals of achieving carbon neutrality. However, it is not know if they consider place and space based factors in strategy formulation. This is particularly true in Prairie municipalities that have an incumbent presence of oil and gas. 

  2. Community League and energy transition: Community Leagues are a unique community-led grassroots organization in Edmonton, Canada. We examine the opportunities and barriers that exist for community leagues in diffusing the ideas and practices of energy transition in their communities.

  3. GHG modelling at the neighbourhood level: Energy use and GHG emissions are not uniform across the city as spatial parameters such as area, arrangements, land use, population density, and road network are varied within the city at neighborhood scale. We explore whether the neighborhood and its elements such as building typology, land use, location and travel behavior have any impact on GHG emissions in order to create a configuration of neighborhood that emits the least amount of GHG emissions. 


As this research will involve close coordination with a wide range of communities across Canada, the research will implement processes to ensure that appropriately inclusive and diverse knowledge, expertise and perspectives are reflected in the methods and personnel employed in each phase of the project. Principal Investigator Sandeep Agrawal, who has conducted human rights and housing research related to economically- and socially-disadvantaged communities in the UAE, Sri Lanka, and across Canada, is currently conducting similar studies in partnership with First Nations communities in Canada’s north. He looks forward to actively including and promoting diverse voices and knowledge from First Nations communities in this project.

Bringing It Home: Community Leagues And Energy Transition

Neelakshi Joshi

Misc

The Neighbourhood effect of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Nilusha Welegedara, Shaival Gajjar

Misc

ANNUAL REPORT EXPLORING THE HOUSING ATTRACTION USING SPACE SYNTAX TECHNIQUE: A CASE OF EDMONTON

Anuradha Kanchani

Master Thesis

Advancing neighbourhood climate action: opportunities, challenges and way ahead

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Neelakshi Joshi, Debadutta Parida

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Analyzing spatiotemporal variations of the urban heat Island (UHI) with land use changes in Edmonton neighbourhoods

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Nilusha Welegedara

Research Report

Analyzing the relationship between urban heat islands and the areas designated for future transit-oriented developments: A case of Edmonton, Canada

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Nilusha Welegedara

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Analyzing the relationship between urban heat islands and transit-oriented developments: A case of Edmonton, Canada

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Nilusha Welegedara

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

Analyzing the spatiotemporal variation of urban heat islands in winter city neighbourhoods: A case of Edmonton, Canada

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Nilusha Welegedara

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

Calibrating community spirit and quantifying greenhouse gas emissions

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Neelakshi Joshi, Nilusha Welegedara

Website

Cars versus homes: A Q&A about greenhouse gas emissions in Edmonton

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal

Interview (Broadcast or Text)

Changes Observed in the Urban Heat Island Phenomenon Due To An Increase In The Tree Canopy

Master Thesis

Climate Risk Governance in Bhubaneswar city: An evolutionary perspective.

Debadutta Parida

Doctoral Thesis/Dissertation

Community Leagues and Neighbourhood Energy Transitions in Edmonton

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Neelakshi Joshi, Shirley Octaviani Lie

Report, brief, and other forms of grey literature

Diffusing Energy Transitions: the case of Community Leagues in Edmonton, Canada

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Eran Kaplinsky, Neelakshi Joshi

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

Edmonton may be known for winter chill, but heat islands on the rise, researchers say

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal

Interview (Broadcast or Text)

Edmonton may be known for winter chill, but heat islands on the rise, researchers say

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal

Interview (Broadcast or Text)

Energy Transition & the Role of Cities, Neighbourhoods and Grassroots Organizations

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Nexus at Neighborhood Scale

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Nilusha Welegedara, Shaival Gajjar

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

Energy and Sustainability in our Communities

Neelakshi Joshi

Other Event

Exploring spatiotemporal changes of the urban heat Island effect in high-latitude cities at a neighbourhood level: A case of Edmonton, Canada

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Nilusha Welegedara

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Hot Days in the City

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal

Interview (Broadcast or Text)

Household energy-related carbon footprint in residential neighbourhoods in high-latitude cities: A case of Edmonton in Canada

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Nilusha Welegedara

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

IMPROVING THE APPROACH TO WINTER SIDEWALK MAINTENANCE IN WINTER CITIES: A CASE STUDY OF EDMONTON

Fiona McGill

Master Thesis

Indigenizing Planning: Reflections on how colonial planning encountered the indigenous consciousness of space in postcolonial Sri Lanka

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Pradeep Sangapala

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

Islands in the heat: research reveals urban hotspots in Edmonton

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Nilusha Welegedara

Interview (Broadcast or Text)

Last Mile Energy Transitions by Community Leagues in Edmonton

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Neelakshi Joshi

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

Literature Review on Future Energy Systems into Canadian Cities

Khan Rahaman

Research Report

Relating Local Climatic Zones and UHI Mapping to predict changes in local thermal environment

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Nilusha Welegedara, Sandeep Budde

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

Some parts of the city are warmer than others: U of A study tells us why

Nilusha Welegedara

Interview (Broadcast or Text)

Something old, something new, something green: community leagues and neighbourhood energy transitions in Edmonton, Canada

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Neelakshi Joshi, Nilusha Welegedara

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Southern urbanism: a systematic review of concepts, debates, and future directions

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Debadutta Parida

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Sustainability Transitions: the case of Community Leagues in Edmonton, Canada

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Neelakshi Joshi

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

TBD

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal

Interview (Broadcast or Text)

TBD

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal

Interview (Broadcast or Text)

TBD

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal

Interview (Broadcast or Text)

TBD

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal

Interview (Broadcast or Text)

TBD

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal

Interview (Broadcast or Text)

The Birth of Nationalist Planning and the Shape of Sri Lankan Postcolonial Spatial Identity

Pradeep Sangapala

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

The Carbon Footprint of High Latitude Neighbourhoods

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Nilusha Welegedara

Interview (Broadcast or Text)

The Uneven Urban Geography of Energy Transitions: Lessons from Edmonton

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Neelakshi Joshi

Other Event

The spatialization of nationalism and justice from below. Social Spatialisation and Spatial Justice

Pradeep Sangapala

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

Understanding the Geography of Low-Carbon Transitions in Canadian Municipalities: insights from the Prairies

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Neelakshi Joshi

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

Understanding the Geography of Urban Energy Transitions in Canada: insights from the Prairies

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Neelakshi Joshi

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Variations in Direct Greenhouse Gas Emissions across Neighbourhoods: A Case of Edmonton in Canada

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Neelakshi Joshi, Nilusha Welegedara, Shaival Gajjar

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Variations in Greenhouse Gas Emissions across Neighborhoods in Edmonton

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Nilusha Welegedara, Shaival Gajjar

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

Variations in Greenhouse Gas Emissions across Neighborhoods in Edmonton

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Nilusha Welegedara, Shaival Gajjar

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

Variations in Gross and Net Greenhouse Gas Emissions across Neighborhoods in Edmonton

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Nilusha Welegedara, Shaival Gajjar

Other Event

Vulnerability portrayals across climate risk discourses in Bhubaneswar: an evolutionary perspective

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Debadutta Parida

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Yes! Energy Transition in my Backyard

Sandeep Kumar Agrawal, Neelakshi Joshi

Other Event