Master of Sustainabilityhttp://hdl.handle.net/10464/148992024-03-28T16:31:14Z2024-03-28T16:31:14ZMore Than a Green Roof: An Analysis of Low Impact Development Policies and PracticesAnyan, Edwardhttp://hdl.handle.net/10464/157632022-10-06T16:46:47ZMore Than a Green Roof: An Analysis of Low Impact Development Policies and Practices
Anyan, Edward
While the concept of green infrastructure is becoming increasingly popular, practitioners and institutions that implement it have varying perspectives on its meaning. This case study aimed to understand how a medium-sized municipality defines green infrastructure as a concept and incorporates it into official policies and related development plans to encourage green stormwater management strategies. It further sought to understand how the analyzed policies and related plans stimulate low impact development implementation in response to climate change adaptation efforts. A content analysis of eight official documents was conducted to determine how the City of St. Catharines, Ontario defines green infrastructure and includes it in its policies and plans. NVivo 12 was used to gather the meaning of green infrastructure and related terms qualitatively. The findings discuss how green infrastructure was defined and incorporated, as well as the consistency of its usage and meaning across the sampled official documents.
Exploring Environmental Stewardship in the Niagara Region of Canada: How Do Elements of Environmental Stewardship Relate to Success?Kapeller, Brookehttp://hdl.handle.net/10464/156462022-10-06T16:46:40ZExploring Environmental Stewardship in the Niagara Region of Canada: How Do Elements of Environmental Stewardship Relate to Success?
Kapeller, Brooke
Environmental stewardship is imperative as it provides a means for individuals and society to
reconnect with the biosphere as well as work to protect and conserve the environment for future
generations. While the concept of stewardship is not new, the scholarship addressing it is still
developing. In particular, there is limited research that addresses what makes stewardship
successful. This thesis addresses calls in the literature for empirical investigations into local-scale
environmental stewardship. Specifically, it contributes to a better understanding of elements of
stewardship and what makes stewardship initiatives successful. Two studies were conducted in
the Niagara Region of Canada. The first study investigated the social-ecological context of the
area and examined the elements of environmental stewardship initiatives by empirically testing
a framework for environmental stewardship. The second study examined factors allowing for
stewardship success, from the perspective of the organizations conducting the work. In concert,
the findings reveal: a nuanced relationship between context and stewardship elements; factors
making for stewardship success; and an expanded conceptual framework which more fulsomely
describes local environmental stewardship. Finally, recommendations for future work in this
realm of empirical environmental stewardship investigations are put forth.
An Examination of Collaborative Governance for Complex Adaptive Systems in the St. John River BasinMcGlynn, Bridgethttp://hdl.handle.net/10464/155892022-10-06T16:46:40ZAn Examination of Collaborative Governance for Complex Adaptive Systems in the St. John River Basin
McGlynn, Bridget
Climactic changes are having devastating impacts on communities and improved collaborative
decision-making is required to govern the changing social-ecological system. This research
sought to expand understanding of collaborative governance as it relates to social-ecological
complex adaptive systems by using a network perspective to examine governance network
properties in relation to adaptive governance and social-ecological fit. The collaborative flood
planning network in the St. John River Basin was collected and analyzed both independently and
within a multilevel social-ecological network. Analysis displayed a broad range of organizations
within the network, a tendency for transitivity, and limited social-ecological fit. While
collaboration aids in adaptive governance in the basin, the network was strongly impacted by
varying jurisdictional roles, responsibilities, and resources. This research contributes to the
growing body of literature on network governance for social-ecological systems and further
questions the role of top-down governance within collaborative arrangements.
Urban Tree Canopy Assessment Using Geospatial Technologies: A Case Study of the Town of Lincoln, OntarioRazaghirad, Baharakhttp://hdl.handle.net/10464/155732022-10-06T16:46:37ZUrban Tree Canopy Assessment Using Geospatial Technologies: A Case Study of the Town of Lincoln, Ontario
Razaghirad, Baharak
Urban trees provide important benefits to communities, from mitigating stormwater to improved air quality. Municipalities across Ontario encounter a decline in their urban tree canopy (UTC). UTC assessment is essential for the management of urban trees, especially in the context of climate change. However, quantifying the canopy remains a challenge, given that tree crowns are difficult to assess from the ground. Geospatial technologies provide a suitable alternative to costly, ground-based assessments. Still, they typically require a significant investment in resources, including technical expertise and equipment. For many small- and medium-sized municipalities facing the realities of climate change, these investments are cost-prohibitive.
This study aimed to assess the UTC within the Town of Lincoln, Ontario, using geospatial technologies. The first objective was to estimate canopy cover and distribution using image classification as the main approach. The second objective was to assess the proficiency of a low-cost method based on image interpretation (i.e., i-Tree Canopy) to calculate canopy cover compared to the main approach. The third objective was to examine the possibility of using the canopy goal designated by the Niagara Official Plan as a standard canopy goal. This research study produced three main results. First, the image classification indicated that the tree canopy covers 21% of the Town. Second, this study demonstrated that the results from the main approach are similar to those obtained from i-Tree Canopy. Given the similarity between these approaches, this study concluded that the lower-cost i-Tree Canopy method could be combined with other methods to prepare accurate and affordable canopy assessments for resource-limited municipalities. Finally, this study concluded that canopy goals should account for local
Urban Tree Canopy Assessment Using Geospatial Technologies
differences based on geographic location. This study makes a valuable contribution to the literature as it informs management of canopy resources in communities with limited resources. Outcomes from this study can also better inform tree-canopy goals and policies with a cost-effective method that requires minimal expertise. The ability to conduct UTC assessment in smaller communities is critical in mitigating the impacts of climate change facing most of these communities.