Natural features, climate change, and the demand for residential development
PhD candidate Adam Skoyles is researching how planners and private land developers make decisions that impact the places we live.
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Major urban centres in Ontario are expanding to accommodate a growing population while also working towards climate change adaptation and mitigation goals. Natural features, biophysical elements such as wetlands and trees, can assist in meeting these goals by providing carbon sequestration, microclimate regulation, and stormwater runoff control. However, city governments are struggling with the need to intensify the built environment while incorporating or protecting natural features. Municipal planners and private land developers are key stakeholders in this struggle, which has not been widely researched or discussed in Canada.
Adam Skoyles, a PhD candidate in the School of Planning, appreciates natural features in urban areas. “Although I find dense urban areas fun to explore, when there are trees and birds around, it makes the city more aesthetically pleasing and helps me relax." After completing his bachelors and master’s in Environmental Science at the University of Windsor, Skoyles joined the Faculty of Environment to conduct research in an interdisciplinary setting that would allow him to bridge natural and social sciences to contribute toward making communities more sustainable. Under the supervision of Michael Drescher, Skoyles is researching how nature and climate change are considered in residential development decisions in Ontario, Canada.
In a recently published article, Skoyles interviewed municipal planners and private land developers to assess how decisions are made about natural features in the residential development planning process, and what role climate change plays in this decision making. A total of 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the recordings were summarized and underwent qualitative coding and content analysis.
The results of this research revealed that natural features are one of the first components of a site that are considered when making decisions. The primary reason for this consideration was due to the policies, bylaws and management plans that protect certain natural features. Adhering to the rules set by different levels of government is necessary and therefore a significant point of discussion to receive project approvals.
While the importance of natural features in decision-making was evident, climate change was not a primary reason for this priority. Participants were aware that natural features could help adapt to climate change, but this awareness was implicitly considered. One reason participants did not link climate change to natural features was due to the lack of empirical evidence. “If planners and developers had easy access to tools that could reliably quantify ecosystem services then it could help justify why nature is important to include in development”, says Skoyles.
Lastly, participants acknowledged that policies are changing to meet the needs of a changing climate. These policies include the protection of natural features which can minimize climate change impacts. Green development standards, which include optional measures that encourage more environmentally sustainable designs, are limited but have provided incentive for some developers to adapt more sustainable designs.
Next, Skoyles plans to publish interviews with planners and developers to present the key barriers and opportunities for integrating ecosystem service assessment tools into their work. He is interested in understanding the extent to which currently implemented green development standards across Ontario municipalities support nature-based solutions.
The research, Nature’s role in residential development: Identifying leverage points for climate change planning in Ontario, Canada, authored by Skoyles, Michael Drescher, Dawn C. Parker, and Derek T. Robinson, was recently published in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. His findings were also features on The Conversation.
