‘We need to start building up’

Researchers say urban sprawl could have negative impact on climate change in P.E.I.

“We’re at the point where we need to act aggressively now. This is something we don’t really have the ability to stall on anymore.”

As new housing projects continue to pop up in areas of P.E.I. vulnerable to climate change, one climate researcher is saying the solution is to stay in the city.

“Urbanization is the way to go for a carbon-controlled future,” said Bradley Knockwood, aquatic ecosystem research assistant and geography major at Saint Mary’s University’s environmental science department.

“We’re at the point where we need to act aggressively now. This is something we don’t really have the ability to stall on anymore,” he told Saltwire Network during an interview on Nov. 7.

Knockwood has spent the last two years researching wetlands and forested areas in the Halifax area.

In that time, he has carried out studies across dozens of wetland sites and observed how they’ve changed over time due to the accelerating rate of negative climate change impacts.

“We’re choking green areas which act as carbon sinks. A lot of this will cause longterm consequences,” said Knockwood.

Some of these consequences

Bradley Knockwood

could include loss of local wildlife, contamination of water systems and hotter summers.

For these reasons, Knockwood feels strongly the solution to protecting these ecosystems is less urban sprawl.

“If you have urban sprawl, you have every single detached home spread out as far as you can go. If you have urbanization, you have all those people living in seven, eight or nine buildings,” Knockwood said.

This solution comes with its own set of issues, such as waste management and public transit.

That said, the theory is individuals in an area would eventually accumulate to the overall productivity of their location and, because they are in closer proximity, would be

more inclined to interact with their neighbours to come up with viable solutions to benefit the greater public.

This theory has been explored before. The late Kevin Lynch, an author and urban planner, wrote about this idea in his 1960 book, The Image of the City, where he explored benefits of a more urbanized society from an economic perspective.

A research paper published in October 2010, entitled Urban Sprawl, Smart Growth and Deliberative Democracy, by David B. Resnik, makes the point that there is substantial evidence to suggest urban sprawl has negative effects on human health and the environment.

Knockwood said he feels P.E.I. can achieve this with one solution being the construction of taller housing units.

“We have the ability to build above what we say we can,” said Knockwood.

“Look at the Delta. Look at the Homburg. These are large structures that are a very significant size compared to the area around. What’s not to say three blocks up by Bayfield Street we can’t build a 10-storey apartment building?” he said.

P.E.I. has no bedrock, which is often a cited reason the province doesn’t construct tall buildings. Though there is merit to this argument, innovation is possible as the technology to build taller buildings safely already exists.

“Look at the UPEI campus. They know they don’t have the space to build out anymore, so they’re building up. They are overcoming these challenges,” said Knockwood.

“We must be able to say, ‘OK, well here is a challenge we need to technologically overcome.’ It’s not feasible for us to be spreading out as far as we are. We need to start building up.”

Gregor Mcewan, a data scientist who works with fishfarming companies across the country, has seen first-hand the effects of climate change to fish populations in small bodies of water.

He told Saltwire Network in an interview on Nov. 7 he thinks it’s an interesting theory, but if it were ever to be possible, strong government incentives would need to be in place to convince people to leave rural areas.

“There is definitely an argument there, as there is less room for impact to local ecosystems,” said Mcewan.

Some advantages to higher density living he cited were easy access to medical centres and other necessities like grocery stores. That said, there is also still work to do in the development of energy sources that produce carbon emissions before this could truly be considered a long-term viable solution.

“When you switch to electric cars, you’re still using electricity that is sometimes not generated in great ways.

“If you change that electricity generation to a renewable source, every vehicle in range of that area has an energy source that is renewable.”

Although there could be merit to this theory, it is possible to live in rural areas properly, with little damage to the ecosystem, said Mcewan.

“It’s possible and people do it, but it is an interesting stance for sure.”