Canadian Geographer-Geographe Canadien最新文献

In Bridgewater, a small town in Nova Scotia, around 40% of households face energy poverty. Little research has examined energy poverty in Canada and how it affects the well-being of households. The aim of this study was to identify the ways households cope with energy poverty across socio-economic characteristics, paying particular attention to the heat-or-eat trade-off. Data were collected using a community-based survey on housing, energy use and costs, coping strategies, socio-economic characteristics, and well-being. Overall, 516 residents of Bridgewater completed the survey. Cross-tabulations and logistic regressions were used to analyze the data. Results indicate that the use of coping strategies was higher among women compared to men, young adults compared to other age groups, in households with children, and in lower-income households. Over one-third of respondents reported using the heat-or-eat trade-off. Women, young adults, those in dwellings in need of repairs, and those with lower education levels and lower household incomes were more likely to use the heat-or-eat trade-off. Our findings reveal that households vulnerable to energy poverty are forced to use a range of coping strategies, including strategies beyond those captured by the heat-or-eat trade-off. Better understanding the experience of households facing energy poverty can inform the creation of effective support programs.

North America is characterized by an expansive continental plain that has been described as platter-flat. Yet this central continental plain includes isolated uplands that some people call mountains. The hill-mountain muddle is a classic problem of geomorphology, arising from the challenge of discriminating continuous, attached forms. Here we approach this problem initially by using crisp, terrain-only classification approaches. We overlay a global mountain classifier with a plain and prairie designation to identify 20 mountains in Canada's continental plain, then apply a landform classification tool to delineate their spatial extents and to locate adjacent, equal-area lowlands. We then characterize and compare the attributes of uplands and adjacent lowlands with 15 geobiocultural indicators reflective of the intersections of land, life, and people. Supporting our hypothesis that small, isolated uplands in the continental plain have distinctiveness disproportionate to their dimensions, the 20 uplands are indeed modest in elevation, prominence, and isolation, but distinct in geobiological characteristics relative to adjacent lowlands. The geobiocultural distinctiveness of uplands in the plain relative to surrounding lowlands causes these local prominences to stand out, to seem higher than they are, and to be hills described or named as mountains.

In northern Canada, Indigenous Peoples face rapid environmental and sociocultural changes that disrupt access to traditional places and practices. This disruption limits cross-generational knowledge transfer and decreases opportunities for youth to connect with the Land. Land-based education programs aim to provide Indigenous youth with spaces to learn about and connect with the Land, their language, and culture. However, there is limited research on what youth experience, enjoy, and learn during these programs. Our paper explores this through a study with Dene and Métis youth in the Dehcho region of the Northwest Territories. We investigate what youth experience and learn during “on-the-land” camps and how these camps provide spaces for youth to connect with the Land. Using a community-based, Indigenous research methodology, we employed photovoice, allowing youth to share visual stories of their camp experiences and their (re)connection with the Land. Our results are categorized into three themes: (1) connections with the Land; (2) enjoyment of the camp environment; and (3) land-based learning. We argue that land-based education programs, such as on-the-land camps, are effective for fostering relationships between Indigenous youth and the Land. These camps teach youth various ways to connect with and protect the Land for future generations.

Neighbourhood physical and social disorders are shown to have adverse impacts on residents’ mental health. Identifying and addressing neighbourhood challenges is crucial for promoting social cohesion and mental well-being. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of research on this important topic within Canada, prompting a comprehensive evaluation of the association between neighbourhoods’ challenges and self-rated mental health. Using the 2018 (N = 61,021) and 2021(N = 40,988) Canadian Housing Surveys and employing logistic regression models for comparative analysis, we found that residents of neighbourhoods with challenges including harassment, drug use, drunkenness, unsafeness at night, noise, smog/air pollution, garbage litter, and vandalism, reported lower odds of positive mental health (PMH) both pre-pandemic and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, females reported lower odds of PMH both pre-pandemic and during the pandemic. However, residents with post-secondary educational attainment, those from wealthy households, and those in two-member households, significantly reported PMH before and during the pandemic. Civic engagement with the local community also correlated more with PMH, but pre-pandemic only. Provincial variations were further observed. Thus, we concluded that neighbourhood challenges contribute to poor mental health. Socio-economic and provincial differences underscore the importance of tailored interventions and support systems for mental health across regions. However, it is important to highlight that the self-reported nature of our data may result in biased perceptions. That is, participants’ existing poorer mental health status may influence their opinions about the neighbourhoods. Also, the tendency of social desirability to influence responses may suggest a bidirectional neighbourhood-mental health relationship.

A reliable transportation network is essential to maintaining and growing a region's economic productivity through the movement of goods, a significant proportion of which is moved by truck. Criticalities in the network should be identified and mitigation measures implemented to ensure that minimal negative impacts arise from link disruptions. Using criticality measures that account for network, freight flow, and economic characteristics, a comparison is made among locations of highly critical segments in the province of Ontario, Canada, and infrastructure improvement projects planned by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. Four highway capacity expansion segments are explored through a scenario analysis, comparing the effects resulting from their implementation to a status quo base case. Freight and passenger flows are forecasted to the year 2036 for the analysis. A comparison is made among the scenarios to assess the network-wide impacts of each segment's improvements with respect to vehicle and shipment value flows, travel time, greenhouse gas emissions, and each segment's average operating conditions. Of the four segments compared, the improvements of Highway 404 appear to provide the most significant benefits with respect to network performance. Such analysis can inform policy measures for the prioritization of infrastructure improvements to address network criticalities.

School buses are a prevalent mode of school travel that may negatively affect students’ academic performance due to numerous factors, including longer commutes. These extended travel times can introduce or exacerbate mental and physical stressors, including air pollution exposure and bullying, while reducing opportunities for health-promoting activities like physical activity and sleep. While a few researchers have explored the effects of school bus transportation on academic achievement, the research is limited. In this study, we used data from two major Canadian cities, Toronto and Ottawa, to investigate the relationship between the proportion of students commuting by bus to and from school and the percentage meeting standards on standardized tests. We employed beta regression models to analyze performance in reading, writing, math, and literacy across Grades 3, 6, 9, and 10 while controlling for family and income variables that may influence school travel mode and student achievement. Our findings indicate a significant inverse correlation between school bus transportation and academic achievement for Grade 10 literacy. Longer commutes appear to impair academic performance, given that Grade 10 students presumably spend more time on the bus than younger students. Notably, the negative effects on literacy outcomes are greater than on math.