What role can cities play in climate change mitigation? On Thursday, July 9, Assistant Professor Liat Margolis addressed this question as a presenter at the Climate Reality Leadership Corps “Training in Canada” conference. The two-day event provides training to individuals working to address the climate crisis.

Margolis participated in a panel with Merran Smith, Executive Director of Clean Energy Canada; Céline Bak, President of Analytica Advisors; and Professor Normand Mousseau, University research chair in complex materials, energy and natural resources at the Université de Montréal. Other speakers at the training conference included former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, as well as other leading scientists, strategists, communicators, and technical specialists.  

As a member of Sustainable Canada Dialogues (SCD) — an initiative that mobilizes over 60 researchers from every province in Canada, representing climate change expertise in areas from engineering to sociology — Margolis has been pariticipating in a number of events to discuss the relationship between cities and climate change and how urban centres, through improved planning and design, can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Urban form may be the single largest determinant of a city’s greenhouse gas emissions," she wrote in a special issue of Alternatives Journal in May. "It is crucial that Canadian policy makers step up and integrate comprehensive long-term planning for climate change mitigation and adaptation into regulations and policies for urban development.”

Margolis’ research interests include green building technologies, green infrastructure, landscape planning, and sustainable, resilient cities. She is the director of the Green Roof Innovation Testing Laboratory (GRIT Lab), an interdisciplinary and applied research facility that is dedicated to testing and evaluating the environmental performance of green building technologies. Margolis has written two books: one that provides case studies for the integration of natural ecosystems with urban landscapes, and one that discusses strategies for sustainable and resilient urban water management.

Related:

• 60 scholars and scientists across Canada to unveil climate change action plan March 18
• Liat Margolis contributes to "Canada’s Map to Sustainability" — a special issue of Alternatives Journal
• Professor Liat Margolis joins Sustainable Canada Dialogues at the People's Climate Forum on Sept. 21
• Green Roofs – Interview with Prof. Liat Margolis