The purpose of the study is to foster Government and community partnership to help build a common understanding of air pollution exposure within the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood and identify potential short and long term solutions for the benefit of the community.
The study engages the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association (BQNA), the City of Toronto Planning and Public Health Departments, PortsToronto, and a diverse team of researchers at the University of Toronto and the Southern Ontario Center for Atmospheric Aerosol Research (SOCAAR). The SOCAAR team is well positioned to initiate and study community partnerships in air pollution, owing to a track record of various team members who have engaged with communities, the non-profit sector, and local governments.
Research partnerships in air quality have made great strides in terms of the development of unique and novel methods for measuring, characterizing, and modelling air quality. In order to accelerate the implementation of these novel approaches into policy at the local and national level, university-community partnerships with government participation are key. The uptake of novel air quality analysis into policy is accelerated.
The partnership will generate three outcomes:
an assessment of air pollution exposure across the Neighbourhood and the perspectives of its residents,
identification of the main sources of air pollution, and
an evaluation of policy scenarios for air pollution reduction.
Over the next two years, the partners will work closely to gain a fuller perspective of the diversity of the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood and the roles collaborative research can play in resolving environmental issues.
The partners have received matched funding through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to conduct the study and meet regularly to review technical information and develop communication materials to provide updates at key milestones. Through this partnership we can co-learn to better understand issues and exposures that affect air quality in the neighbourhood.