The Better Way: Transit Service and Demand in Metropolitan Toronto, 1953-1990

This dissertation contends that the decision of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission to introduce a grid of frequent, all-day bus service on arterial roads in newly built, low-density suburban neighbourhoods is responsible for Toronto’s unique ability to attract suburbanites to transit. Toronto’s approach is in stark contrast with the that followed in most North American urban regions, where auto-oriented suburban built form is considered to make transit unviable, and therefore transit service outside the urban core is typically very limited. The Ontario government’s establishment of metropolitan government in the Toronto region in 1953, at a time when transit remained a popular mode of transportation, encouraged and empowered suburban politicians to pressure the TTC to expand service to their constituencies. In response, the TTC developed a plan for suburban bus service that succeeded, in terms of ridership and financial performance, far beyond its expectations. This success, in turn, encouraged further service improvements and government support for transit, producing a virtuous spiral of service increases, ridership gains, and government funding increases, which stood in sharp contrast with the vicious spiral of ridership declines, service cuts, and fare hikes that plagued transit systems in most North American cities. This dissertation is the product of archival research in Canada and the United States, as well as a series of interviews with policymakers, planners, and activists who were engaged during the period. The Toronto model offers valuable lessons for transportation planning across North America. It demonstrates that it is possible to achieve high transit mode share, even in areas that are not designed as explicitly transit-oriented communities. This means that it is possible to shift trips away from the automobile without needing to entirely rebuild the suburban neighbourhoods where most North Americans reside, an unachievable goal on the timeline required to avert catastrophic climate change. It also demonstrates that the benefits of large capital investments in rapid transit and rail projects will only be maximized when paired with operating funding to ensure that the new infrastructure is embedded in a broader network of frequent local transit service

Water market actors in Dhaka: strengthening earthquake resilience and preparedness

"The Urban Crises Learning Partnership (UCLP) was a two-year (2015-17) learning initiative aimed at improving humanitarian preparedness and response in urban areas. It is a partnership between Habitat for Humanity GB, Oxfam GB, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and University College London (UCL). The project has carried out primary research in Haiti and Bangladesh through the National Offices of Habitat for Humanity in both countries, and Oxfam in Bangladesh. The UCLP has two primary objectives: to improve the way stakeholders in urban crises engage with each other to form new partnerships and make better decisions; and to improve disaster preparedness and response in urban areas by developing, testing, and disseminating new approaches to the formation of these relationships and systems. The project has addressed these objectives by exploring four related themes: the role of actors who are not part of the formal national or international humanitarian system; accountability to affected populations (AAP); urban systems; and coordinating urban disaster preparedness. This paper by Graeme English, Luiza Campos, and Jonathan Parkinson makes a valuable contribution to the last of these themes – coordinating urban disaster preparedness. By focusing on a specific and important sector – water – in the Bangladeshi capital, the paper draws attention to a range of preparedness measures that should take place prior to a major event such as an earthquake. The paper reviews current understanding of urban disaster risk reduction for domestic water resources and distribution. It indicates that stakeholders need to better understand water market systems in order to improve their responses and preparedness for an earthquake. It analyses the current situation related to resilience in the domestic water supply chain in Dhaka, and applies market-system mapping to highlight how stakeholders can work better with communities and market actors, as well as to highlight weak links in distribution chains. The paper serves as a useful companion piece to two other papers in this series – the Dhaka City Earthquake Simulation Report; and Partnership, Coordination, and Accountability in Urban Disaster Management: A Review of Policies in Bangladesh.

Characteristics of Child Maltreatment and Adolescent Marijuana Use: A Prospective Study

There has been increasing acceptance of marijuana use in the US in recent years, and rates among adolescents have risen. At the same time, marijuana use during adolescence has been linked to an array of health and social problems. Maltreated children are at risk for marijuana use, but the relationships among characteristics of maltreatment and marijuana use are unclear. In this paper we examine how the type and the extent of maltreatment are related to the level of adolescent marijuana use. Data analyses were conducted on a subsample of maltreated adolescents (n = 702) from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) project. Approximately half the sample had used marijuana, and maltreatment was associated with its use. Multivariate regression models showed that being male, extensive maltreatment, and peer marijuana use were associated with Heavy Use of marijuana. These findings suggest the importance of comprehensively assessing children’s maltreatment experiences and their peers’ drug use to help prevent or address possible marijuana use in these high-risk adolescents

Water market actors in Dhaka: strengthening earthquake resilience and preparedness

"The Urban Crises Learning Partnership (UCLP) was a two-year (2015-17) learning initiative aimed at improving humanitarian preparedness and response in urban areas. It is a partnership between Habitat for Humanity GB, Oxfam GB, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and University College London (UCL). The project has carried out primary research in Haiti and Bangladesh through the National Offices of Habitat for Humanity in both countries, and Oxfam in Bangladesh. The UCLP has two primary objectives: to improve the way stakeholders in urban crises engage with each other to form new partnerships and make better decisions; and to improve disaster preparedness and response in urban areas by developing, testing, and disseminating new approaches to the formation of these relationships and systems. The project has addressed these objectives by exploring four related themes: the role of actors who are not part of the formal national or international humanitarian system; accountability to affected populations (AAP); urban systems; and coordinating urban disaster preparedness. This paper by Graeme English, Luiza Campos, and Jonathan Parkinson makes a valuable contribution to the last of these themes – coordinating urban disaster preparedness. By focusing on a specific and important sector – water – in the Bangladeshi capital, the paper draws attention to a range of preparedness measures that should take place prior to a major event such as an earthquake. The paper reviews current understanding of urban disaster risk reduction for domestic water resources and distribution. It indicates that stakeholders need to better understand water market systems in order to improve their responses and preparedness for an earthquake. It analyses the current situation related to resilience in the domestic water supply chain in Dhaka, and applies market-system mapping to highlight how stakeholders can work better with communities and market actors, as well as to highlight weak links in distribution chains. The paper serves as a useful companion piece to two other papers in this series – the Dhaka City Earthquake Simulation Report; and Partnership, Coordination, and Accountability in Urban Disaster Management: A Review of Policies in Bangladesh.