Adaptations and Vulnerabilities Concerning Home and Mobility in the Greater Toronto Area

Professor Karl Schmid has taught in Department of Anthropology at York since 2006.

• How will our city achieve a post carbon future?
• How will an energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables affect our urban lives?
• What are the social vulnerabilities and challenges of adaptation?

Given the importance of mitigating catastrophic climate change and recent concerns over energy affordability, my research engages with the question of what an energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables will mean for home life and personal mobility in the city. It explores what Greater Toronto urban governments, climate and energy-related organizations, builders and architects, as well as scholars and advocates are contemplating, planning and creating. With a focus on the transformation of our homes and the way we move around the city, this project is asking critical questions about related but different pieces of the post carbon puzzle, including the role of smart cities, changing automobility, home energy production, energy affordability and social vulnerabilities.