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Research Articles
Submitted: 2024-04-19
Published: 2025-10-19

Do Municipal Sustainability Plans Reflect Multispecies Justice? The Case of Toronto

University of Toronto
Sustainability Multispecies justice Marginalized Urban governance Cities

Abstract

Sustainability schemes in cities have become commonplace, but governance processes often perpetuate inequities for marginalized groups. This paper investigates how equity and nature are framed in two sets of municipal sustainability plans from the City of Toronto through a novel multispecies justice framework. It is found that there is a clear focus on equity in both plans, but policies fall short in practically addressing how certain actions will ensure justice outcomes, and contain conflicting discourse around how, and for whom, nature should be valued. More can be done to ensure policymaking is meaningful for marginalized groups in urban governance planning.

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