EJQ7 - Winter 2026 - Journal - Page 47
CITIES ARE WONDERFULLY COMPLEX CREATURES of our present and
brutes of our past, fused together in a living history. Our urban space
mirrors society: vibrant and diverse centres of commerce, ingenuity,
and arts. And, increasingly inequitable, spaces divided by the haves and
have-nots. Most notably in our downtowns and urban cores, the epidemic
of poverty and chronic disinvestment is boiling over. The unhoused
are uncomfortable and hungry, channelling that anger into smashed
windows of our businesses. These inequities scar the fabric and fracture
our communities.
Using brown昀椀elds as potential tools for social redevelopment in
strategic areas could be a tide of change for marginalized communities.
Environmental inequity can take shape in
many forms, such as placement of grocery
stores (food deserts), parks or tree canopies,
where new planned developments are, or
unchecked gentri昀椀cation. Urban cores are
speckled with post-industrial landscapes,
legacy contamination, poverty, and the unjust
distributions of amenities. By deliberate
TINY HOMES MAKING A BIG DIFFERENCE
brown昀椀eld redevelopment that maximizes
E N V I RON M E N T J OURN A L QUA RT E RLY RE PORT • W I NT E R 2 0 2 6 • P AGE 4 7
