By: Hannah Walters-Vida
Inequality between Hamilton neighbourhoods is very apparent. While parts of Hamilton have transformed from industrial areas to culturally dynamic, economically rich hubs, not all of its neighbourhoods have experienced the same prosperity. A 2015 research paper by Richard Harris, Jim Dunn, and Sarah Wakefield showed Hamilton’s neighbourhoods are among the most unequal in Canada.
Related to the financial disparities between neighbourhoods, there are astounding differences in the environmental conditions across the city.
Mobile air monitoring has shown that certain neighbourhoods suffer more from air pollution than other parts of the city. Air pollution is harmful to the environment, as well as to the health of residents in the affected areas.
Prolonged exposure to polluted air can increase risk of stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory diseases, according to World Health Organization.
In addition, there is some evidence to show that low-income neighbourhoods have less urban forest than wealthier areas in Hamilton. Trees all around the city are being cut down without being replaced, causing the rapid depletion of Hamilton’s urban canopy.
There are no simple solutions to Hamilton’s deeply rooted inequality. However, there are steps that the city can and should take to improve living conditions in the most disadvantaged parts of Hamilton.
And the solutions do not all have to be complicated. One simple way to address the problems of minimal urban canopy and poor air quality is to plant trees. As a result of absorbing air pollutants, trees help reduce greenhouse gases and improve human health.
The city recognizes the need for trees. The 2020 Hamilton Clean and Green Action Strategy envisions a Hamilton that is, “recognized as a sustainable clean and green community where everyone takes responsibility for, and has pride in, the environments in which they live, work, and play”. The plan suggests increasing the urban forest canopy as a method to achieve the goal of ecological integrity.
Street trees are an ideal way to do this. They are planted on city owned property, which often coincides with sections of people’s front yards, requiring the cooperation of the residents. A 2006 report by Dan Burden states that street trees absorb nine times more pollutants than distant trees, thus maximizing the environmental and health benefits.
The good news is that the city of Hamilton already offers a street tree-planting program called City Trees. They offer trees to be planted on people’s front properties at no cost to residents. However, not many people are aware of the program and many of the available trees go unclaimed.
The Street Tree Project, an OPIRG McMaster-run initiative, addresses this by selecting one area of the city per year that faces problems of poor air quality and minimal urban canopy and focuses efforts on a door to door campaign to let residents know about the free trees, and to put in the request with the city on their behalf. 181 trees were requested over the first three years of the project.
But trees are not enough on their own. We have to keep in mind that the emissions from nearby factories and pollution from vehicles are some of the primary causes of the city’s poor air quality. Trees will help mitigate the effects, but must be planted in conjunction with policies that reduce emissions in the first place.
Street trees are not the solution to Hamilton’s inequality problems, but they are a simple and attainable step in the right direction.
