Infrastructure Commons^™

Enhancing Ontario’S Rural Infrastructure Preparedness: Inter-Community Service Sharing In A Changing Climate — Rural Community Practitioners Workbook, Bryce Gunson, Brenda Murphy

Social and Environmental Justice Faculty Publications

This practitioner workbook draws together the insights from a three-year (2016-19) Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) funded research study. The purpose of the research project was to 1) assess the potential of inter-community service cooperation (ICSC) as a possible tool to address the impacts of climate change (CC) in small (500-7500 pop.) Ontario rural communities south of the Sudbury region and 2) understand the extent to which such collaboration and the impacts of CC are, or could be, embedded within the community’s infrastructure (asset) management processes (AMP). While the conclusions of this workbook are generalized to …

Enhancing Ontario’S Rural Infrastructure Preparedness: Inter-Community Service Sharing In A Changing Climate — Policy Brief, Brenda Murphy, Bryce Gunson

Social and Environmental Justice Faculty Publications

This policy brief draws together the insights from a three-year (2016-19) Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) funded research study. The purpose of the research project was to 1) assess the potential of inter-community service cooperation (ICSC) as a possible tool to address the impacts of climate change (CC) in small (500-7500 pop.) Ontario rural communities south of the Sudbury region and 2) understand the extent to which such collaboration and the impacts of CC are, or could be, embedded within the community’s infrastructure (asset) management processes (AMP). While the conclusions of policy brief are generalized to …

Enhancing Ontario’S Rural Infrastructure Preparedness: Inter-Community Service Sharing In A Changing Climate — Final Report: Swot Analysis And Key Insights, Brenda Murphy, Bryce Gunson

Social and Environmental Justice Faculty Publications

This final report draws together the insights from the three-year Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (2016-2019) study. The quote above succinctly draws together the vision behind this project: Enhanced, efficient service cooperation that contributes to a sustainable and prepared infrastructure system, while protecting the environmental capital upon which rural economies frequently depend. The purpose of the research project was to 1) assess the potential of inter-community service cooperation (ICSC) as a possible tool to address the impacts of climate change (CC) in small (500-7500 pop.) Ontario rural communities south of the Sudbury region and 2) understand the …

Enhancing Ontario’S Rural Infrastructure Preparedness: Inter-Community Service Sharing In A Changing Climate — Interim Report 2: Provincial Survey Results, Brenda Murphy, Bryce Gunson

Social and Environmental Justice Faculty Publications

Rural communities draw from their history of doing more with less, strong social networks and an intimate relationship with the natural environment to achieve economic innovation, positive social capacity development and environmental sustainability. These spaces also experience challenges including preparing for the impacts of climate change (CC). Ontario has already felt some of these effects leading to millions of dollars of damage to the province’s infrastructure. Exacerbated by an aging infrastructure built by now outdated assumptions, the vulnerability to CC will likely increase and the built-in coping range may not be adequate to handle future climate extremes.

The purpose of …

Enhancing Ontario’S Rural Infrastructure Preparedness: Inter-Community Service Sharing In A Changing Climate — Interim Report 1: Key Informant Interview Results, Bryce Gunson, Brenda Murphy

Social and Environmental Justice Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to develop a climate change (CC) prepared inter-community service sharing strategy (ICSS) targeted to rural Ontario communities that capitalizes on infrastructure assessments that are undertaken through the asset management process (AMP). AMP is defined by the Ontario government as “…. the process of making the best possible decisions regarding the building, operating, maintaining, renewing, replacing and disposing of infrastructure assets. It helps prioritize infrastructure needs and ensures that investments are made in the right place and at the right time to minimize future repair and rehabilitation costs.” The objective of AMPs are to maximize …

Enhancing Ontario’S Rural Infrastructure Preparedness: Inter-Community Service Sharing In A Changing Climate — Assessment Of Ten Rural Municipal Case Studies, Brenda Murphy, Annette Chrétien, Bryce Gunson

Social and Environmental Justice Faculty Publications

This assessment of ten municipal case studies is a sub-project of a larger three-year Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (2016-2019) study. The purpose of the assessment was to i) evaluate the role of inter-community service cooperation (ICSC) in relation to climate change preparedness and asset management planning (AMP) through the presentation of ten case studies, and ii) draw together cross-cutting themes and best practices that have the potential to maximize the climate change (CC) preparedness of rural municipal infrastructure. All project documents are available online from http://www.resilientresearch.ca/research-publications/.

Enhancing Ontario’S Rural Infrastructure Preparedness: Inter-Community Service Sharing In A Changing Climate — Environmental Scan, Bryce Gunson, Kylie Hissa

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Given the research that has been done in this environmental scan and the gaps found in this research, it is our aim to find out:

1. What types of service sharing are going on in Ontario municipalities, particularly in rural/remote areas?
2. How can inter-community service sharing (ICSS) benefit the asset management planning process in these rural/remote areas to enhance capacities for climate change resilience?

Climate change (CC) will exacerbate deterioration to existing infrastructure and increase replacement costs. Improved preparedness reduces risks and increases efficiency, readiness and coping capacity. To increase the preparedness of Ontario rural communities, this project develops CC-Prepared Inter-Community …

A Winter Index For Benchmarking Winter Road Maintenance Operations On Ontario Highways, Jianzhong Li

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Canada is one of the snowiest countries in the world, and winter road maintenance activities cost in the order of a billion dollars a year. These activities vary considerably over both space and time, partly due to differences in winter weather, but also because of differences in road and traffic mix, terrain and other factors. The thesis explores the association between winter road maintenance activities and winter weather. The first objective is to characterize the spatial and temporal variation in severe winter weather in Ontario. The second objective is to identify a winter weather index that is sensitive to road …

Community Access In Northern Ontario The Problem Of Orphan Roads, David A. Frentress

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In northern Ontario, long distances, harsh climatic and physiographic conditions and sparse population make transportation costly and problematic. This thesis examines the problem of orphan roads. An orphan road leads to a small, unincorporated community, but it is not under any type of road maintenance agreement. Five such roads were not under agreement for the 1982-1983 winter. These roads led to Biscotasing, Hillsport, Auden, Oba and Pagwa River. With the exception of Pagwa River, a case study of each situation was carried out to gain a clearer understanding of the problem in order that recommendations could be made. major recommendations …