Sustainability and Social Justice:A Case Study

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Presenters:Melissa El SombatiDiego PacittoAfsana AhmedJan Silverthorne

Central Commerce CollegiateESL 43.3%

Special Needs 24.5%

Parent’s Average Income

36,400

Academic Performance Rating 2008

Academic Performance 2008

Avg. level Gr.9 Math (academic)

1.6

OSSLT passed (%) – First Attempt

41.8

OSSLT passed (%)- Subsequent Attempts

35.8

Tests below standard 67.1

Overall Rating out of 10 1

February 4, 2009 - Breaking News! “High school locked down after

two students stabbed”

“Blood splattered the snow-covered lawn of 417 Crawford St., and a black-hooded sweatshirt along with a black winter jacket and hat lay on the sidewalk nearby. ”

“A second stabbing victim kept a 1p.m. job interview at King West Vets veterinary clinic before proceeding to hospital. Both victims are 16 and both suffered non-life- threatening wounds.”

“Police immediately locked down several neighbourhood schools, including Central Commerce Collegiate, which the victims attend.”

“Yesterday was Sophia Toikos's second day of Grade 11 at Central Commerce. She was having lunch when the lockdown began."I was a little scared when the SWAT team came in," said the 17-year-old student. "I was like, `Wow, I don't want to get shot or anything.'"

A Turning Point:How Bikes Turned the School Around

• Igor Kenk’s stolen bikes needed a home and CCC had a pool that sat empty that the board refused to fund repairs for

The City gave the school close to 16,000 bike parts and now houses over 2,000 completed bikes

• CCC tech teacher Toby Bowers created a Bike Repair and Maintenance course, an elective tech course for Grade 11 and 12 students

• This is the first program of its kind to be offered by the TDSB• Students choose the bike they would like to build• If they pass the course and complete safety training they get to

keep their unique bike• Many students choose to complete more than one bike that

they donate to the Bike Club where students without bikes can borrow bikes to go on rides

• In future, they are contemplating selling the bikes to raise funds for parts and equipment for the program

Effects on the School and Community

Academic Performance Rating 2012Academic

Performance2008 2012

Avg. level Gr.9 Math (acadademic)

1.6 2.8

OSSLT passed (%) – First Attempt

41.8 42.1

OSSLT passed (%)- Subsequent Attempt

35.8 52.2

Tests below standard

67.1 43.5

Overall Rating out of 10

1 4.5

Was ranked 671/691 in the province in 2008, now 597/725

Sustainability

• Finding ways to meet current human needs while leaving enough “natural capital” to allow future generations to survive

• The need to balance long-term social, environmental & economic goals

• Survival of future generations of human

Urban Transportation• Transportation is clearly essential to most urban activities

• Any system that depends on limited, non-renewable resources is not a reliable option for future generations.

• Government’s ability to control its own transportation system costs is limited by reliance on foreign sources of oil.

• Canadian consumers spend more on their cars than they spend on food, clothing, home furnishings combined (2000)

Sustainable Transportation: The Bicycle

• World’s most widely used transport vehicle

• Bicycles vs. automobiles in quantity (2:1)

• Bicycles vs. automobiles in production (3:1)

• A person on a bicycle expends less energy than any creature or machine covering the same distance

Sustainable Transportation: The Bicycle

• Of all trips in the United States, less than 1 percent are made by bicycle.

• Vehicles powered by alternative fuels or electricity could minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

• Problems of traffic, sprawl, or deadly accidents?

• Addresses all the environmental liabilities of cars is the bicycle.

Shaw Street & Contra Flow Bike Lanes

“ Shaw Street also crosses Central Commerce Collegiate and is a route that many students take to and from school. Providing this lane will help make their ride safer and encourage them to continue using active, sustainable transportation to move throughout our city ”

Healthy Active Lifestyle

• Main Goal: Help reduce the huge toll of physical inactivity & sedentary lifestyles

• Less than 1 in 10 young people get enough exercise

• Less than 15% of Canadians as a whole get enough exercise

Healthy Active Lifestyle

• Physical activity has a direct effect on well-being and health.

• Benefiting society as a whole due to improved air quality, reduced noise and danger

Steps to Creating a Sustainable School

1. Establish a school green team2. Choose one or more of these areas to address: energy, water,

waste, school grounds or transportation.3. Develop short-term and long-term goals 4. Create an action plan5. Consult with other schools, districts, and community

organizations for advice and support.6. Evaluate progress regularly 7. Celebrate successes

Reference: Sustainable Schools Best Practice Guide- BC Education

Sustainability and Social Justice in Technological Design

What Are the Related Industries

• Architectural Technologist/Designer• Construction Engineering Technologist • Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technologist/Designer• Mechanical Engineering Technologist/Designer• Fashion Designer• Robotics Technologist• Industrial Design• Interior Design

All of these disciplines already have a large focus on Environmental Sustainability. Social Justice and Sustainability have only recently started to receive a larger emphasis in design.

Technological Design at CCC

Incorporate Technological Design into CCC tech teacher and tie it in with the Bike Repair and Maintenance course

Bicycle Design - Design bicycles, components and parts, accessories, locks, bike shelters, bike racks, clothing, infrastructure, etc.

• The design projects could also span out to other tech and non tech classes.

• Build bicycle parts in Manufacturing Technology classes

• Create graphic and paint layouts in Communication technology

• Paint their bikes in Transportation technology

• ?

Technological Design at CCC

New technologies are being incorporated into bicycle design and manufacturing and can all be covered in the Tech Design Curriculum

• Computer Aided Design• Aerodynamics• Materials• Manufacturing Processes • Prototyping

Technological Design at CCC

Arrange field trips with local bicycle design and manufacturing companies

• Cervélo Cycles• No. 22 Bicycle Company• Norco bicycles• Mountain Equipment Co-op• Gallant Bicycles

Teaching Social Justice, Sustainability and Design

How can design affect social justice?

● Design for physically disabled● Design cost effective products● Design for accessibility● Design products that can be locally produced● Use locally sourced materials● Use safe materials and manufacturing processes

Teaching Social Justice, Sustainability and Bicycles

The Cardboard Bicycle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB_m9RN9Hsc

Use the Cardboard Bicycle as a case study to show how a product can contribute to social justice and sustainability

• Environmentally Sustainable

• Renewable resources

• Locally sourced materials

• Built locally

• Inexpensive

Teaching Social Justice, Sustainability and Bicycles

Discuss companies that have been formed around a design and have helped their communities

• Studio Innova• Cuppow• Shinola

Teaching Social Justice, Sustainability and Bicycles

Toronto Design studio that designed and manufactured a cost effective and compact CPR manikin, which replaced the expensive full sized CPR manikin.

Studio Innova

American company designs and manufactures drinking lids that are used with existing mason jarsThey design was to create a way to reuse an existing environmentally friendly objects instead of designing a new coffee mugThey have developed and maintained a localized supply chain in order to reinvest in their community

Cuppow

The Media and the Movement

Reading List:

• Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines http://www.csep.ca/CMFiles/Guidelines/CSEP_Guidelines_Handbook.pdf

• Sustainable Schools Best Practice Guide http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/greenschools/pdfs/sustbestpractices.pdf

• The Bicycle and Urban Sustainability http://fes.yorku.ca/files/outstanding_papers/david-tomlinson.pdf

Reading List Continued:Social Justice and Sustainability in Design

• http://www.sustainable-design.ie/sustain/twp.htm

• http://dmlcentral.net/blog/lyndsay-grant/should-we-design-social-justice-learning

• http://www.residentialarchitect.com/architects/blazing-trails1.aspx

• http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/letter-from-a-bankrupt-city-eulogizing-detroits-dream-of-social-justice