Inclusive planning for ecological restoration: A Toronto, Canada perspective

This paper will examine the ethical assumptions and terms of participation that underlie restoration processes. Increasingly, good ecological restoration is not only determined by scientific or economic measures, but also by examining the ethical and cultural values associated with a project.  Community participation in urban ecological restoration has been shown to increase the overall success of restoration projects. By including and planning for the needs of the local communities, there is a significant increase in the likelihood of the project achieving long term ecological integrity and responding to the socio-environmental complexities within which the project is situated.  Toronto, Canada, is among the most ethnoculturally diverse urban centers in the world.  However, an analysis of ecological restoration projects and literature reveals that there is lack of integration of marginalized and racialized communities in the planning and implementation of urban restoration projects.  This paper examines a number of Toronto case studies and the social aspects surrounding them including issues of access, equity, diversity and different ways of knowing.  The paper also makes recommendations around the topic of inclusive practices and provides concrete suggestions that will lead towards more inclusive behaviour.