Cities and Climate Change at TEDxUofT

March 24, 2016

TEDxUofT looks for speakers at the forefront of innovation who will ‘inform, inspire, surprise and delight’ from across disciplines such as science, business, the arts, technology and global issues from within the University of Toronto community. An annual conference, these thinkers, along with creative performers share the stage in front of an audience of more than a thousand, both in attendance at the conference or tuning in from the livestream.

Among this years twelve invited speakers was Sara Hughes, Assistant Professor of Political Science whose research focus is on urban politics, the institutions of local government, urban environmental policy and the politics of local climate change response. Surprised and honoured to be asked to participate, Hughes said she has always been a TED and TEDx talks fan.

In her eighteen-minute presentation she discussed the important role city governments play in solving climate change, and some of the insights from her work in NYC, Los Angeles and Toronto regarding what it takes for cities to make deep cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions. “The energy was great and it was clear that the presenters, organizers and attendees were all really excited to be there. I really enjoyed my talk and hearing people’s reactions”. For her, the most rewarding part was seeing the student volunteers organize such an impressive event. “This was an entirely student run and student led event and these students are so dedicated and organized. They did an awesome job and the students who attended the event were equally enthusiastic, asking me great questions about where cities fit into the broader scheme of climate change, and how they can get involved.”

She also added that she gained some very valuable insight from the experience. “It forced me to take a step back from the minutiae of my research, think about the big picture and find a compelling way to convey that big picture to a broad audience. I really enjoyed that process, and I think it’s going to come in handy as I write the book that this research will be the basis of.”

For more info see http://www.tedxuoft.com/