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Tree planting has been favoured in many North American cities, including Montreal which aims to increase its canopy from 20% to 25% in 2025. However, the mortality rate of street trees is especially high in the first few years after planting. Studies have shown that variables that are intrinsic to the tree and those related to its location, the urban form and the socio-demographic characteristics of the surrounding environment are significantly associated either with trees’ survival rate or with vegetation cover. In this research we examine variables that have statistical associations with tree growth, which is the diameter at breast height divided by the number of years on the ground, for approximately 28,000 street trees in Montreal. Independent variables were nested into three spatial scales: the tree (species and physical variables), the street section (urban form variables), and the census tract (socio-demographic variables). Multilevel models reveal that 65.51% of the growth variance is potentially explained by the species and planting physical conditions such as the east and north sides (positive associations with the growth), signage as an obstruction (negative association). 28.54% of the grow variance is potentially explained by the urban form, in our case building age (convex relationship with the growth), mixed zoning (negatively) and residential zoning (positively). At the neighbourhood level, although none of our variables is significant, 6.95% of the growth variance is be potentially explained by other missing variables. New planting programs should hence consider the urban form in order to improve tree growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Street trees provide a wide range of benefits for cities. Street tree cover (STC) is explained by urban form, social stratification and lifestyle theories that operate at multiple scales. In this paper we examine how the urban form (street characteristics), social stratification and lifestyle (socio-demographics) account for variations of STC in Montréal. Tree cover was identified from Quickbird images and then overlaid on street segments to compute the STC. Each street segment was nested in a census tract. We used 2-level models with mixed effects and interactions (between street attributes and socio-demographic variables) while introducing a spatial term. Political, socio-economic or other explanatory factors operating at the tract level can potentially explain 17.6% of the variation of STC. Overall, the street characteristics explained more variation in STC than the socio-demographic context. Lifestyle is less important than social stratification. Street length is positively associated with STC; street width and the percentage of duplexes and triplexes are negatively associated with STC, while construction age has a u-shaped effect on STC. Interactions show that STC is higher in expensive and highly-educated areas that have residential streets or streets with large setback (sidewalk). Areas predominantly comprised of low-income households could have higher or lower STC depending on the number of buildings and the percentage of duplexes and triplexes. Streetscape and socio-demographic contexts intertwine to create complex patterns of STC. Greening programs should be designed carefully according to local contexts since certain types of greening can lead to gentrification and displacement of low-income households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We assessed PP in relation to earthquake-induced ejecta dust in Christchurch, NZ. [•] The adjusted post-earthquake cluster had higher relative risk than pre-earthquake. [•] The adjusted spatio-temporal and post-earthquake clusters had matching patterns. [•] We found statistically larger areas affected by ejecta in the space–time cluster. [•] In conclusion, ejecta may have increased PP cases, but was unlikely a direct cause. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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Highlights: [•] In this study we model spatio-temporal clustering of schizophrenia in Quebec from 2004 to 2007. [•] We base our study on the entire province of Quebec. [•] We assess spatial clustering using the SatScan. [•] We found that spatial clusters of schizophrenia are changing in space and rural areas are also facing clustering of schizophrenia. [•] We conclude that it is important to assess neighborhoods factors influencing spatial clustering of schizophrenia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents research on air pollutants and the spatial distribution of housing for the elderly located near traffic-congested areas on the island of Montréal (Montréal, Québec). An overview on environmental equity research is given. Further topics of discussion include the effects of air pollution on the health of older people, a description of the research's methodology, the use of a geographic information system (ArcGIS version 10.1), and an examination of air quality indexes. The authors conclude that the private and public homes of seniors are more often located near major roads but note a distinction between both areas.

The article examines whether there are environmental inequities in the old city of Montréal, Québec, with focus given to whether its low-income and minority residents have access to urban vegetation. The authors discuss the notion of environmental inequity with regard to urban vegetation indicators, describe their methodological approach which uses various data including satellite images and a geographic information system (SIG), and present and discuss their results. Images depicting the mapping of trees, bushes, and lawns via the earth observation satellite QuickBird and socioeconomic data from the 2006 census are examined.

An introduction to the thematic issue on environmental justice is presented in which the authors discuss several articles within the journal on topics including environmental equity in Montréal, Québec, minorities and low-income people and access to urban vegetation, and the effects of air pollution on older people.

Abstract: Urban vegetation is shown to be unevenly distributed across cities and there is evidence of disparities in benefits provided by vegetation and of public health problems induced by urban heat islands. In order to improve vegetation cover, it remains crucial to understand the underpinning of such unevenness. In this paper, we investigate in Montreal (Canada) how the built environment, sociodemographic factors and administrative boroughs influence tree and lawn cover in public and residential land. The analysis was conducted at the dissemination area (DA) level, a Canadian census unit containing about 400–700 people. Six vegetation indicators were used as dependent variables: the proportion of a DA covered by trees/shrubs, lawn and total vegetation; the proportion of streets covered by trees/shrubs and the proportion of residential yards covered by trees/shrubs and total vegetation. Three sets of independent variables were studied: the built environment, sociodemographics and borough names. We used spatial autoregressive models to control for dependence and the spatial autoregressive term explained a large amount of variability in vegetation cover. The built-environment variables tend to have higher effects than the socio-demographic variables when predicting the three DA vegetation indicators, backyard vegetation, and to a lesser degree, street tree/shrub cover. In particular, population density is associated negatively to all indicators but positively to street tree cover. Socio-demographics are substantial in the explanation of the distribution of street trees, especially the presence of recent immigrants (negative effect) and of university degree holders (positive effect). These findings call for appropriate greening programs adapted to the local socio-demographic profile. The significance of boroughs also suggests the need for further research on the impact of within-city administrative hierarchies on the unevenness of urban vegetation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Growing evidence is showing that across North American cities, underprivileged populations and racial and/or visible groups have disproportionally less access to vegetation than affluent groups, raising concerns of environmental inequity. This study aims to verify whether in Montreal (Canada) there is environmental inequity resulting from variations in urban vegetation for low-income people and visible minorities. More specifically, various vegetation indicators were extracted from very-high-resolution satellite images, including the proportion of city blocks, streets, alleys and backyards covered by total vegetation and trees/shrubs. Socio-demographic variables were obtained from 2006 Canada Census and rescaled to the city block level, by using a population-based weighing method. Statistical analysis indicates that there are disparities in the distribution of vegetation in Montreal which disfavour low-income people and, to a lesser extent, visible minorities. Disparities are also more pronounced on public land (streets, alleys) than on private land (backyards). Income is a major factor but cannot fully explain inequities among visible minorities. Notwithstanding the weak extent of such disparities, those vulnerable communities might need a better access to ecological services provided by vegetation, notably such as heat island mitigation. Compensatory equity needs to be addressed and our findings call for authorities to reconsider greening budgetary allocation and practices, especially in the most deprived neighbourhoods of the city. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses blood donation in Quebec, Canada, focusing on the geographic distribution and location of donors, an analysis of the rate of blood donation in relation to the socio-demographic makeup of regional county municipalities (RMC), and looking at the distance between collection sites and donors. Other topics mentioned include geographic and demographic statistics such as correlations and K-means; differing results of the research from rural, suburban, and urban areas; and maintaining blood reserves and ample supplies of donated blood.

The article presents information on a study which examined leucogram and serum acute phase protein concentrations in queens submitted to conventional or videolaparoscopic ovariectomy. Serum samples were taken from thirty health queens to evaluate their protein concentrations. Results showed that SDS-PAGE technique and leukogram are capable of showing the intensity of inflammatory response after conventional and laparoscopic ovariectomy in queens.

The article focuses on the localization of business service jobs and its development in Montreal, Quebec, between 1996 and 2001. Topics include the relocalization of these businesses close to the residential neighborhoods of their employees, the organization of the regional distribution of jobs, and social and economic cogentrification, a term used to refer to the socio-cultural changes in an area resulting from wealthier people buying housing property in a less prosperous community, in Montreal during this period.