Beyond the Grave: Cemeteries as ecological and social spaces in the urban landscapes of Canada, Ireland, and the UK.

This SSHRC-funded project investigates urban cemeteries as contested-yet-adaptive landscapes within Canada, the UK, and Ireland, reimagining them as multifunctional green spaces.

Our interdisciplinary research team, collaborating with private and community partners, will engage critically and comparatively, drawing on insights and methods from human and physical geography, urban planning, history, sociology, anthropology, and social psychology. We will investigate urban cemeteries as contested-yet-adaptive landscapes within Canada, the UK, and Ireland. By exploring how urban cemeteries are culturally framed, how cemeteries are managed and designed, and how cemeteries serve urban ecological functions, we will reimagine cemeteries as multifunctional green spaces that can both mitigate climate risk and maintain their roles in grief, mourning rituals, and psychological well-being.

By synthesizing ecological, cultural, and planning perspectives within a robust comparative framework, we will address critical knowledge gaps around cemeteries as socio-ecological systems operating under urban pressures and rapid climate changes. Our findings will advance theoretical debates in urban political ecology, cultural geography, and environmental humanities. We will engage beyond academia through our partnerships and will report on municipal policies and planning practices while supporting culturally responsive and climate-smart green infrastructure strategies. Our proposed IDG research builds the foundation for future collaborative and expanded field research in Canada and with international partners.

Led by Sarah Wolfe at Royal Roads University (RRU) the team also includes Christopher Ling (RRU), Ann-Kathrin McLean (RRU), Lauren Smith (RRU), Matt Dodd (RRU), Richard Kool (RRU), Johathan Moran (RRU), Michael-Ann Noble (RRU), James Rowe (UVic), Evan Andrews (Memorial), and Dan McCarthy (University College Cork).