Committing Sociology for Social Impact - Part 2

Canadian Sociological Association (CSA) Conference - Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences Congress 2025

Toronto, Canada

June 9-13, 2025

Fresh from presenting in the Environmental Sociology Research Cluster, I found myself once again immersed in critical discussions at the Canadian Sociological Association (CSA) Conference, this time within the Violence and Society Research Cluster, where I presented “Asian Displacement and Enclosure: Navigating Colonialism and Environmental Racism in the City of Darkness.” My first paper explored cooperative environmental governance, while this presentation tackled the violent mechanisms of displacement, exclusion, and environmental racism in urban spaces through a case study of Kowloon Walled City.

As one of Canada’s leading academic organizations supporting and promoting sociological research, CSA plays a vital role in shaping critical discussions on social structures, inequity, and systemic change. Each year, the CSA Conference brings together scholars from diverse research fields, fostering interdisciplinary conversations that bridge theory, policy, and activism. With its 2025 theme, “Committing Sociology for Social Impact”, the conference challenged participants to reconsider how sociological inquiry can be applied beyond academic discourse, promoting meaningful engagement in political movements, urban governance, and environmental justice. Across multiple research clusters, scholars examined the ways in which sociology must serve as both a tool for analysis and a framework for resistance.

Full Program

Kowloon Walled City (KWC), long described as an urban anomaly, was a product of colonialism, operating outside formal state control while still deeply shaped by geopolitical forces. Its dense and self-regulated ecosystem became both a refuge and a containment zone, an illustration of how displaced communities adapt to systemic neglect while resisting erasure. By analyzing KWC through the frameworks of colonial enclosure, environmental governance, and human ecosystems, I examined how displacement operates as a mechanism of control, with environmental degradation serving as an intentional tool of statecraft.

Colonial Enclosure and Political Ecology

Kowloon Walled City exemplifies the enduring structures of colonial enclosure, where displacement and exclusion are not accidental but actively maintained as instruments of control. Using Derek Wall’s definition of colonial enclosure, I analyzed how KWC was deliberately shaped by colonial ambiguity, its existence encouraged and systematically deprived of essential resources, reinforcing its isolation and precariousness.

From a political ecology perspective, this environmental degradation was not just a consequence of neglect but a calculated creation for political leverage. Through Robbins’ framework, I examined how ecological harm was weaponized to regulate movement, limit economic opportunity, and justify narratives of disorder. The worsening infrastructure mirrored broader patterns of environmental racism, where marginalized communities are systematically exposed to ecological hazards to reinforce political dominance.

Heterotopia and the Labelling of Kowloon Walled City

Kowloon Walled City functioned as what Foucault termed a heterotopia, existing beyond formal governance yet deeply shaped by it. More specifically, it embodied characteristics of a crisis heterotopia, a space where individuals expelled from conventional society are enclosed, forced to adapt outside established norms.

Though KWC was framed as a lawless void, its dense labyrinth of homes and businesses revealed a complex system of self-regulated survival. Still, external narratives classified it as a heterotopia of deviants, a space for those deemed abnormal by society. Deviance is the product of political conflict and therefore politically defined. An individual considered as an outsider or deviant now could be a part of society again tomorrow.

Water, Energy, and Human Ecosystems in the City of Darkness

To further analyze urban exclusion, I turned to Imre Szeman’s Futures of the Sun, framed through Steiner’s human ecosystems. KWC had limited access to centralized utilities, forcing residents to construct informal networks for sunlight, electricity and water. These self-regulated infrastructures reflected how marginalized communities navigate systemic resource deprivation, adapting within neglected urban ecosystems.

In understanding this adaptive process, Steiner’s human ecosystems framework highlights ordering, scaffolding, and adaptation as mechanisms through which individuals and communities structure their surroundings. Despite systemic neglect, residents created functional living environments through ordering, scaffolding, and adaptation. Without official policing, informal networks — ranging from community-led associations to organized crime — dictated conflict resolution, economic transactions, and even security, demonstrating how governance emerges in spaces where the state is selectively absent.

Looking Forward

Presenting in both the Environmental Sociology Research Cluster and the Violence and Society Research Cluster at this year’s CSA Conference was an incredibly rewarding experience. The discussions challenged my thinking, deepened my engagement with critical sociological debates, and reinforced the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. I look forward to participating in other research clusters in the future, further expanding these conversations and continuing to explore the intersections of environmental governance and sociology.

While CSA was able to host an in-person conference this year, its ability to do so independently in the future remains uncertain now that Congress will be online. I sincerely hope CSA can continue offering in-person conferences in 2026, as face-to-face dialogue creates irreplaceable opportunities for engagement and connection. Additionally, having experienced my first Congress, I found immense value in the broader academic exchange it fostered. I hope that the cancellation of next year’s in-person Congress does not become a permanent decision; there is something uniquely energizing about the momentum of an in-person intellectual community.