Convening for Action in British Columbia

banner

Tag:

Vancouver

    CREATING THE FUTURE IN THE TOWNSHIP OF LANGLEY: “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Site development is integrated. The components inform design,” explained Dave Cocking, Manager of the Township’s Green Infrastructure Services Department


    “Our integrated process results in a better community,” stated Dave Cocking. “The infrastructure we build today is integrated. We recognize that each part is a component of the whole. We strive to make all the parts work together without compromising any component. Working together, we are solving community design issues. We have a shared goal – improve the community and provide amenities. This requires integrated thinking.”

    Read Article

    CREATING THE FUTURE IN THE TOWNSHIP OF LANGLEY: “Langley is planning neighbourhoods based on catchment areas. This means managing each as a system,” stated Al Neufeld, the Township’s Manager of Parks Administration


    “Creating a dedicated group within Community Development meant we could focus on innovation regarding green approaches to neighbourhood development,” explained Al Neufeld. “Through the community and neighbourhood planning process, multidisciplinary teams collaborate in Neighbourhood Technical Teams to integrate the landscape architecture, planning and engineering perspectives.”

    Read Article

    CREATING THE FUTURE IN THE TOWNSHIP OF LANGLEY: “There has been an evolution in our thinking and in our approach as successive neighbourhoods have been developed,” says Yolanda Leung, the Township’s Landscape Design Coordinator int the Green Infrastructure Services Department


    “Building on a history of successes, we are now implementing what the Township describes as blue links,” stated Yolanda Leung. “A driver for this ongoing evolution is the incorporation of habitat compensation for the fisheries resource. We are learning by doing. In this way, we refine expectations for the finished product. The designs are more refined and the level of coordination for rain garden design and construction has improved.”

    Read Article

    CREATING THE FUTURE IN THE TOWNSHIP OF LANGLEY: “Whole –system thinking is part of our culture,” stated Kevin Larsen, Manager of Water Resources & Environment


    Asset management has traditionally been about hard engineered assets such as waterlines, sanitary and storm sewers. Kevin Larsen recognizes that watershed systems are also ‘infrastructure assets’. “The Township is implementing a life-cycle approach to valuing and managing our hard engineered assets,” stated Kevin Larsen. A future next step would be to extend the life-cycle approach to include valuation of the services provided by watershed systems.

    Read Article

    CREATING THE FUTURE IN THE TOWNSHIP OF LANGLEY: “Langley is unique in that DFO approved the water balance strategy at a neighbourhood scale for each of Routley, Yorkson and Northeast Gordon,” stated Jim Dumont, Engineering Applications Authority, Partnership for Water Sustainability


    The Township was one of the first municipalities to apply the Water Balance Methodology. Three neighbourhoods established successive provincial precedents that informed the evolution of the methodology. “DFO approval meant that design standards were applied uniformly across each neighbourhood. This was a time-saver for everyone. The approach resulted in consistency of implementation,” stated Jim Dumont.

    Read Article

    CREATING THE FUTURE IN THE TOWNSHIP OF LANGLEY: “Patrick Condon inspired me to think about HOW to implement a vision that would be self-fulfilling and self-sustaining over time,” stated Ramin Seifi, the Township’s General Manager for both Engineering & Community Development


    “The adaptive process for implementing green infrastructure is ongoing. Each time we learn. We strive to find better ways to mimic nature and protect the natural water balance in Langley’s watersheds,” stated Ramin Seifi. “But the public does not see integration. This means the next step is to educate the community as a whole so that everyone understands the importance of green infrastructure and protecting the water cycle. Buy-in has to be from everyone.”

    Read Article

    CREATING THE FUTURE IN THE TOWNSHIP OF LANGLEY: “The Showcasing Innovation Series is a building block process – each time the objective is to raise the bar when celebrating successes in municipalities,” stated Ray Fung, representing the Green Infrastructure Partnership, when he explained the series vision in 2007


    There are a lot of good things happening throughout Metro Vancouver. Because people are so busy in their own world, it takes a third party to connect them. That was the role the Green Infrastructure Partnership played in organizing the 2007 Showcasing Innovation Series. The goal was a simple one: build regional capacity. “Learning is achieved through conversations that take place when we are in the field,” observed Ray Fung, “So it is very interactive.”

    Read Article

    ARTICLE: Blue Ecology – for humans to adapt to a changing climate, a new culture of water is necessary! (announcement in Asset Management BC Newsletter, September 2017)


    “The warming of the planet’s atmosphere is causing water to move more quickly and disruptively through the global water cycle. Flood, drought, fire, wind and cold – extreme events are becoming the norm. Instabilities in the water cycle are increasingly apparent,” wrote Kim Stephens. “All one need do is reflect on what British Columbia has experienced in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Impacts are magnified by human interventions. “

    Read Article

    Published in 2017, “downstream: reimagining water” is an anthology that envisions an intergenerational, culturally inclusive, participatory water ethic to tackle climate change; and includes a chapter by Michael Blackstock on ‘interweaving’


    “This book explores the key roles that culture, arts, and the humanities play in supporting healthy water-based ecology and provides local, global, and Indigenous perspectives on water that help to guide our societies in a time of global warming,” wrote Dr. Dorothy Christian, co-editor. She is dedicated to building and strengthening any alliances with non-Indigenous communities who are open to hearing how Indigenous ways of knowing informs relationships amongst all living things.

    Read Article

    FLASHBACK TO 2009: “The Role of Water Resources Management” (Proceedings of a symposium held on the island of Capri, Italy) – Michael Blackstock’s work on Blue Ecology recognized by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences


    “Water is a core human interest upon which we can build collaborative cross-cultural climate change strategies,” wrote Michael Blackstock. “No longer is our goal ‘sustainable development’—to plan for a high standard of living for our children. Our goal must now be ‘sustainable survival’—to plan and behave in a cross-culturally collaborative manner that ensures children, generations from now, can survive with dignity in a world where respect for water and our climate is ubiquitous.”

    Read Article

    < Previous Page | Next Page >