Convening for Action to Change the Way We Develop Land: “Designing with Nature” explained by Raymond Fung
At Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation in the Township of Langley, held in October 2007, Ray Fung delivered an opening statement that outlined why the Green Infrastructure Partnership is promoting a “design with nature” approach to infrastructure policies and practices.
FROM GREEN TO GOLD: Discovery Place in Burnaby will be one of BC’s most eco-friendly buildings
The Vancouver Sun reports that proponents of a $47 million commercial building nearing completion at Discovery Place in Burnaby have come up with a “flagship” design that will attract scrutiny from across North America.
What is the Seattle Green Factor?
A new landscaping requirement is helping create lush new plantings in neighborhoods throughout the City of Seattle.
Learning Lunches: Protecting Stream Health and Building Sustainable Communities
In a guest column published online in February 2009 by the Communities in Transition program, Kim Stephens talks about a seminar series that is protecting stream health and building sustainable communities on Vancouver Island.
Managing Rainwater/Stormwater Runoff: United States Environmental Protection Agency promotes a “Green Infrastructure Approach”
As communities become environmentally conscious and involved, they modify and reach beyond old development-impact reduction methods to more interlinked, efficient and cost-effective strategies at site, neighborhood and regional levels.
Green Bylaws Toolkit for Conserving Sensitive Ecosystems and Green Infrastructure
The Green Bylaws Toolkit explains how to use a myriad of tools—from planning to regulatory bylaws—to protect wetlands, grasslands and other important ecosystems in British Columbia.
Green standards for buildings come into effect in British Columbia
Effective September 5, 2008, every new building in B.C. will meet progressive standards for energy and water efficiency. Greening the B.C. Building Code will help meet the Province’s target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Turning the Tide in Nanaimo: The story of the Inland Kenworth development as told by Dean Mousseau and Gary Noble
The Inland Kenworth industrial development in the City of Nanaimo illustrates what can be accomplished through collaboration when a municipality challenges a development proponent to be innovative. “As a planner, I believe we should start by looking at site constraints and opportunities. And that is where our conversations started with the developer and consultants team,” stated Gary Noble. The Inland Kenworth story was incorporated in the curriculum for the 2008 Vancouver Island Learning Lunch Seminar Series.
Creating Liveable Communities and Protecting Stream Health: Helping goals become practice in BC
The Province enacted legislation (Bill 27) that will help municipalities and regional districts create more compact, sustainable and greener communities. The legislation came into force in June 2008. “The Province is leveraging its grants programs to influence changes on the ground. British Columbia is in transtion. Today, assessment criteria are based on a philosophy of ‘the greener the better’ Tomorrow, all projects must meet a green standard,” stated Catriona Weidman.
Role of building inspectors in green infrastructure: “To get to the big picture, it starts with the smallest pieces”
“We are looking at our building inspectors doing more than just inspecting plumbing and buildings. We want them to be more involved at the front-end of the process, not the back-end when the building is being built. We want them involved at the subdivision stage so that they understand what we want to achieve. In other words, it is more than just a building going up, The building permit is for the site. The site needs to be managed,” stated Kevin Lagan.