Gail Wells – science writer
New research by the Pacific Northwest Research Station demonstrates that street trees increase home prices, that shade trees reduce household energy use, and that these effects can be measured and expressed in dollars.
Brock Dolman (120p) – WATER Institute
The workshop provides a timely forum for 'convening for action' to advance a new culture for watershed protection and restoration in British Columbia. There is a need in many areas for human development designs to move from drainage to retainage.
Kim Stephens – 2007 (120p)
The 'Topsoil Primer Set' synthesizes the experience of City of Surrey, the City of Courtenay and the District of North Vancouver in pioneering implementation of absorbent landscape policies and requirements.
A Guide to Green Choices
To help local governments continue the extensive work they have already done in fostering green communities, the Ministry of Community Development has developed “A Guide to Green Choices” to provide practical advice and ideas in making land use decisions.
The purpose of this document is to provide the reader with a broad-brush picture of “Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia”, published in 2002. The emphasis is on core concepts. The desired outcome is that readers will be interested to learn more by delving into the Guidebook.
'Runoff' is the newletter for the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Water Resources Association. The April 2008 issue included an article about the launch of the “new Water Balance Model”. The article highlighted several key messages regarding the significance and relevance of integrating the Water Balance Model with QUALHYMO to achieve provincial policy objectives.
Smart Growth on the Ground is an innovative program to change the way that development is done in BC, by creating real, built examples of smart growth. This unique program helps BC communities to prepare more sustainable neighbourhood plans – including land use, transportation, urban design, and building design plans. Extensive follow-up ensures that the plans become reality. SGOG is a partnership of the Design Centre for Sustainability at UBC, the Real Estate Institute of BC, and Smart Growth BC. Together, these three organizations work with a select group of communities in BC.
By 2025, Greater Vancouver’s current population of 2 million will increase by 50%, to 3 million. It will double to almost 4 million people by 2050. How will the region accommodate that growth? How will housing, land use, jobs and transport be designed, delivered and distributed? How do we ensure continued livability in the region? The Design Centre for Sustainability is leading a collaborative effort to produce a compelling visual representation of what Greater Vancouver region might look like in 2050, at neighbourhood, district and region-wide scales. We call this project Sustainability by Design (SxD). It is one of UBC's World Urban Forum activities.
Partnerships between those who plan and those who invest have the potential to result in better decisions for local governments and also benefit provincial areas of interest. Facilitating these partnerships is an integral part of the Ministry of Comnmunity Servcices' work to support local governments in their efforts to plan and make land-use decisions to benefit their communities.
Developed by a BC-based Inter-Governmental Partnership as an extension of Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia, the Water Balance Model for Canada enables users to compare scenarios for rainwater runoff volume reduction in order to achieve a light 'hydrologic footprint'. The tool is developed by a consortium of local, regional, provincial and federal agencies.
