Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation in the City of Langford: Transforming the Community
The meet-and-greet for Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation in Langford starts at 8:30am on September 26. Program concludes at 2:30pm after a walkabout. To download the agenda, click here. Registration will be capped at 40.
City of Langford hosts second of three showcasing events in the 2008 Vancouver Island Series organized by CAVI
Building on the interest and momentum generated by successful series on both sides of the Georgia Basin in 2007, CAVI-Convening for Action on Vancouver Island is collaborating with the Capital Regional District and the Green Infrastructure Partnership to present Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation in the Capital Region: The 2008 Series.
The second in the series will be held on September 26 and will be hosted by the City of Langford in collaboration with the Westhillls Green Community. For a program overview and registration details, click on this link to download a copy of Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation in the City of Langford.
Showcasing Innovation in Langford
The City of Langford will showcase the Westhills Green Community which will comprise 6000 new residential units at full build-out. “Because it was one of the first Canadian pilots for LEED Neighbourhood Development, Westhills will help set a new national standard for 
community development that achieves objectives for socially and environmentally sustainable design,” reports Emilie Adin, Deputy City Planner. “The Westhills plan addresses all six elements of a Design with Nature strategy as promoted by CAVI. On the transportation side, the Westhills plan includes a train station for the future 25-minute commute to downtown Victoria via the E&NR corridor.”
Design with Nature
To help advance a new way of thinking about land development that results in “green value” and at the same time provides resiliency in the face of climate change uncertainty, the Green Infrastructure Partnership has developed (and CAVI is promoting use of) a hierarchy of “green” vocabulary that is intended to provide clarity around the subject of green infrastructure. For more information, click on Green Infrastructure explained: A common vocabulary for a new way-of-thinking in British Columbia. Design with Nature is one approach to achieve Green Value, and is supportive of community goals that relate to building social capacity.
Vision for an Integrated Utility
A Langford Green Utility is part and parcel of the City’s vision for implementing the New Business As Usual. Looking ahead, it is anticipated that an integrated utility will ultimately comprise water distribution, sewage collection, sewage treatment, 
and re-use of reclaimed water. “As part of the Showcasing Innovation program, the City will introduce its vision for an ‘integrated utility’ for domestic, reclaimed water, and energy,” reports Graeme Bethell of the CAVI Leadership Team. “A water recycling system and a renewable energy system are at the heart of the plan to achieve the goal of energy self-sufficiency.
“The renewable energy system will be based on geo-exchange, with other technologies being options for the future; and the whole process is central to assisting the City to become carbon-neutral by 2012,” explains John Manson. “Reclaimed water is proposed to be provided by a new sewage treatment plant that will be located in the vicinity.”
Looking to the future, a Langford ‘integrated utility’ could potentially create a business opportunity for the City to generate revenue streams that lessen its reliance on traditional sources of local government financing. The business case for bringing an integrated utility to fruition has three elements,” adds John Mansion. “How the financing is done; the relationship between the parties; and the revenue outcomes.”
Corporate Philosophy
In addition to Westhills and the Integrated Utility, the City will also elaborate on its approach to managing risk, learning by doing, and adapting. “This will be illustrated by the City’s long-term approach to rainwater management, and will include a case study example: a new type of pervious paver that has a cobble finish and is designed for H20 traffic loading is being evaluated through a pilot project; the cobble paver is the proposed surface for a planned Quebec City-style Ring Road in the downtown core,” explains John Manson.
How September 26 will unfold
Each event in the Showcasing Series comprises presentations in the morning and a site tour or walkabout in the afternoon. “Experience shows that the site tour 
creates those unplanned moments for spontaneous and effective sharing of knowledge and lessons learned,” reports Kim Stephens, series organizer and Program Coordinator for the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia, “We also find that the presentations in the morning serve to whet the appetite of the audience, and people then seek out the one-on-one opportunities to have a conversation on the bus or while walking. It is then that the real learning takes place.”
Setting the Scene
“To set the scene for the day, we have structured the morning segment in two parts,” explains Emilie Adin. “First, John Manson and I will elaborate on Langford’s approach and 
the making of the Westhills Green Community. Then Darlene Tait will describe how the Westhills team is creating a community in the fullest sense. The unifying theme for John and my part is establishing a new standard for development in the West Shore. Darlene will then get into the details of what it means to be British Columbia’s largest LEED-ND pilot project; and what characterizes and/or distinguishes Westhills as a ‘green’ community.”
Walkabout times two
“The walkabout part of the program is also organized in two parts,” adds Kathy Hogan, the Marketing and Community Relations member of the Westhills project team. “First, John 
Manson and Emilie Adin will lead a tour that starts at City Hall and ends at the Westhills Presentation Centre. They will explain the City’s vision for the downtown. At the Presentation Centre, lunch will be served along with a presentation on the ‘softer side’ of Westhills! After lunch, a bus will take participants to the Westhills job site where we will lead the group on a second walkabout to view a selection of ‘green’ show homes that are at various stages of construction.”
About the 2008 Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation Series
To read a comprehensive web story about the three events comprising the 2008 program, click on the following link to Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation on Vancouver Island: The 2008 Capital Region Series.
To learn more about the Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation program and how the 2008 Series builds on the 2007 Series, click on this link to “2008 Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation Series on Vancouver Island” features community-scale projects. Desired outcomes are being achieved through the combination of integration and innovation.
Goal in Showcasing Innovation
Organized under the umbrella of CAVI, the goal of the Series is to promote networking, inform and educate practitioners, and help local governments move ‘from awareness to action’ in doing business differently — The New Business As Usual — through sharing of approaches, tools, experiences and lessons learned that will ultimately inform a pragmatic strategy for climate change adaptation.
Showcasing Innovation in View Royal
The Town of View Royal developed an innovative Design with Nature strategy to obtain senior government funding for retrofitting the old Island Highway with transportation and rainwater management enhancements. These will achieve environmental, water quality and social sustainability objectives at both the road and community scales. A driver is restoration of Portage Inlet. For a synopsis of the elements comprising the View Royal program on September 12, click on Town of View Royal implements ecosystem-based plan for enhancement of old Island Highway.
Posted September 2008