Water-Centric Planning

LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “The history of green infrastructure innovation in Metro Vancouver over the past three decades is defined by four distinct eras, with the period of time for each varying between 6 and 9 years,” stated Kim Stephens, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC

Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on October 1, 2024 features reflections by former North Vancouver City Mayor Darrell Mussatto. This is the third instalment in a series of reflections that preview the SYNOPSIS for the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver (1994-2024). The release date for the Synopsis is November 2024.

When an elected leader is THE CHAMPION,
the community benefits

“On September 17th 2024, we kicked off a new season of Waterbucket eNews with Solutions to complex problems require deep knowledge. Today is the second installment in a series that will also feature a city manager, a regional planner, a provincial expert in water for food security, and a cabinet minster.,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

“All are thought leaders in their fields of practice. All have wisdom to pass on to the current generation of elected and aspiring leaders.”

WHOLE-SYSTEM VIEW: Design with nature to create livable communities and protect stream health

“The series previews stories behind the story of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in the Metro Vancouver Region from 1994 through 2024. The tag-line for the Chronicle is…create livable communities and protect stream health.”

Organizational amnesia is the elephant in the room

“In November, at the conclusion of this preview series, the Partnership will release the SYNOPSIS for the Chronicle legacy resource. The target audience is senior managers who have limited time to absorb what they need to know to make informed decisions. The Synopsis addresses the SO WHAT question.”

CALL TO ACTION: Accept the intergenerational baton and build on lived experience

“Three decades and counting! Being in the room when ideas were conceived and decisions made is a core part of my lived experience. For the past 21 months, my time and energy have gone into interviews and writing the Chronicle, with the goal of distilling the history to answer a 2-part question:

“The Chronicle is a 500-page tome. This sweeping narrative is heavy on images and light on text. At the end of the day, my task is to distil 500 pages down to digestible bits and ultimately a single page around which to tell a story. That page is the table described next.”

UNDERSTAND THE PAST: Chronicle looks at the period from 1994 thru 2024 as four segments

“The history of the past three decades is defined by four distinct eras, with the period of time for each varying between 6 and 9 years. This is illustrated as the Table of Cascading Factors. In the image below the table, a defining statement characterizes each era.”

Cascading factors for success must ALL be in alignment

“Being successful requires an appreciation for the factors that are critical to success, whether they are in alignment, and what would it take to coax them into alignment if they are not. “