Topic: climate solutions

Healthy Built Environment Linkages Toolkit

This Toolkit is intended to support the inclusion of health considerations within community planning and design. It is designed as a quick reference to the body of research evidence which describes how our built environment can influence population health. The concept of a “healthy built environment” is considered through a holistic perspective including five core features:

  1. Neighbourhood Design
  2.  Transportation Networks
  3.  Natural Environments
  4.  Food Systems
  5.  Housing

This Toolkit is written for health professionals to assist them in articulating well informed and credible responses within local government planning processes and decision making. However, it can readily be used by other stakeholders

ClimateReadyBC

ClimateReadyBC is an online platform to help the public and communities:

  • Understand disaster and climate risks
  • Find funding and supports to make communities more resilient

The platform is a disaster and climate risk reduction tool for public and community use.

It’s also a hub for future collaboration and growth. ClimateReadyBC will evolve through engagement with First Nations, local governments, and other partners.

Deeper collaboration and open access to risk data will prepare them to respond to disasters and climate-related events.

The goal of ClimateReadyBC is to build a service that meets the needs of communities across British Columbia.

The Path to “Net-Zero Energy” Buildings in BC

This paper looks specifically at the necessary components of a roadmap to make new complex buildings net-zero ready. It describes the environmental and economic case for a deep efficiency pathway, reviews some of the targets and policies adopted in leading jurisdictions, and then articulates ten key policies to get to “net-zero ready”.

Focusing on the uptake of energy efficiency technologies in new buildings, this paper does not explicitly address the role of on-site renewable energy, the unique challenges related to the low-rise residential sector, nor the goal of reducing energy in the existing building stock—though some of the policies discussed in this paper can also support these other aspects of a broader building sector energy and emissions strategy.

Sustainable Urban Landscapes: Site Design Manual for BC Communities

The Site Design Manual for BC Communities is rooted in several and extensive efforts to develop alternative development and engineering standards for the design of new (and for the retrofit of existing) communities in British Columbia. With the cooperation of citizens, government organizations, and related agencies, these efforts have been motivated by a shared belief that integrated processes and principles are crucial ingredients in the development of more sustainable communities and urban regions.

Sustainable Neighbourhood Development

This guide provides top-line, how-to information about the planning and development of sustainable neighbourhoods, offering practical solutions to common challenges. It answers
important questions about sustainable neighbourhood development:

  1. What is a sustainable neighbourhood, and how can I make the case for pursuing this kind of development?
  2. What are the major challenges, and how can they be overcome?
  3. Where else in Canada has this been done successfully, and what factors led to that success?
  4. Where can I go for more in-depth information?

Promoting Cycling for Everyone as a Daily Transport Mode

PRESTO was a project of the EU’s Intelligent Energy Europe Programme funded through the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI) to promote cycling for everyone as a daily transport mode. PRESTO
activities ran from May 2009 to January 2012 and focused on the three pillars:

  1. Improved infrastructure planning
  2. Targeted promotion to encourage the use of bicycles
  3. Pedelecs

Powering our Province

This report seeks to identify opportunities for rural communities in BC to become engaged in the clean energy sector.

The findings for this study are based on extensive secondary research supplemented by opinions and insights gathered through in-depth interviews with a representative sample of Independent Power Producer (IPP) companies in BC, as well as clean energy technology developers/ manufacturers, provincial and municipal government agencies, First Nations communities, power utilities, and other key stakeholders.

Many rural communities and First Nations, as well as the provincial government, are interested in exploring how the development of clean energy resources can contribute to economic growth and diversification. This is especially true for forestry-dependent communities in the interior of the province in areas affected by the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic and the collapse of the US housing market.

This report identifies five immediate business and employment opportunity areas for rural communities related to clean energy development. These are:

  1.  Skilled trades and construction;
  2.  Community and First Nations engagement;
  3.  Scientific and environmental monitoring;
  4.  Plant operations and maintenance; and
  5.  Indirect business support.

Renewable Energy Guide for Local Governments in British Columbia

The guide looks into renewable energy. Renewable energy includes sources of energy that are neither derived from fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, natural gas and propane) nor from nuclear power. Renewable energy also includes the recovery of waste heat that would otherwise be lost, even if that heat is produced by non-renewable energy sources.

This guide does not address energy efficiency, which can often provide cost-effective emissions reductions and savings. Renewable energy should be considered alongside other energy initiatives, including energy efficiency, sustainable transportation and sustainable community planning.

Plan2Adapt

Climate change impacts do not affect every region of British Columbia in the same way. The Plan2Adapt tool generates maps, plots, and data describing projected future climate conditions for regions throughout British Columbia.

About the Tool:

  • Assists users in assessing climate change in their region based on a standard set of climate model projections.
  • Is similar to the PCIC Climate Explorer (PCEX) and uses the same data to generate its output.

Passive Design Toolkit for Homes

The toolkit has been written to inform City staff and the design and development communities about passive design. While covering best practices, the toolkit addresses the specific needs of Vancouver and outlines a succinct definition of what ‘passive’ means for Vancouver. This toolkit can be used as a reference for best practices, and considered complementary to design guidelines and policy.