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Sustainable City

EcoDensity is about designing better neighbourhoods

by THOMAS OSDOBA

How do we transform Vancouver from simply a liveable city into a truly sustainable city?

Each of us requires 7.2 hectares (17.8 acres) to provide for our consumption. If everyone across the world lived like this, it would take four planets to sustain us. We know compact, dense cities have less impact on the planet and create a smaller ecological footprint. Hence, the dense neighbourhoods in Vancouver perform better than the lower density, single-family neighbourhoods.

If we connect this to climate change and energy use, the same pattern holds. Our energy use and climate impacts are a large part of our overall ecological footprint. Given the critical nature of these threats to the health and well-being of people here and across the planet, we can no longer avoid confronting the relationship between how we live here and these urgent threats. As the world’s population migrates to cities, finding a better way is vital.

The EcoDensity initiative of the City of Vancouver has been created to tackle these challenges and is the next chapter in Vancouver’s efforts to be a leading city on sustainable development. The growth we know is coming will demand that we build dense, green communities throughout the city.

Some point out that Vancouver already has high densities downtown, so what’s new about EcoDensity? Well, multiple-unit residences (duplexes, apartments and condos) occupy only 11 per cent of our land, while single-family residences occupy almost half.

This urgency doesn’t mean we need to adopt heavy-handed policies that disrupt everyone. What it does mean is that we need our very best efforts to design neighbourhoods that can accommodate more people, provide space for nature and recreation, and offer affordable housing choices for everyone. EcoDensity is about designing better neighbourhoods as growth continues to shape our city.

What will that look like? First, the City must provide infrastructure that performs better from an ecological perspective. This infrastructure includes energy systems that dramatically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, conserve and reuse water and other resources, and offer abundant space for natural habitat and food production. We need to integrate ourselves better into the larger natural habitat, and live in a more densely built form so we have space for recreation, nature, and food growing.

Secondly, if people need to live in a denser city, we need to make the lifestyle attractive. We must design buildings and neighbourhoods to provide comfortable, pleasurable living environments, and combine that with childcare centres, libraries, community centres, and businesses for day-to-day goods and services. This challenge demands that we help people break from the traditional notion that a house on a big lot is the pinnacle of living.

Finally, we need better ways to help people to buy and rent their homes in our city. Many great cities have become “out-of-reach” for people who would like to live in them. The good news is that new tools are coming, and we can make it easier to live in Vancouver.

We know the questions, but everyone must work together to come up with the answers. I invite you to embrace those actions that will reduce our ecological footprint, help us live in a sustainable manner, and make living here more affordable for all.

Thomas Osdoba is manager of the City of Vancouver’s Sustainability Program. Visit vancouver-ecodensity.ca to get more information and background, join in the discussion, see upcoming events, and submit your ideas.

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