Case study: Neighbourhood model helps Toronto Region communities implement infrastructure retrofits
WATER
The Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Program, a project of Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and nine partner municipalities (City of Toronto, Regional Municipality of Peel, City of Brampton, City of Mississauga, Town of Caledon, Regional Municipality of York, City of Richmond Hill, City of Markham, and City of Vaughan), received an honourable mention in FCM’s 2020 Sustainable Communities Awards.
Cities and communities across Canada face challenges in retrofitting aging infrastructure and mitigating the effects of climate change. The Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Program (SNAP) is a program that helps communities accelerate sustainable urban renewal and climate action through projects tailored to neighbourhoods’ needs and circumstances.
Collaborative approach brings municipal governments and stakeholders together
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and its nine participating partner municipalities saw a need for innovative approaches to expedite municipal infrastructure renewal, sustainability and climate action plans. The program helps local governments achieve high-level municipal plans and objectives by implementing retrofit projects customized for a particular neighbourhood, such as initiatives aimed at managing stormwater, restoring urban forest, and reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. SNAP involves collaboration between TRCA, municipal government representatives and a broad range of local stakeholders. By consulting with local stakeholders, the process benefits from local knowledge, helps build relationships and empowers communities to find innovative solutions that achieve shared goals.
Significant environmental benefits realized through SNAP programs
There are currently eight SNAP initiatives in various stages throughout TRCA jurisdiction that, together, have resulted in over 10,000 trees and shrubs being planted, eight significant green infrastructure projects including bioswales, stormwater ponds and wetlands and 32 green infrastructure, urban agriculture, energy, water and waste initiatives in multi-dwelling residential and commercial properties. In addition to their primary goals, these projects also improve air quality, help address urban heat islands and increase groundwater infiltration by reducing hard surfaces and increasing vegetation and tree cover.
Focus on local interests generates social, economic benefits
SNAP projects generate a variety of social benefits, such as fostering social connections and a sense of belonging, providing skills training and increasing residents’ access to healthy food options through urban agriculture. Economic benefits vary by project. For example, better stormwater management reduces the risk of basement flooding, home energy and water retrofits lower utility bills and local food production cuts grocery bills. Moreover, the SNAP program enables delivery of multiple municipal objectives with limited public budgets, through strategies such as cost-sharing arrangements, finding innovative funding sources and leveraging planned capital projects.
SNAP team working on implementing many lessons learned
Over its 10 years, the SNAP process has exposed a number of valuable lessons, many of which come down to the need for collaboration, cooperation and coordination. To address a need for supportive municipal policy to rationalize diverse program delivery, SNAP developed a screening tool to evaluate neighbourhood investments and program development. The project team has observed and documented successful tactics for overcoming barriers, such as inter-departmental silos, procurement policies that limit public-private partnerships and misalignment of short-term funding cycles with long-term goals. The program has also refined its socio-economic metrics framework to better evaluate and report co-benefits and multi-year tracking. In response to the tendency to address present day problems with short-term solutions, SNAP is tracking the success of social innovation tactics to inspire future-ready solutions.
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
Related Resources
See All
Energy
Community Efficiency Financing market guide
Guide to help Canadian municipalities assess potential home energy upgrade programs
Energy
Webinar recording: Supporting small and medium municipalities through the Community Buildings Retrofit initiative
Watch this webinar recording to learn about successful examples of completed retrofits, how municipalities can choose the right funding options and to answer any questions about the funding process.
Energy | Housing
Webinar: Affordable housing providers’ impact on energy poverty
The webinar will feature a housing project helping moderate income households while achieving high environmental standards.
Energy
Guide: Taking your indoor ice rink to net zero
A practical guide to get you started on your own net zero retrofit plan and to help you develop an actionable roadmap to net zero ice rinks.
Transportation
Priority Municipal Actions to Enable Zero Emission Vehicle Adoption
GMF and Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) collaborated to create six priority municipal actions to accelerate zero emission vehicle adoption.
Energy
Understanding energy efficiency
This guide is for affordable housing providers, such as municipalities or housing cooperatives, interested in improving energy efficiency in their buildings.
Land Use
Webinar recording: Benefits of integrated intensification for sustainable community development
This webinar teaches participants how land use decisions are tied to the fiscal health of a municipality and its ability to achieve climate targets.
Energy
Webinar: Transitioning ice rinks to net-zero
Learn the basics of building retrofits for facility buildings
Energy
Resource library: Community Buildings Retrofit
Find practical case studies and guidance for planning your local community building retrofit.
Energy
Webinar recording: Introduction to local home-energy financing programs
Learn the basics on delivering local financing programs for home-energy upgrades.
Energy
Video: Saskatoon delivers Saskatchewan’s first local home-energy financing program
Learn how the City of Saskatoon designed its Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) to help residents retrofit their homes and reduce GHG emissions.
Energy | Housing
Video: Nelson scales up local program to support home-energy upgrades
In this video, Carmen Proctor, Climate & Energy Manager at the City of Nelson, tells the story of the program’s success to date, shares key lessons learned from running the program, and highlights their next steps to scale up the program.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recording: Asset management and energy conservation
Learn how the non-profit housing sector can integrate energy management into asset management to reduce costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy
Resources: Community Efficiency Financing
Read guidebooks and case studies to see how municipalities are designing home upgrade financing programs.
Energy
Video: Kingston supports homeowners with financing program for energy upgrades
Hear from Julie Salter-Keane, Manager of Climate Leadership at the City of Kingston, as she discusses the City’s program implementation and their approach to designing a strong local program.
Energy
Webinar recording: Recommissioning community buildings
Watch our webinar recording to learn more about existing building recommissioning (EBCx). Hear about lessons learned from experts in recommissioning local facilities and learn the steps to help ensure your community’s building systems are working together at optimal levels for comfort and efficiency.
Energy
Factsheet: Governance strategies for deep decarbonization
This factsheet provides senior municipal leaders with governance strategies for achieving deep emissions reductions in each decarbonization pathway.
Energy
Factsheet: Governance components for deep decarbonization
This factsheet introduces senior municipal leaders to key components of a good governance structure for deep emissions reductions and implementation actions.
Energy
Factsheet: Municipal governance for deep decarbonization
This factsheet provides senior municipal leaders with the pathways and steps for achieving deep decarbonization and net-zero emissions by 2050.
Energy
Climate Action Accelerator for Community Buildings
Is your municipality looking to drive climate action by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in municipally-owned buildings, but is unsure how to maximize time and impact, secure funding and partnerships, or how to get started? FCM’s Climate Action Accelerator for Community Buildings will help up to 20 small and mid-sized municipalities take climate action within their building portfolios.
Land Use
Video: new purpose for a 20-year-old brownfield site
Tara Tran, Senior planner, shares tips on how to sustain your efforts and progress in brownfield (or others) projects.
Energy | Housing
Video: 5 keys for sustainable social housing success
Gordon Szaszi, Project Manager Housing Development, shares Niagara Regional Housing (NRH) experience creating the business case for a 67-unit affordable housing development for seniors.
Water
Video: Yorkton meets their feasibility study goals by valuing community involvement
Glenda Holmes, Water Works Manager, explains how a feasibility study helped the City of Yorkton ramp up the environmental benefits of its new water treatment plant by treating the wastewater it produced.
Energy
Video: Tips from Iqualuit’s LEED Silver aquatic centre
In this video, you will learn the key elements and lessons learned that helped Iqaluit succeed on building its energy efficient aquatic centre.
Energy | Housing
Video: 5 keys for sustainable social housing success
This video walks through the key sections of a successful business case: Needs Assessment, Organizational Readiness, Project Vision and Financials.
Energy
Video: New municipal financing program removes barriers to energy-efficiency upgrades for homeowners
Marie-Pierre Paquette discusses how the municipalities of Plessisville, Varennes and Verchères banded together to launch a joint pilot project that would bring energy-efficient home renovations within reach for more homeowners.
Energy
Video: Introduction to home energy upgrade programs
Watch this video to learn more about home energy upgrade programs and how they can help municipalities to tackle climate change, save money, and invest in the local economy.
Energy | Housing
Resources: Sustainable Affordable Housing
Learn how to retrofit existing housing for energy-efficiency and plan new builds for higher performance.
Energy
Video: New municipal financing program removes barriers to energy-efficiency upgrades for homeowners
Marie-Pierre Paquette discusses how the municipalities of Plessisville, Varennes and Verchères banded together to launch a joint pilot project that would bring energy-efficient home renovations within reach for more homeowners.
Energy
Webinar recording: How to adapt green municipal projects to stand the test of time
Watch this webinar recording and explore how to build and adapt projects to make them truly sustainable in the long term.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recording: Take your project from study to capital
Watch this webinar recording and discover how others have successfully converted studies into a capital project that provides social, economic and environmental benefits.
Energy
Webinar recording: The 5 keys to a green municipal project business case
Watch this webinar recording and discover the five critical focus areas you need to address to get your project started, from financing and partnerships to integrating a triple-bottom-line approach.
Energy
Introducing GMF’s Community Buildings Retrofit initiative
Discover how GMF can support your community building retrofits, from funding for energy monitoring, building commissioning, studies and capital projects to capacity-building activities and resources.
Energy | Housing
Video: 1,500 Toronto residents benefit from retrofit initiative
Bryan Purcell, of The Atmospheric Fund, tells the story of how an initiative to perform energy efficiency retrofits of 7 community housing buildings in Toronto achieved so much more.
Energy
Article series: Meet LC3’s climate leaders
Read our article series to get to know the leaders of the Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) network, and learn how they are advancing effective ways to address climate change in big cities.
Energy
GMF’s Municipal Energy Roadmap
Solutions for Canadian communities to achieve significant GHG emissions reductions in buildings and meet long-term sustainability objectives.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmaps
GMF's Brownfield Roadmaps provide a detailed overview of the process of bringing contaminated or abandoned sites back into productive use in your province or territory.
Energy
Primer for elected officials: Municipal Energy Roadmap
This primer for elected officials outlines how the Municipal Energy Roadmap can help choose the right energy-related solutions for your buildings.
Energy
Regional Energy Coaches
Regional Energy Coaches help affordable housing providers plan energy efficiency retrofits and new builds.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recording: Making affordable housing sustainable
Watch this webinar recording to learn about the various forms of grant, loan and capacity building support we offer to help you retrofit existing units or build new ones.
Energy
Factsheets: Municipal Energy Roadmap
These factsheets offer specific guidance around building-level solutions, community-level solutions, and long-term strategies to help you drill down and meet your objectives.
Energy
Webinar recording: How to create an efficiency financing program for your community
An overview of the funding options, eligibility and application details of GMF’s Community Efficiency Financing program.
Energy
Factsheets: Community Efficiency Financing
Learn how to design, deliver and market a home upgrade financing program for your community.
Energy | Housing
Factsheets: Sustainable Affordable Housing
Learn how to retrofit existing housing for energy-efficiency and plan new builds for higher performance.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recording: Apply for GMF’s Sustainable Affordable Housing funding
Watch this joint webinar hosted by the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA to learn how to apply for FCM’s newest funding initiative – Sustainable Affordable Housing.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recordings: Best practices in municipal sustainability
How are cities and communities of all sizes tackling their environmental challenges? Find out from our five-part webinar series on innovations and opportunities in municipal energy, waste, water, transportation and land use initiatives.
Land Use
Report: Sustainable land use practices in Canadian municipalities
A snapshot of emerging trends, key issues and best practices in sustainable land use.
Water
Report: Water management trends in Canadian municipalities
A snapshot of existing and emerging water management trends, best practices and opportunities for innovation.
Land Use
Email series: Fostering brownfield redevelopment in your community
Are you interested in learning more about brownfields? Are you starting a brownfield initiative or program, and want more information on what other communities across the country are doing? Sign up for our Fostering brownfield redevelopment email series
Energy
Tool for municipal clean energy program development: Use the Energy Poverty and Equity Explorer to reduce energy poverty and greenhouse gases
The Energy Poverty and Equity Explorer tool, developed by Canadian Urban Sustainability Practitioners (CUSP), offers municipalities access to relevant data so they can better understand energy poverty, and other equity and affordability challenges in their communities.
Land Use
Guide: LiBRe best practices framework
The LiBRe program is structured around a best practices framework for becoming a municipal leader in brownfield renewal.
Land Use
Guide: Getting started on your brownfield sites
Discover how to raise awareness and secure a formal commitment to support brownfield redevelopment in your municipality. Read the guide.
Land Use
Guide: Developing a municipal brownfield inventory
Free guidebook. 10 steps to creating your brownfield inventory. Libre Guidebook series.
Water
Guide: 2018 Sustainable Communities Awards project guide: Water
Learn how to implement the best practices and strategies used by Okotoks, AB, our 2018 Sustainable Communities Awards water winner.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recording: How to prepare a GMF capital project application
Need advice for preparing your GMF capital project funding application? Watch our webinar recording to hear tips from our staff and find out what reviewers are looking for.
Land Use
Guide: Evaluate and improve your municipal brownfield programs
See how two communities benefit from evaluating their brownfield programs and find tips you can use in your municipality to enhance your offering.
Land Use
Tool: Benefits of Sustainable Brownfield Activities
Cleaning up contaminants and redeveloping a brownfield site can bring communities a number of environmental, economic and social benefits. You can achieve even greater benefits by incorporating sustainable approaches throughout the site remediation and risk management activities.
Land Use
Tool: Sustainable Remediation and Risk Management Options
Any technique that remediates or manages the risk of contamination at a site has an environmental benefit as it eliminates or reduces exposure to contaminants. Some techniques, however, are more sustainable than others.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Manitoba
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Manitoba.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Ontario
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Ontario.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Nunavut
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Nunavut.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Nova Scotia
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the processes, legislative framework and funding for redeveloping brownfields in Nova Scotia.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Newfoundland and Labrador
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the processes, legislative framework and funding for redeveloping brownfields in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: British Columbia
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in BC.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Alberta
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Alberta.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Prince Edward Island
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the processes, legislative framework and funding for redeveloping brownfields in Prince Edward Island.
Land Use
Tool: Finding Remediation Service Providers
Get a sense of the services required at different project stages and find providers using various directories.
Land Use
Tool: Sustainable Site Assessments
You can use various techniques to find out whether a suspected brownfield site contains contaminated soil or groundwater.
Land Use
Phase II Environmental Site Assessment and Remedial Action Plan, Cooper Site
As part of a plan to build a University of Waterloo satellite campus next to its downtown core, the City of Stratford completed a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment and Remedial Action Plan for the Cooper Site, a 7-hectare former industrial site.
Land Use
Case study: Ladysmith Waterfront Brownfield Study
The Town of Ladysmith commissioned three studies of contamination at a former industrial site on its waterfront, to review options for remediation.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Quebec
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Quebec.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: Northwest Territories
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the process, learn about the legislative framework and find funding for redeveloping brownfields in Northwest Territories.
Land Use
Tool: Sustainable remediation
Almost every Canadian municipality is home to a brownfield site.
Land Use
Webinar recording: How to build partnerships to help revitalize your brownfields
Waterfronts were once bustling engines of a past industrial economy; some now sit vacant — void of the productivity that once supported their communities.
Water
Guide: Best practices for scoping a wastewater upgrade project
Get your wastewater project off to a successful start with these best practices in defining project scope and engaging stakeholders. Part one in a three-part article series.
Water
Guide: Lessons in planning and designing a wastewater plant upgrade
Learn how to avoid one of the most common mistakes in wastewater plant upgrade projects: insufficient planning and analysis. Part two in a three-part article series.
Waste
Six sustainability ideas that have gone mainstream in Canada: Article series
In a series of six articles, we explore inspiring projects and sustainability solutions being implemented in cities and towns of all sizes across Canada.
Water
Guide: Tips for the building phase of a wastewater plant upgrade
Discover four practices that will help make the procurement, construction and start-up phase of your project a success. Part three in a three-part article series.
Land Use
Webinar recording: Fostering brownfield redevelopment
Learn best practices in brownfield revitalization you can apply in your municipality, and understand FCM's brownfield funding opportunities and resources.
Water
Tool: Checklist for a successful wastewater treatment plant upgrade
Follow this checklist based on best practices to help ensure success and address key issues during each phase of your project.
Water
Article series: Tips for a successful wastewater treatment plant upgrade
Implement a successful wastewater treatment plant upgrade with help from this series of three articles packed with best practices from GMF-funded projects. Read the articles.
Land Use
Tool: Evaluation tools for sustainable remediation and risk management
Browse through a range of tools to help you evaluate your options and compare potential benefits.
Land Use
Brownfield Roadmap: New Brunswick
Use this easy-to-follow path to navigate the processes, legislative framework and funding for redeveloping brownfields in New Brunswick.
Land Use
Report: Leadership in Brownfield Renewal Program Annual Review
Discover brownfield redevelopment initiatives and advancements in Canadian municipalities made during the Leadership in Brownfield Renewal program's inaugural year.
Land Use
Webinar recording: Ideas to move brownfield projects forward
Join this webinar to get practical ideas for working with partners and community groups to bring abandoned properties back into productive use.
Water
Webinar recording: Wastewater best practices, strategies and solutions
Watch the webinar recordings from our three-part, online workshop series on wastewater best practices, strategies and solutions for Canadian municipalities.
Waste
Guide: Sustainable Neighbourhood Development
This guide, Sustainable Neighbourhood Development: Practical Solutions to Common Challenges, is designed to help you re-imagine your municipality's approach to planning, development and regulation.
Land Use
Guide: Promoting brownfield programs and opportunities in Canada
Read this step-by-step guide to marketing brownfield redevelopment opportunities to local developers and property owners.
Water
Webinar recording: Optimizing your wastewater treatment plant
Join our webinar to learn proven practices to help you identify ways to optimize your existing wastewater treatment resources. Speakers from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change and the Grand River Conservation Authority will share lessons learned that you can apply in your municipality.
Land Use
Webinar recording: Introduction to the brownfield redevelopment process
Watch this webinar recording for an introduction to the process of developing a brownfield site in your community, from the environmental assessment to site remediation.
Land Use
Guide: Tendering a municipal brownfield project
Conducting an efficient tendering process is a key step in managing a successful brownfield redevelopment project.
Water
Webinar recording: Managing stormwater through low impact development
Learn how to use green stormwater infrastructure, or low impact development, as an affordable alternative to grey stormwater infrastructure in your community.