The City of Vancouver wanted to better understand the needs of city residents who are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change—specifically extreme heat and wildfire smoke. To do so, it partnered with Evergreen, a non-profit organization, to engage groups whose voices are not often heard in public decision-making on climate change. Seniors, low-income citizens, those with physical and mental health conditions and people who are homeless, are more likely to be exposed to climate hazards and are less able to adapt to climate change. By engaging these groups, Evergreen was able to produce practical recommendations that will inform the city’s current adaptation measures and feed into the next update of its Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, strengthening the strategy’s equity component. The project was part of the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program (MCIP).

Read this case study to learn how engaging with marginalized community members can help you develop better municipal climate adaptation strategies.   

What was the aim of the project?

Although Vancouver was one of the first cities in Canada to adopt a climate adaptation strategy (in 2012), the city recognized that it still needed to learn more about vulnerable populations and address equity more deliberately within its climate work. In 2017, Vancouver partnered with Evergreen to consult with city residents who are most vulnerable to heat and poor air quality, in a project funded by MCIP. The aim was to better understand the challenges, needs and preferences of these groups and use that information to inform the city’s climate adaptation planning, policies and actions and its extreme heat response. The research and consultations addressed three main topics: current experiences of climate change, concerns over future risks, and priorities for addressing climate change impacts.

What steps were involved in the project?

The planning and implementation of the project proceeded in two main phases. In Phase 1, Evergreen did a literature review of adaptation solutions in North American cities that address the needs of vulnerable populations. The project report includes 13 detailed examples as well as the full list of solutions. They then developed a stakeholder engagement plan in partnership with local community service organizations. After identifying key principles for engagement, Evergreen developed a menu of options that could be customized for each group, and drafted questions for interviews and group sessions—all in consultation with the city.

In Phase 2 of the initiative, Evergreen conducted the engagement activities, starting with interviews of staff from local community service organizations to obtain context and advice for community engagement. The interviews focused on the major climate issues faced by their constituents, current adaptation strategies, priorities and possible solutions for helping their constituents with climate adaptation.

The next part of Phase 2, which took place from June to November 2019, involved guided discussions with nine groups of community members, and customized surveys with 306 community members at local events. Evergreen engaged 546 people in total, including homeless and marginally housed individuals, people living in supportive housing, residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, people with low income, people with disabilities, women, LGBTQ people and seniors. The discussions also included people who spoke languages other than English, veterans and newcomers.

These engagement events were used to gather input on the lived experiences of vulnerable groups and work with the groups to identify the most helpful tools, programs and strategies. Each activity was customized to meet the specific socio-cultural needs and interests of the particular group and events were offered in five different languages. These events were built around activities and topics that the groups were already interested in and were held at familiar locations. For example, one group of seniors liked to go for walks, so Evergreen organized an urban forest walk through neighbourhood parks to observe signs of climate change and discuss how the seniors coped with extreme heat. Another activity gathered input from participants through a carnival-themed spinning wheel at a community block party.

What was achieved?

The process yielded valuable insights about factors affecting vulnerability of residents and their current challenges and behaviour when dealing with heat and smoke. Much was learned about their needs in relation to matters like indoor and outdoor cooling areas, education and awareness, transportation and access to water.

With this feedback, Evergreen prepared key recommendations for the City of Vancouver in a number of areas. These recommendations included topics such as engagement strategies, the design of public and green spaces, options for funding and resourcing, optimizing cooling rooms and clean air shelters, building design and policies, and public drinking water and washrooms. Evergreen also highlighted the importance of outreach and communication and integrating principles of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

Notable insights included the value of tailoring adaptive features to reflect the way vulnerable groups use public spaces—such as increasing tree canopies and other sources of shade in places where people stand in line for food and services. City staff also learned more about where people spend their time during heat waves, including public buildings and arenas—and that people who are homeless may visit malls to cool off, but are not always welcome there. This information will help to build the business case for funding public cooling spaces. The consultations also revealed that it may make sense to design segmented solutions for different groups and prioritize those with the greatest need. For example, each group uses cooling spaces differently: seniors prefer quiet, which may not be compatible with the needs of residents with children. People who are homeless need places to store their belongings and may be accompanied by pets.

Insight and lessons learned

• Consultation with community agencies is an important step in designing appropriate engagement activities: Stakeholder interviews with frontline staff provided context and informed the development of engagement activities for each community.
• Seeking input on communities’ lived experiences supports effective planning: The quotes from residents and the statistics about their behavior and needs have proven to be powerful when communicating with senior management—for example, they can help improve plans relating to heat response and provide justification for specific interventions.
• Proper engagement and outreach takes time: Initially, the project was planned to last for six months, but it ultimately took about a year—and would have benefitted from an additional year. This would have allowed more time for all the project steps as well as a chance to get feedback from groups about the usefulness of proposed interventions.
• The seasonal timing of climate adaptation conversations matters: Interviews with city staff and partner organizations started in October 2018. It was difficult to get input on issues related to extreme heat and wildfire smoke when people were focused on preparing for winter; the community engagement was therefore planned for the next summer.
• Customized engagement yields results: The engagement activities and questions were targeted to reflect the socio-cultural values and interests of each community. This attracted people who don’t normally participate in traditional meetings or surveys and resulted in more in-depth feedback. Offering multiple pathways for engagement was a key to success.
• Tailored adaptation solutions for different groups can help to address equity concerns: It quickly became apparent that the very diverse targeted population wasn’t a monolith, both in terms of how individuals currently experience the impacts of heat and smoke, and in terms of how they might make use of adaptation solutions in future.
• Unusual suspects can support fostering resilience within vulnerable communities: Building managers can be important conveyors of information to the residents they interact with and can also support the effective and safe operation of buildings to better manage heat.

“The project’s recommendations will improve our response. For example, by catering to different groups who use cooling centres, or by placing trees and awnings in places where people are lining up for services and gathering—these are really tangible things we had not thought of before.”

– Brad Badelt, Assistant Director, Sustainability, City of Vancouver

Next steps

City staff have reported on the outcomes to council, and in February 2020 the consultation results and recommendations were presented to the City of Vancouver's Climate Change Adaptation Steering Committee. The presentation was well-received, as were some of the practical suggestions, such as the idea of adjusting drinking water fountains to have a higher water arc, making them more hygienic.

Timing issues meant that the community input was not gathered in time to feed directly into the 2018 update to the city’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. However, the recommendations are beginning to shape and improve the city’s current adaptation actions, for example relating to thermal comfort in non-market housing, urban tree canopy and cooling rooms. In the summer of 2020, the city set up temporary shaded areas in outdoor spaces where people could gather and located a series of cooling centres based on input from the consultations.

The project’s recommendations will be incorporated into the next update of the strategy, which happens every five years. The feedback will also be used to inform updates to other city plans: most notably the city-wide Vancouver Plan, but also sector specific strategies (relating to health and housing among others) and heat response plans. Because of the shift to online engagement platforms due to COVID-19, the city has not yet reported back to the community on the actions taken in relation to their feedback, but plans to do so at in-person gatherings in the future.

By the numbers

Related resources

• City of Vancouver’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
• Evergreen’s full project report
• Evergreen’s project page

Contact

Brad Badelt
Assistant Director, Sustainability, City of Vancouver
brad.badelt@vancouver.ca

This project was part of the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program (MCIP), a five-year, $75 million program funded by Infrastructure Canada and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).

The City of Vernon, BC, Drainage Infrastructure Prioritization Plan is the 2020 winner in the asset management category of FCM’s Sustainable Communities Awards.

In recent years, the City of Vernon, BC, has been challenged by climate-related events, including flooding, landslides and wildfires. To mitigate future impacts, the City applied a climate change lens to evaluate the vulnerabilities of their drainage network. This enabled them to prioritize their flood mitigation planning process.

City used asset management approach to evaluate drainage system

The City of Vernon is located in the North Okanagan region of BC, where climate change projections show increasing precipitation and more frequent storm events that include heavy rain. By applying an asset management approach and assessing their drainage infrastructure through a climate vulnerability lens, the City developed a risk assessment framework, mapped overland water flow paths and developed a prioritized list of drainage projects that can be incorporated in the City’s capital planning.  

Detailed topographical imaging used to show water flow paths

To collect the information they needed to assess risk, the City partnered with a provincial initiative to capture LiDAR data (a digital mapping tool) for the entire Okanagan Lake watershed. This let them affordably access the data they needed to calculate the most likely water flow paths from the moment a drop hits the ground until it reaches a receiving body of water. By modeling a once-in-a-hundred-year rainfall event, the City predicted flooding and related impacts on infrastructure.  

Outcomes include protecting watershed and optimizing infrastructure investments

Almost all stormwater drainage in the City flows into creeks that lead to Okanagan Lake, and these streams have been shown to have poor water quality. The Drainage Infrastructure Prioritization Plan identifies and prioritizes works that will prevent further impact on the watershed and other natural assets, as well as critical infrastructure assets such as roads. Infrastructure that may be affected by climate change in the years to come is identified as higher priority, such as within environmentally sensitive areas, or proximal to areas of higher population. Overland flow paths through steep slopes that have the potential to cause erosion are also high priority for protection or improvement. Overall, the plan will help the City direct funds to projects that provide multiple benefits and reduce the highest risks. By linking the economic impact of drainage infrastructure failure to risk, the City can make better-informed decisions about infrastructure investments and the risks to service delivery.    

Data collection and management proved challenging

With nearly 5,000 individual storm sewer segments and 16,000 unique overland flow routes in the city, managing large amounts of data proved to be the project’s biggest challenge. The project team developed a methodology that combined GIS data with information from available reports and designs in order to estimate flow rates. While the method did not capture the subtleties of detailed hydrologic modelling, it was adequate for the comparative assessment required. Finding topographic data that covered the study area was another challenge, which the project team overcame through its partnership with the Okanagan Basin Water Board to capture LiDAR. In the future, the City expects to face challenges related to overland flow routes. With a high level of impervious areas in the city already, the city will have to inform residents and developers about how water moves through the region and work together with them to restore natural flow paths and protect existing ones.

The Cochrane On-demand Local Transit initiative in Cochrane, AB, is a 2020 co-winner in the transportation category of FCM’s Sustainable Communities Awards.

Addressing public transit needs can be a challenge for rural and smaller communities. After considering conventional fixed route transit options for many years, the Town of Cochrane, AB, began a fresh research process and public consultation. With a better understanding of community needs and local transit options, the Town developed an on-demand transit system that provides affordable, accessible transportation to the community and operates at one-third the cost of a similar fixed route service.

Made-in-Cochrane solution best meets local needs

The Cochrane On-demand Local Transit (COLT) system is the first fully on-demand, stop-to-stop transit service in Canada. It provides all-day service and full community coverage with eight buses and more than 150 stops. COLT riders use a mobile app, website or the phone to request a stop on a specific day and time. The Town selected an on-demand system over other options after an extensive process of research and public consultation showed that it would best meet residents’ needs and priorities.

COLT addresses need for affordability, inclusion and accessibility

COLT uses only wheelchair accessible buses, and residents that require assistance or don’t have access to a smartphone or computer can book a trip by phone. The transit system offers one of the lowest monthly pass prices in Alberta, and a fixed contract cost based on vehicle hours lets COLT increase or decrease vehicle services while staying within budget. This proved its value during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Town was able to maintain service with fewer buses to match a decrease in ridership. The transit system has also been designed to grow in step with an expected increase in population, and create fixed routes as required or add taxi services to create a mobility-as-a-service platform.

Access to public transit has significant social benefits

COLT has been popular from the start: over 500 people tried to book a trip on the first day, and in the first five months of operation, the system completed over 20,000 passenger trips, saving an estimated 12 tonnes of CO₂. Riders are mostly youth or seniors who would formerly have relied on friends and family to drive them. More independence means less social isolation for seniors and easier access to work and after school activities for youth. Better transportation options also increase the employee pool, especially among millennials, and local businesses are reporting less employee turnover.

Lack of public consultation stalled earlier transit planning

While reviewing failed transit plans from the previous 10 years, the transit task force noted that they had all been presented to the community as complete plans. Recognizing this as a key problem in the past, the Town solicited resident input and involvement prior to designing the COLT system, ensuring they developed a plan that services community needs.

Another challenge the project faced was a delay in bus delivery.  However, borrowing Calgary Transit buses enabled the project to launch on time. Integrating the local transit system with regional transit will be a future challenge, and the Town is already working on a cost sharing plan with the regional transit system that will increase fare revenue and add greater service to the community.

The Amherstview Water Pollution Control Plan Constructed Wetland in Loyalist Township, ON, is the 2020 winner in the water category of FCM’s Sustainable Communities Awards.

The Corporation of Loyalist Township, ON, uses a series of in-line lagoons to provide tertiary treatment at the Amherstview Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP). However, algae growth in these systems meant the final effluent had high pH levels that were not compliant with environmental standards. To address the issue in a sustainable way, the Township built a wetland to decrease the pH levels of the waste stream effluent through natural processes.

Passive, natural treatment chosen over mechanical options

At the Amherstview water treatment facility, wastewater is treated with a mechanical aeration process before passing through three lagoons that provide passive disinfection. In the summer months, excessive algal growth in the lagoons leads to elevated pH levels. While UV irradiation or chlorination/dechlorination processes could be used to address the situation, the Township had a previous study, conducted in collaboration with the Civil Engineering department at Queen’s University, that showed a natural wetland was a viable, sustainable and cost-effective alternative to attenuating pH.

Local plant used to mimic nature’s own processes

The constructed wetland was designed to fit within the footprint of the final disinfection lagoon. To replicate natural processes that had been shown to reduce the pH level of the effluent, the project team selected cattails, a locally available plant, as the primary vegetation for the wetland. The first year the wetland was completed, it consistently kept final effluent pH levels below the maximum limit of 9.5, and frequently met the water treatment facility’s objective of 9.0. In its second year, effluent met the objective more often and it is expected that, as the vegetation matures, the constructed wetland will become more effecting and this objective will be met more regularly.

Wetland benefits the environment, residents and the Township budget

In addition to attenuating pH levels, other benefits of the constructed wetland can be investigated in the future, such as the removal of E. coli and elimination of pharmaceuticals and personal care products from waste streams. Studies have shown that constructed wetlands can remove up to 90% of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals from pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and the configuration of the Amherstview wetland will allow for further research in this emerging field. The wetland allows more access to green space for residents, as well as waterfowl and shore birds. The Kingston Field Naturalists have monitored birds in the wetland, and several tours have been organized for schools and public groups.

The project has also realized economic benefits for the community, with the capital costs of the constructed wetland coming in at about half of the cost of a UV disinfection system. UV systems also have high energy consumption and require frequent maintenance, whereas the constructed wetland is expected to have very low operating costs over its useful life.

Design team learned the value of involving operations staff early on

The project team faced problems with the hydraulics of the system and the structural integrity of the wetland berms. This meant the flow of water through the constructed wetland could not be controlled and the system had to be taken out of commission until the problem could be addressed. Input from plant operators resulted in the development of a simple yet effective flow control structure that solved the hydraulic issues and accomplished the project goals. The situation illustrated the importance of involving operations staff early in the design phase of the project.

The Canmore Food Waste Collection Pilot in Canmore, AB, is the 2020 winner in the waste category of FCM’s Sustainable Communities Awards.

Located in important wildlife habitat, the Town of Canmore, AB, cannot offer curb-side waste collection due to the risk of attracting bears and other animals. Instead, residents take their garbage and recycling to wildlife-proof bins located throughout the community. To address residents’ requests for composting and achieve the community’s environmental goals, the Town introduced a residential food waste collection program and upgraded their transfer station to manage the high volume of a future commercial program.

Collaboration between residents, council and other communities was key

A local resident group was integral in getting the program started. The group researched best practices from other mountain communities and facilitated community education programs. The Town’s Arts and Events team helped launch a competition for local artists to create a design for the neighbourhood bins, to help residents connect to the program. The winning artist used a days worth of her own food waste to create mosaics of local mountain peaks – these colourful images now wrap the bins and are a clear prompt for what’s meant to go inside them. The Town also benefited from collaboration with other municipalities. Metro Vancouver shared materials from their successful Food Isn’t Garbage marketing campaign at no cost, and the neighbouring municipality of Banff agreed to transport Canmore’s food waste to a processing facility until Canmore’s transfer station is ready.

Project addresses waste reduction, strategic goals and resident needs

Since food and food-soiled paper account for over 35% of Canmore’s residential waste, diverting organics from garbage is important to achieving the Town’s waste reduction goals. It is also an important strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions created by organic material degrading in landfill. In addition, the organic waste program addresses long-time resident interest in diverting food scraps from landfill, since backyard composting is illegal due to wildlife concerns. Managing the impact of the urban footprint on local wildlife is one of the Town’s six strategic goals.

Pilot program already shows positive outcomes

 During the first year of the pilot project in 2019 with just five bins, Canmore has diverted approximately 800 kg of food waste per day to composting—a diversion rate of over 10%. Resident participation levels have been high, and the program already captures almost one-third of the estimated food and food-soiled paper available in the waste stream. Costs for the initiative will be recovered through existing recycling utility fees. Residents will pay $28 a year more, and fees for commercial organic waste collection will be similar to fees for garbage collection.

Creative solutions help overcome project challenges

The need to expand the transfer station was a major barrier to Council’s original plan to start the food waste collection program with restaurants and hotels. By shifting focus to the residential pilot program while the transfer station was upgraded, the Town was able to make progress on their overall goal. With the transfer station upgraded, commercial collection is slated to begin in the fall of 2020.

The residential program was challenged by higher participation rates than anticipated, straining collection capacity and causing the Town to run out of the kitchen collection bins they were distributing before the program even launched. And feedback from residents prompted the Town to test a minor change to the bins to make them easier to use. The residential pilot project will continue until 2021, allowing time to work out issues before adding more collection bins.

Growing Up: The Story of ION Light Rail in Waterloo Region, ON, is a 2020 co-winner in the transportation category of FCM’s Sustainable Communities Awards.

In 2019, the Region of Waterloo, ON, welcomed its first passengers on the ION Light Rail Transit system. The ION system connects the Region’s three urban centres with reliable, fast transportation that helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and urban sprawl, while increasing investment and development in the rapidly growing region.

Transit system connects the Region’s three cities

The Region of Waterloo is spread over seven municipalities, including the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo. As Canada’s fastest-growing region in 2019, and with more than 200,000 new residents expected to move there over the next 20 years, the Region needed a public transportation option to enable residents to travel between urban areas. Increasing public transit options reduces GHGs and encourages more mixed development in urban areas, which limits urban sprawl and takes pressure off surrounding farmland and groundwater sources.       

Population growth had environmental consequences

With the growth in population, the Region was also experiencing a rise in vehicle ownership on a per capita basis and the threat of urban sprawl encroaching on sensitive environmental landscapes and farmland. To meet objectives of reducing GHG emissions and protecting surrounding rural lands, the Region had long been planning to develop a regional public transit system. After extensive public consultation, environmental assessment and research into transit technologies, the Region determined that light rail transit (LRT) could offer the most sustainable solution.       

ION system has environmental, social and economic benefits

Light rail trains use cleaner electricity instead of diesel fuel and their comfort and reliability attract riders. By decreasing the use of personal vehicles and moving more of the transit system’s ridership onto greener vehicles, the Region of Waterloo is able to decrease GHG emissions. The ION rail system connects residents to bike and walking trails and parks, supporting active modes of transportation and healthy lifestyles. Other social benefits include increasing mobility options for seniors, youth and low-income residents and reducing economic barriers to mobility.

The Region has also seen indications that the LRT is encouraging a more compact urban form, with 50 percent of new development taking place in existing urban areas. Redevelopment around the transit corridor has reduced the number of surface parking lots and their associated impact on the urban heat island, and has resulted in over 30 hectares of brownfield remediation. The new ION system has attracted investment to the region, including the Canadian headquarters for Google, and spurred further growth in residential and commercial development—which in turn increases employment opportunities and grows the municipal tax base.     

High-profile project faced pressure from political and public scrutiny

As the largest project in the history of the Region, the ION transit system was in media and political spotlights during its development. It took a long time to reach consensus on a vision, and funding for the project was ultimately decided through the election process. However, once the project was underway, having strong and consistent leadership and engaging in ongoing public communication and consultation helped the project stay on track. Vendor and construction delays also came under scrutiny, but in the end allowed the project team more time to prepare for a smooth launch that contributed to ION’s success.     

The City of Edmonton’s Blatchford project is the 2020 winner in the neighbourhoods category of FCM’s Sustainable Communities Awards. The initiative also received FCM's Inspire Award for the project that best demonstrates creativity and innovation, as decided by delegates at FCM's Sustainable Communities Conference.

A new landmark development in the City of Edmonton, Blatchford is a sustainable live-work community that uses 100% renewable energy, aims to be carbon neutral and encourages a sustainable lifestyle. Built on the 536-acre site of a former municipal airport in the heart of Edmonton, the community uses innovative systems to achieve environmental, social and economic benefits.

Neighbourhood will reduce energy use and GHG emissions

The primary goal of the Blatchford project is to develop a carbon neutral community using 100% renewable energy. The district energy sharings system can reduce overall energy consumption by 15-20% once the community is fully built. And GHG emissions from homes and buildings will be about 75% less than a traditional neighbourhood, saving about 30,000 tonnes of GHGs annually at full build out. The project is expected to realize significant economic benefits as well, and is projected to make over $200 million in profit that can be reinvested in Edmonton. 

Mixed use community focuses on people first

Blatchford supports Edmonton’s strategy to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The site is centrally located and connected to transit, which aligns with goals for development in the city core and increasing the use of public and active transportation. Based on exemplary place-making and planning criteria, land use planning for the community includes engaging public spaces, bike and pedestrian paths as well as work, education, shopping and healthcare amenities, all of which are intended to foster interaction and a sense of community. Businesses and employment in the community will contribute to its economic sustainability, and the project anticipates a positive net revenue at full build-out.

Project aims to be greener and more sustainable in every way

Blatchford incorporates environmental sustainability from the ground up. Materials from the former airport were recycled, including repurposing crushed runways for new road construction and deconstructing the former airport hangars to divert over 90% of the materials from landfill. The community’s homes are built with features such as high-performance building envelopes and high-efficiency energy systems, so they use significantly less energy for heating, cooling and hot water. A highly efficient district energy sharing system uses renewable energy sources to provide environmentally-friendly heating, cooling and hot water services to the homes and buildings. The first stage of this system uses a geoexchange field to harness the shallow geothermal energy below the earth’s surface. The community uses natural water infrastructure  techniques, such as bioswales, rain gardens, and stormwater ponds that also increase biodiversity and add greenspace for residents’ enjoyment.

Long-term vision allows flexibility during housing market uncertainty

The primary challenge facing the project is the housing market. A soft market in Edmonton in recent years combined with unemployment and lasting economic effects from the COVID-19 pandemic create uncertainties for the future of real estate. However, the community is in the early stages of development and will be developed in stages over the next 20-25 years, which gives the project the flexibility to adapt to changes in the economy, community needs and sustainable technologies well into the future. While this year has been different than expected for everyone, the long-term plans and vision for Blatchford have remained unchanged.

Inspire award guidebook and factsheet

Get an in-depth look at why The City of Edmonton’s Blatchford project was the 2020 FCM Inspire Award winner, along with the top 10 lessons learned through the project.

The Raymond Electrical Net Zero initiative in the Town of Raymond, AB, is the 2020 winner in the energy category of FCM’s Sustainable Communities Awards.

Town of Raymond, AB, is a growing community with an eye on its sustainability for future generations. With limited opportunities for revenue generation, and facing the uncertainty of fluctuating energy prices, the Town installed a series of solar panels that offset 100% of the Town’s operational electricity use and save nearly 700 tonnes of CO₂ per year, meeting environmental and economic sustainability goals for the community.

Innovation and opportunity aligned

To mitigate the uncertainty in electricity costs, the Town took advantage of provincial grants to explore alternative energy options. Inspired by a nearby town with a similar geography, the Town explored the idea of installing solar panels on municipal buildings. The investigation showed seven locations offered sufficient return on investment to proceed. The following year, a change in provincial regulations opened the opportunity for a solar PV system to offset energy from multiple sites. This enabled the Town to improve both the environmental impact and cost savings of the project by installing two more arrays, creating a large enough system to offset all their operational energy use.

Small town shows leadership in climate action

Enlarging the solar PV system to offset 100% of the Town’s operational electrical consumption was a bold investment in the community’s future. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting environmental objectives, the Town is saving money and protecting itself from rising energy costs. This enables the municipality to redirect funds to other projects that contribute to residents’ quality of life. And as the first municipality in Alberta to have net-zero electricity use in operations, Raymond plays a leadership role in demonstrating that small communities can play an important part in climate action.

Project offsets GHG emissions and air pollutants from energy generation

The Town’s nine solar PV arrays are expected to generate over 1300 MWh of renewable electricity annually, saving nearly 700 tonnes of CO₂ each year—a savings of 17,000 tonnes of emissions over the system’s minimum 25-year lifetime. Since Alberta produces 36% of its electricity in coal-fired plants, Raymond’s solar energy system will reduce annual air pollution from particulates associated with coal generation by an estimated 1300 kg per year.

The Town funded the project with a provincial rebate and a 15-year financing arrangement with the solar PV contractor. With anticipated annual savings of $130,000, the project is expected to pay back one year after the financing period ends, and generate even greater savings over the remainder of the system’s lifespan. The success of the Town’s initiative has attracted interest from a number of other municipalities, and the Town offers tours and provides peer advice and support to assist other communities with similar projects.

Town required technical support from solar PV partner

Identifying the best locations to install solar panels proved difficult for the Town, and without in-house solar PV expertise they relied on the project’s solar contractor for assistance. Without this support, researching and compiling the technical, system, energy and financial information for the project would have proven very challenging. The Town took a measured approach and implemented the project in two phases. Although the initial goal was to offset as much electricity use as possible, in hindsight, they could have saved time by setting a goal of net-zero energy consumption from the start and implementing the project in one phase.

The Campbell River Rising Seas initiative in Campbell River, BC, is the 2020 winner in the climate change category of FCM’s Sustainable Communities Awards.

Located on the coast of Vancouver Island, the City of Campbell River, BC, needed to identify the risks that rising sea levels pose to its community, infrastructure and sensitive ecosystems in the area. Following extensive public education and consultation, they developed an action plan to mitigate risks that respects community values.

Sea level rise threatens community and wildlife

The coast where Campbell River is located is battered by strong ocean currents and severe winter storms, resulting in flooding and erosion along the shore. Shoreline species are at risk, as are salmon and the associated ecosystem, and downtown businesses, residential areas and City assets near the coast are also vulnerable. Although the City is located in an area of geological uplift, the rate of sea level rise is accelerating and is expected to outpace this protection. In light of these concerns, the City developed a plan to mitigate the impact of rising sea levels on the community and coastal ecosystems.

Action plan relied on extensive public consultation

To get a picture of flood risks, the City engaged coastal engineers to model extreme marine and weather conditions and factor in projected sea levels, and worked with ecological specialists to evaluate risks to shoreline ecosystems. With this information, they developed guidance for construction and development in the municipality, and identified a variety of flood mitigation measures. The City then conducted an extensive public education and engagement process that included developing primers explaining sea level rise, adaptation best practices, local options and recommended strategies. The primers were presented at a series of public participation events where the project team gathered input and identified interventions for their action plan that had the highest high community value.

The City also consulted and collaborated with the neighbouring Wei Wai Kum First Nation, since their reserve is within the flood risk area, and many potential interventions would be located partly or wholly on reserve land. Receiving buy-in from this key partner was crucial to the project’s success.

Project provides flood protection and preserves wildlife

The City’s action plan includes monitoring at-risk plant species to track sea level impacts over time, and replanting sensitive species in sites with more favourable conditions. Actions that protect the salmon habitat received the highest importance rating from residents, so addressing foreshore ecology alongside flood prevention had both environmental and social benefits. Innovative solutions include creating small bays on City property to dissipate wave energy and provide valuable foreshore habitat without creating an erosion risk. Interventions to protect infrastructure and buildings may be slightly more costly now, but will show benefits over time. For example, the seawall along a new road has been designed to be incrementally raised as required without needing to re-engineer the base.

Long-term nature of the problem makes it hard to maintain focus

Since sea-level rise is slow-moving, investments made now will mainly benefit future generations—an approach that is hard to achieve over short political cycles. To address this problem, a schedule to review and update the Rising Seas plan has been added to the City’s environmental workplan to ensure it is not forgotten.

The project was also challenged by a lack of funding at the outset, so the City conducted preliminary mapping, calculations and photography in-house, an approach that could be applied by other coastal communities with sufficient LiDAR (a digital mapping tool) or other topographic data. The City also relied on a co-op student for initial field research, particularly a detailed survey and visual record of the coastal area at risk. The preliminary work provided a sufficient assessment to pursue grant funding and hire professional coastal engineers.

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.