SUSTAINABLEURBANISM&GREENNETWORKS

OUTLINE1.Principlesofsustainableurbanism2.SustainableurbanisminVancouver

TwoCaseStudies:3.WesbrookPlaceatUBC4.OlympicVillageinVancouver

SUSTAINABLEURBANISM&GREENNETWORKS

PROBLEM:URBANLIFESTYLESDouglasFarrSUSTAINABLEURBANISM

CLIMATECHANGE

UNSUSTAINABLEECOLOGICALFOOTPRINT/CAPITA

OBESITY-AHUMANHEALTHCRISIS

WATERDEPLETIONANDPOLLUTION

MOUNTAINSOFWASTE

TheAmerican(andCanadian)Dream>singlefamilydetachedhouse>sprawl

Loveaffairwiththeautomobile>hugeGHGoutputs

Anindoor,mechanicallysupportedlifestyle>naturedeficit+obesity

Consumersociety>acquisitionofmoreandmorestuff>largerhouses,morewaste

2007

AnxietyCardiovasculardisease[15]MigrainesBreast&coloncancerDepressionDiabetesGoutHighbloodpressureSkinproblemsMortalityinadultsObesityOsteoporosisScoliosis&backproblems

Sedentarylifestyles&

lackofexercise

HEALTH

CLIMATECHANGE

Respondingtoclimatechangeandourcoming

energychallengewithoutamoresustainableform

ofurbanismwillbeimpossible.

PeterCalthorpe2013

Citiescontribute70%ofglobalCO2emissions.Megacitiesprojectmegacities.jpl.nasa.gov

Image:TheVulcanProject,PurdueUniversityandNASA

Centercitydwellersproduceonly25%ofCO2ascompared

tooutersuburbdwellers

MetropolitanTransportationCommission

CLIMATECHANGEANDCITIES

2006AverageweeklyCO2emissionsperhousehold,SanFranciscoarea

Annu

alGHG

perhou

seho

ld(kg)

EdgeSuburb6500kg

Outersuburb

Innersuburb

Firstringsuburb

Centralarea

2500kg

Downtown2000kg

EstimatedannualGHGemissionsfromweekdayurbancartrips

CMHCTravelTool2001

Suburbs:260%moreGHGsthandowntowndwellers—fromweeklycartrips

OUTERSUBURBSvsDOWNTOWNinMetroVancouver

•••

2011METROVANCOUVERTRAVELTOWORK/SCHOOL

2011MetroVancouverRegionalTripDiary

5%

10%

18%

9%

7%

9%

8%

7%

6%

11%

11%

22%

21%

11%

12%

10%

3%

6%

14%

17%

13%

15%

18%

17%

18%

19%

19%

16%

61%

43%

54%

63%

61%

63%

70%

69%

57%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%

North Shore

Vancouver_UEL

Burnaby_New West

Northeast sector

Richmond_S Delta

South of Fraser

Langleys

Pitt Meadows_Maple R

Metro Vancouver

2011 Metro Vancouver Mode Splits

Bike

Walk

Transit

AutoPassenger

Auto Driver

22%45%31%

WALK+BIKE+

TRANSIT

27%

11%

HEALTH

MyCommunityMyHealthdatahaps://www.myhealthmycommunity.org/Results/CommunityProfiles.aspx

26%

11%7%

38%

16%11%

15%20%

28%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Vancouver North Shore Surrey

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION RATES V. OBESITY

Walk/cycle- commute Walk/cycle- errands Obesity

SUSTAINABLEURBANISM+WALKABLENEIGHBOURHOODS

TheUrbanTaskForce,Australia

COMPLETECOMMUNITIES

COMPACTCOMMUNITIESmixedusesanddensities-tosupportgoodtransitandcommercialservices

ARIZONASPRAWL(below35people/hectare)

(TimRobertsPhotographyShutterstock)

XNOTTHIS √THIS

OLYMPICVILLAGE,VANCOUVERBC(>100people/hectare)

COMPLETECOMMUNITIESjobs,services,schools,parksclosetopeople’shomes

XNOTTHIS √THIS

WESBROOKPLACEATUBCLowdensitysinglefamilyresidential

CONNECTEDCOMMUNITIESstreetnetworksthatprioritizetransit,bikingandwalkingovervehicles

XNOTTHIS √THIS

OLYMPICVILLAGE,VANCOUVERBC

ACCESSTONATUREa5-10minutewalkfromhometourbangreenspace

SMITHPARKATWESBROOKPLACE HABITATISLANDATOLYMPICVILLAGE

√THIS √THIS

2005

THEMES:compact,complete&diverseneighborhoods

connectivity&accessibilityforpeople

reconnectthecity’secologicalstructure

“working”urbanforests/greeninfrastructure

waterhealth&balance

GRAYFABRIC GRAYNETWORK GREENNETWORK&FABRIC

Villebois,Wilsonville,OR2003

servingprimarilyecologicalfunctions

servingprimarilyurbanfunctions

spatialcorridorsandsystems

residualspaces‘within’networks

GREEN

GRAY

NETWORK

FABRIC

VOCABULARY

GRAYFABRIC GRAYNETWORK GREENNETWORK&FABRIC

4GOALS

1.ProtecttheGreenZone

Protecttheagriculturallandreserve

Protectthewatershed&ecosystemresources

SUSTAINABLE URBANISM: Vancouver Region

1996

2.CompactMetropolitanRegionGrowthcenters

InfilldevelopmentCompactformsofhousing

3.Completecommuni\esJobs,services,recreakoncloseto

residences

4.Transporta\onchoicesImprovingtransit

ImprovingbicyclenetworksWalkableneighborhoods

VANCOUVERCASESTUDIES:

WesbrookPlace,UBC

SoutheastFalseCreek

EACHCASESTUDY:

Compactcommunity

Completecommunity

Connectedcommunity

Greenfabric

Greennetworks

WESBROOKPLACEUniversityofBritishColumbia

PacificSpiritRegionalPark

UBCFarm

WESBROOKPLACE

UBCcampus

UBCCLIMATEACTIONPLAN(2010)

Converttodistrictenergyusingrenewableenergy

Requiregreenbuildings

House50%studentsoncampus

Increasefamilyhousingnearcampus

50%ofPointGreyresidentsstudyorworkoncampus

Bothcampusandcommunities-more“complete”

Increasealternatemodesoftraveltocampus

UBCSTATS:~63,000peopleperdayoncampus

12,000permanentresidentsonPointGrey*

16%ofdaytimepopulationliveoncampus

~10,000students,faculty,staffliveoncampus

Weekdays:138,200tripsto/fromcampus÷2directions=69,100

Moretripsthanpeople!

UBC-ACOMMUTERCAMPUS12kilometresfromdowntown

*StatisticsCanada-2011census

WESBROOKPLACE Anurbanvillageinthewoods

Plancompletedin2005Firstresidentsmovedin2008

NOTABLEFOR:Acompact,pedestrian-orientedcommunity Addsfulltimeresidentstoacommutercampus

50%ofresidentsstudyorworkatUBC

Greennetwork-off-streetpedestrianpathshabitatconnections

Requiresgreenbuildings

VillageCentre

HighSchool

CommunityCentre

ToUBC

Futureelementaryschool

COMPACTCOMMUNITY

SITE:55.6ha6225unitsatbuild-out

12,500people

atcompletion:225people/hectare

EMPLOYMENT

PrimarilyatUBC~14,000facultyandstaff

>50,000students

COMPACTCOMMUNITY

SERVICESGrocerystore/pharmacy

LiquorstoreBank

Dentist,eyecareHealthcare

Restaurant/pub7foodservices(deli,coffee,fastfood)

8otherservices

COMPLETECOMMUNITY

COMMUNITYCENTRE

SCHOOLS1Highschool

Futureelementaryschoolonsite

DAYCARE75daycarespacesonsite

~750daycarespacesonUBCcampus

COMPLETECOMMUNITY

Top:CommunityCentreImagebyRobertStefanowicz

Bottom:PlaygroundinSmithPark

CONNECTEDCOMMUNITY

Fine-grainednetworkWalkablestreetsSeparatedgreenwaynetwork

GREENFABRICANDGREENNETWORKS

15hectaresofparks,openspaces27%ofsiteisgreenspace

4parks4playgroundsPlayingfields

100%within5minutewalkofgreenspace

HABITAT/TREEPROTECTION

WESBROOKPLACE4.6haor10%ofsiteareprotected

forestbuffers

2003-thesitebeforedevelopment

HABITATCONNECTIVITY

1400treesplantedfrom2005-2015

420plantedinpublicspaces

~40%oftreesarenativetrees

GREENNETWORKS

Regionallyimportanthabitatareas

UBCSouthCampusGreenspacesandnetworks

PacificSpiritRegionalPark PacificSpirit

RegionalPark

LOCALFOOD:UBCFARM

CENTREFORSUSTAINABLEFOODSYSTEMS

academicallyrigorousandgloballysignificantresearchintosustainable

andsecurefoodfuture

24hectare“livinglaboratory”growsover200varietiesoffruits,

vegetables,andherbs

PublicmarketeveryTuesday&Saturday

JunetoOctober

SOUTHEASTFALSECREEK

AKAtheOlympicVillage

Downtown

StanleyPark

FalseCreek

HARLANDBARTHOLOMEWPLAN1928Proposedpleasuredrivessystem

FalseCr.

CityofVancouver1995GREENWAYSPLANAsystemofpathsforwalkingandcyclingacrossthecity.

OLYMPICVILLAGE

NOTABLEFOR

Brownfieldredevelopment

2010OlympicsAthletesVillage

LEEDPlatinumneighborhood

CompletingtheSeasideGreenway

Integrateshabitat,water&

agriculture

OLYMPICVILLAGE

BUILD-OUT

SITE:32hectares~5500dwellings

12,000people

GROSSDENSITY=375persons/hectare

COMPACTCOMMUNITY

COMMERCIAL:FullGroceryStore

Cafes&PubsDrugStore

LiquorStoreLotsofshops

CIVIC:Largecommunitycenter

1Elementaryschool3big,8smalldaycares

1religiouscenter

CentralSquare

COMPLETECOMMUNITY

MULTI-MODAL:Pedestrian

BicycleBus

StreetcarRapidtransitWaterferryCo-opcars

TARGET:60%ofalltripstobe

NON-autobased

CONNECTEDCOMMUNITY

32%ofthelandisreservedforPublicOpenSpace

Retail/flex

GREENFABRICANDGREENNETWORKS

N

AerialviewofHingePark(turned90º)

PUBLICWATERFRONT

HINGEPARK:PARK+PLAYGROUND+HABITAT+GREENINFRASTRUCTURE

HABITATCREATION

WildlifereturningtoFalseCreekEagles

WaterfowlSongbirds

BeaverCoyotes

RiverotterHerring

BeaverdamandbirdhouseinHingePark

Stormwaterwetland

Harvestrainwaterforirrigation

40%effectiveimperviousarea

50%ofroofsgreen

90%NativePlants

GREENINFRASTRUCTURE

GREENNETWORKS

City-widefunction:Thelastlegofa25kmwaterfront

greenway

Connectionstoadjacentneighborhoods

USERSTUDYOFPUBLICSPACESATOLYMPICVILLAGE

>7000peopleobservedover7months437to1200peopleperhour

METHODS-Howdidwedotheresearch?

Video&mappingTracking+Questionnaires

JanGehlandBirgitteSvarre,DATE

SaltBuildingSquare,May7,201614:20pm

DOINGWHAT?

65%cameonce/weekormore68%werewalking,jogging,cycling,exercising50%arrivedonfoot+18%onbicycles

90%moving10%“staying”

66%moving34%“staying”

58%moving42%“staying”

Mostimportantgreen

featuresofneighbourhood

Mostimportantnature

benefitsUrbanparks 3.64 Breathingfreshair 3.50

Viewoftheocean/mountains 3.32 Relievingstress 3.50

Presenceoftreelinedstreets 3.00 Enjoyingtheview 3.15

Communitygardens 2.92 Feelingrestored 2.90

Privategardens 2.24 Seeingwildlife 2.50

(Mostimportant=5,leastimportant=1,scoreswerescoreswereweightedaveraged)

80%ofpeopleonthegreenwayreportedcomingfortheviews

WHYDIDTHEYCOME?

BC’SSUSTAINABLEURBANISM

SustainableUrbanism:

Compactcommunities

Completecommunities

Connectedcommunities

Accesstonature

+

Highperformancebuildings

Greeninfrastructure

Greenspacefunctions:

Social,politicalactivity

Daytodayhumaninteraction

Recreation

Connectivity/Transportation

Climatemitigation

Wildlifehabitat

Stormwatermanagement

Foodproduction

BC’SSUSTAINABLEURBANISM

QUESTIONS?