While Vancouver B.C. is being transformed for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the City is also preparing for an even larger transformation in coming years. Vancouver recently set a goal to become the "greenest" city in the world by 2020. To accomplish this, Mayor Gregor Robertson's Greenest City Action Team has established three primary goals and seven secondary goals the City hopes to achieve by 2020.
This article will highlight the three primary goals and a handful of the innovative, "bright green ideas" Vancouver is working on, some of which may be transferable to the Puget Sound Region.
Green Economy, Green Jobs
Historically, Vancouver's economy has been dominated by natural resource industries largely revolving around the fish and lumber industries. In recent years, there has been a transition to knowledge-based economic growth.
The green economy is an area poised for continued growth over the coming years, and Vancouver hopes to capitalize by positioning itself as the go-to place for green jobs and business. Recognizing that the United States' growth rate for clean energy jobs has been nearly three times that of total job increases, Vancouver expects to add more than 50,000 new jobs by 2020, and is aiming for 20,000 of those to be green jobs.
By positioning itself as the destination for green jobs and business, Vancouver hopes to strengthen and expand its global stature and continue to be one of the world's most livable cities. One way Vancouver hopes to achieve its goal is through implementing what it calls "bright green ideas."
One such bright green idea is the use of low-carbon economic development (LCED) zones. By creating LCED zones, Vancouver hopes to encourage the development of low-carbon businesses and technologies that will attract investment capital, development funding, grants, and other financial resources that will further advance such green industries as renewable energy, energy efficiency, and additional low-carbon technologies. If LCED zones are successful, they will proliferate or expand, further increasing the size and reputation of Vancouver's green industries and practices.
Another bright green idea is the use of on-bill financing (OBF) for energy efficiency upgrades. OBF is a process where the high up-front costs of upgrading the energy efficiency of a home or business is paid for by a city or energy company and then repaid by home or business owners over a period of years on their property tax or energy bills. Such programs have been very successful in California, and a new pilot project was recently started in Portland. Vancouver is exploring the use of OBF through direct financing by the City and secondarily by working with local electric and gas companies who could finance projects and then be repaid through their utility bills.
Greener Communities
Another crucial way to reduce Vancouver's carbon footprint is through changes to the traditional single-driver vehicle model. Vancouver has had success encouraging bike travel and use of public transportation, but it hopes to do even more. The City hopes to prioritize transportation options starting with walking, followed by bicycling, and then public transportation.
The City's 2020 targets envision that walking and cycling will account for at least 25 percent of trips, while public transit will account for an additional minimum 25 percent. One of the most important ways Vancouver hopes to achieve these targets is through land use changes that promote density and connected communities. The City expects that increased telecommuting will also help.
An interesting bright green idea under the primary goal of Greener Communities is re-imagining Vancouver's public spaces through use of pedestrian plazas and other green spaces rather than car-packed corridors. The City is drawing inspiration from New York's decision to close Times Square and Herald Square to motor vehicles, thereby creating very popular urban pedestrian plazas. The Greenest City Action Team has noted that some brilliant concepts were produced in the Vancouver Public Space Network's recent "Where's the Square?" competition, which involved designing public plazas for the City. The Action Team has boldly proclaimed that "the time is now for implementing big ideas."
Human Health
Providing clean water is clearly one of the most important ways a City government can promote human health. To this end, Vancouver aims by 2020 to always meet the strongest of British Columbia, Canadian, and World Health Organization drinking water standards.
The City is already taking actions to achieve this goal. Unused roads in watersheds are being deactivated to avoid landslides and decrease long-term maintenance costs. A new filtration plant should be completed in the coming years that will be able to utilize ultraviolet light technology for water disinfection, which will improve the quality and taste of Vancouver's water. Ultraviolet disinfection at other reservoirs should also help improve water quality.
Clean water is a great step to achieve the goal of being the greenest city, however, water conservation and stewardship are also very important concerns that Vancouver is tackling. In part because water is so plentiful in Vancouver, the City has some of the lowest water prices in the industrialized world, and this has led to a very large consumption rate. Overuse of water leads to urban runoff that can contaminate the marine environment.
To combat the overuse issue and to promote stewardship, the City plans to raise the price of water (while including protections for low-income residents). Additionally, the City hopes to fulfill 100 percent of its future water requirements from existing sources, which means a growing population will have to make do with the sources it already has. Vancouver recognizes that conservation not only helps reduce the strain on the environment, it is also a much less expensive alternative to expanding supply.
A bright green idea under the conservation of water category is the use of universal water metering and volume-based pricing. Today, only 14 percent of water customers in Vancouver are metered. Residents without water meters pay a fixed, flat rate, which means that there is no incentive to use less water. This leads to overconsumption. Under volume-based pricing, residents would pay for what they use, which would provide a monetary incentive for conserving water.
Conclusion
Vancouver's ambitious goal of becoming the greenest city in the world means that it will be eyeing the competition and continually trying to do better. The City's plans and 2020 targets are likely to translate to big changes on the ground that, if successful, may inspire other cities to do the same.
Editor's Note: Randall Olsen is an attorney at the Buck Law Group, a Seattle-based land use, environmental, dispute resolution and civil litigation firm that is a Northwest Hub sponsor. You can reach him by sending an email to rolsen@bucklawgroup.com.
