Contributor: Dr. Sarah Burch
Sustainability plans and talk of climate change responses have been around for decades – but wrapping our heads around what this means on the ground is an ongoing challenge. Will a sustainable community look largely the same as the communities in which we live and work today, save that renewable energy powers our gizmos and fuels our cars? Or does sustainability mean something much deeper – a transformation in the look, feel, and function of our communities, new habits, new ways of connecting with each other and making decisions?
As we navigate these decisions, we seek experiments that hold out the promise of accelerating our sustainability transition and radically shifting the way we do business. The University of British Columbia, where I work (alongside colleagues operating in that exceedingly uncomfortable and exhilarating zone that might – somewhat euphemistically – be called the ‘science-policy interface’), is undergoing a rather dramatic transformation, and is one such experiment.
Continue reading Sarah's blog at Sustainabile Cities Canada.