Sustainability Scholars Program

The City of Vancouver is in the process of developing a living roof webpage as part of the implementation of the Rain City Strategy. This report aims to provide support for the development of a living roof webpage, design guidelines and standard design drawings to improve public engagement and knowledge sharing. The report provides suggestions on webpage design, layout, and content, design guideline structure and a list of typical drawings. 

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver & UBC
Keywords: clean water, climate adaptation, green infrastructure, green buildings, sustainable development & green economy, water

The guide takes a holistic approach by considering how buildings, infrastructure and land use can work together to create resilient communities through a low carbon resiliency (LCR) lens. LCR is the intersection between climate change mitigation and adaption measures that maximize co-benefits to communities. A compilation of existing research, policy examples, and case studies combined with stakeholder interviews provide recommendations on how local governments can rebuild better.

Partner: Community Energy Association
Funder: BC Hydro
Keywords: ecological systems, green buildings, sustainable development & green economy

Settler colonial-capitalist policies have reduced the ability of Indigenous peoples to harvest foods from and enact food sovereignty within the Fraser River estuary. This report explores the repercussions of environmental change on traditional foods in the estuary, focusing on pollution, invasive species, and climate change. The report culminates in recommendations to support healthy habitat for traditional food species and recommendations for collaborating with Musqueam on food sovereignty.

Partner: Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Funder: UBC (Sitka Foundation)
Keywords: ecological systems, food systems, social sustainability

This project provides insight into the regulatory environment and business practices of suite-level sub-metering of thermal energy services in the Vancouver area. The purpose is to identify the issues for thermal energy sub-metering in multi-unit residential buildings from an affordability and equity perspective. Recommendations were made for the City of Vancouver and stakeholders to raise the accountability and optimize the transparency for third-party sub-meter arrangements.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver & UBC
Keywords: climate action, equity, diversity, inclusion, low carbon buildings, green buildings

This project aims to shed light on how childcare and early learning can be more culturally safe for urban Indigenous children and families. Through a literature review, interviews with community members, and visits to childcare facilities this report highlights a few issues that urban Indigenous families and children face along with some suggestions to tackle these issues.

Project video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10hEkoFNEBxa5S_KKtXLbOL69d3722R_t/view?usp=sharing

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver & UBC
Keywords: equity, diversity, inclusion, healthy city, social sustainability, sustainability in education

Rising sea levels, increased storm events, and an ecologically damaging seawall present the need for a change. This report re-envisions the Stanley Park seawall as a multifunctional coastal pathway that naturally protects the shoreline from erosion, increases intertidal habitat, and creates meaningful experiences between park visitors and the marine environment. The design proposals in this report aim to inspire and initiate further dialogue on an alternative future for the seawall.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver & UBC
Keywords: access to nature, climate adaptation, healthy city, biodiversity, ecological systems, water

This project aims to address the financial and regulatory framework challenges that prevent urban integration of transit stations and development. Given the complexities of delivering affordable housing on high-value land, it also seeks to examine how affordable housing can be provided at key transit nodes. This project includes recommendations pertaining to relationship-building, funding, housing type and tenure, public communication, community engagement, equity, and community amenities.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver & UBC
Keywords: active transportation, equity, diversity, inclusion, land use planning, social sustainability, sustainable development & green economy, transportation 

The City of Vancouver  experienced 66 fatal and 571 severe injury collisions between 2015 and 2019. This project aims to help the City improve traffic safety by identifying the streets with the most collisions for pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and drivers. Results include a list of streets experiencing the most collisions along with a list of schools within 50 meters of those streets. The City can use the results to prioritize those streets for safety improvements.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver & UBC
Keywords: active transportation, healthy city, transportation

This project sought to understand anesthetic gas use and emissions across Canada and examine efforts and challenges to mitigate their carbon footprint. We conducted an environmental scan to review efforts to reduce anesthetic emissions; procured pharmacy purchasing data for desflurane and sevoflurane from 2016 to 2021 from six provinces; and interviewed anesthesiologists/environmental experts in academic/health institutions across Canada to discuss efforts to lower anesthetic gas emissions.

Partner: CASCADES / UBC Faculty of Medicine
Funder: UBC
Keywords: leadership & behaviour change