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How can we reach our 2020
Greenest City Targets?

GC 2020

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178 results found

  1. 4 votes
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    This idea is addressed in Community, Central Area, and City-Wide planning initiatives, with the understanding that fostering neighbourhood businesses requires collaboration of many different groups, public agencies, and neighbourhood residents

  2. 'Pedestrianize' Robson St. permanently (no cars) - or at least do a 6 month trial

    Studies show that commercial streets (full of shops, cafes and restaurants) that have been converted into foot or bicycle traffic only, have dramatic increases in public activity and economic growth.

    Do you know any other streets that would benefit from this? Leave your comment below!

    52 votes
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    The draft Greenest City plan will include directions to explore pedestrian-only and pedestrian-priority streets in the downtown core. Potential locations will be identified at a later date (e.g. as part of the transportation plan update).

  3. Regulate Marine Traffic Emissions

    Emissions from marine vessel traffic are not regulated as strictly as emissions from land-based emitters. These emissions have been growing steadily in the Vancouver region. The city should push for stricter guidelines to ensure that measures implemented to reduce air pollution caused by cars and heating, for example, are not offset by emissions from marine traffic.

    5 votes
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  4. eco zoning

    Vancouver like London attracts people from around the world Where London has produced zoning that helps preserve its historic "buzz" we need to produce zoning that preserves our "rain forest" appeal . An eco zone is a modified existing zone (eg. RS1eco, RM1eco ,etc) that is given preferential treatment because of exceptional green practices, these could entail, urban farms, passive solar or passive certified homes. Eco zoning is incentive based, -additional sq footage, or minimum lot size reduction, green house gardens for commercial or personal), green innovation relaxation (eg, allowing wind turbines or large scale water collection (+500gallon) under ground…

    5 votes
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  5. Support Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD) auto insurance premiums to reward those who drive little

    Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD, also called distance-based and per-mile) pricing means that vehicle insurance premiums and registration fees are based directly on the amount it is driven. PAYD pricing is not a new fee, just a different way to pay existing fees. It can be a
    consumer option, so motorists choose the price structure that best meets their needs, similar to telephone and internet rate options. It can provide many benefits including reduction of per capita fuel consumption and pollution emissions.

    199 votes
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  6. Ban all and any fireworks!!

    [Idea submitted via email by Michael Csupak]

    I encourage you to educate yourselves about pyrotechnics.

    The “Festival of Lights” I believe it is called is a large scale pollution, initially the atmosphere, we all breathe the air, then the particles will settle in our waters we drink and the fish lives in and in the soil we grow our food in and so on. The chemicals used in the fireworks are poisonous and some cases are RADIOACTIVE. A very good scientific study was produced by the University of Vienna, sighting much of the specifics.

    Concentrations of similar explosives used by…

    22 votes
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  7. Bylaw to ban auto-flush toilets

    Aside from being the worst invention of all-time*, auto-flush toilets are also incredibly wasteful.

    I estimate that an auto-flush goes off at least twice as often as it needs to. In the offices and malls where these devices are installed, that could mean a vast amount of wasted water.

    15 votes
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  8. Control energy efficiency of systems in buildings, rate it as a standard like A, B, C, D, ...

    Control, approve and publish the rate of energy consumption and carbon emission of the mechanical equipments in all of the buildings that encourage the people to utilizing the sustainable energy and environmental pollution free system and equipments.

    6 votes
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  9. Promote a micro-economy

    Promote a micro-economy:
    Not everyone fits into the monoculture of work and life options available in Vancouver. A healthy city is a diverse city that allows individuals access to the economy on a range on increments. De-regulate work in homes. Integrate services and restaurants into neighbourhood streets and lanes. Turn on-street parking stalls into rent-by-the-hour food and retail vendors.

    8 votes
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  10. Create cheap bike rentals (Or include the rental in the fare) around the sky train stations

    Many of us are worried to take bikes to the work due to the problem of shortage of space in the buses and sky train. If we could find them at the stations and return them after work, will make it easier for everybody, and more people will be encouraged to use them.

    7 votes
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  11. Burrard Street bridge bicycle lane

    Add a designated bicycle lane going into downtown on the Burrard Street bridge. This would also encourage walking by allowing pedestrians back on both sides of the bridge.

    3 votes
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    The City is starting a design process for the structural upgrade of the Burrard Bridge, which will include designs to create permanent separated bike lanes on the bridge. This design process will consider configuration options for the bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

  12. Protect Urban Farming by changing the laws that get used to shut it down

    Five years ago I moved to Vancouver and started turning the house I rented with friends into an urban farm. But a neighbour (one, out of dozens) thinks food gardens belong in the back yard and used the city's vague and undemocratic "Untidy Premises Bylaw" to have us ordered to remove it.

    If Vancouver really wants to be green, it should start by looking around at the amazing things that ordinary people are already doing to make it that way and stop putting up barriers to their work. This bylaw needs a specific exemption for food gardens, or it needs…

    56 votes
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  13. printing

    Green up the Citys Print Communications - we know the city needs to communicate, let's do it smarter. Ensure that any communication vendors have been pre-qualified with a number of Environmental and Social minimum standards. Ensure that any print is done with leading sustainable practices, Carbon Neutral, Recycled paper, Zero VOC inks, with companies that actively support the communities social and green needs. Print Less, Print smarter.

    3 votes
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  14. meatless mondays

    Like the title say, reduce meat consumption on Mondays. This would help reduce out footprint enormously. Furthermore, we would be the first city in Canada to adopt such a policy, the second in North America (after San Fran.) and the third in the world. It would be non-binding, that is great if you do it, OK if you don't. Read more here: http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating-recipes/blogs/san-francisco-joins-meatless-monday-bandwagon
    Thanks!!!

    42 votes
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    Low footprint food choices are not the same as vegan food choices in all cases, the analysis is more complex than this. Generally a low footprint diet is local, seasonal food, and limits consumption of red meat, dairy, and some grains. Low footprint food choices is included in the draft Greenest City Action Plan and will be discussed in ongoing community engagement work.

  15. Encourage Influential People such as James Cameron (Avatar), to disclose impact of big corporations

    on the environment, and encourage change. James Cameron is the Director of the movie Avatar which had a message of how big corporations, Mining are affecting the environment and raping the earth.

    4 votes
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  16. Playing Movies Like Avatar, in Major Public Places, showing the reality & impact of big corporations

    Making the largest impact in the shortest time, can make the difference. Continue funding Movies like Avatar which expose corporate America's environmental habits, and showing them on large public movie screens and starting change from the top. Companies with thousands of employees and systems, should be forced to change there habits, to reduce there carbon footprint. Public awareness may force the change that might otherwise take years.

    4 votes
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  17. Put a boom box on every corner

    Cuba - one of a handful of countries living within its ecological means - is also one of the world's top producers of arts, music and culture. Is there a relationship between creative production, sustainability and happiness? We think so. Imagine a Vancouver where one's daily experience was one of engagement, creation and production rather than consumption.

    2 votes
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  18. 47 votes
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    Council members cannot be mandated to eat vegan meals, however they may accept a friendly challenge. Like other Vancouverites, they may also be swayed by communications and education about the ecological footprint impacts of various dietary choices

  19. Produce instead of consume

    A friend of mine told me his version of eco-tourism: "stay home and shallow breath." Being green means producing more than we consume. We need to think about this at home, in our occupations and in the community. I have a hard time imagining how Vancouver can compete with poorer cities where the people cannot afford to buy stuff and therefore have a lighter footprint. Even the most conscientious Vancouve bike rider can have their carbon footprint skyrocket when their air travel is calculated. But we can always try and there are lots of great ideas being put forth here!

    2 votes
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    This is an interesting take on reducing ecological footprint. Our research tells us that people respond better to positive messaging that activates and motivates them, and that is the likely tact we will take in our communications.

  20. Create local food distribution system

    We have a back/front yard garden that grows primarily produce. Some years, like this one, the yield is pretty meager. But other years, like last summer, we have WAY more produce than we can possibly use, even with constant canning.

    I typically start giving away the extra to unsuspecting friends and neighbours, but I would love to have a way to sell it.

    Most back-yard gardeners don't produce enough produce to go to the trouble of selling it, but if there was an easy way to sell the excess into a system that could then combine it with the produce…

    24 votes
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