GC 2020
657 results found
-
local food production, vertically!
verticle farming can feed a whole neighbor hood in one city block!!
http://www.verticalfarm.com/designs.htmla glass skyscraper that is designed as a climate controlled environment that can grow food of all different varieties,
vertically.
weather hydroponic or soil medium, plants are hung vertically against the windows.
check this link!
makes so much sense!
less space used in this multi-leveled complex, and not subject to bad weather!
check this link above for designs !49 votesThis idea is not in the draft Greenest City Action Plan but may be contemplated in other areas of City work.
-
Reduce paper consumption.
Use less paper in City Hall. Aim marketing inititatives toward businesses to go paperless, and provide incentives if possible. Stop using flyers/cardboard signs for city events or elections. And most of all - no more leaflets!!!
3 votes -
3 votes
VEDC attracts conferences as part of business attraction program
-
Daylighting
I've frequently suggested that fibre optics would be useful to daylight culverts in instances where it's impractical to open them up immediately. People are using this method to bring natural light into their living rooms, why not into culverts. Is there something that prevents this method, I've been suggesting it for years. For instance, there are thousands of yards of creekbed that are inaccessible to salmon in Pacific Spirit Park because of the length of the culverts crossing Marine Dr. and yet this method has never been employed.
5 votes -
Covered bike racks like these from San Francisco (South Park) #bikearc http://ow.ly/i/2AC9
Covered bike racks to keep people's seats dry during the rainy season would increase accessibility and make it more attractive to ride through the winter. This design isn't perfect but it gives you an idea of what we could do.
15 votesThe City supports this idea, and is starting to look at opportunities to implement it.
-
Minimize allowable garbage pickup to 1 can / 2 weeks, and allow all amounts of recycling / compost
Capping the amount of recycling allowable for pick-up does not encourage recycling adequately, as it results in the homeowner needing to truck their (i.e.) large cardboard boxes to a transfer station. Often this is seen as too arduous, and instead a person will just call a junk-hauler. Accepting all amounts of recycling encourages people to separate their waste to take full advantage of the recycling pick-up system.
Limiting the volume of garbage can allowable per person will push people to compress and carefully select which items go to waste.
To deter putting garbage in recycling containers, perhaps collectors could give…
14 votes -
Stormwater/Rainwater capture
Kitchener/Waterloo has just introduced a innovative system to reduce the volume and increase the quality of stormwater runoff.
In 2011 they will reduce the property tax and then charge every land owner a "Stormwater Levy" based on the quality and quantity of stormwater coming off of their property. In 2011 this will be a revenue neutral program.
However, there will be a CREDIT program to reduce your stormwater levy by reducing the volume or increasing the quality of the stormwater leaving your site. This creates an economic incentive for the landowner to implement some of the water recycling programs that…9 votesIncluded in the Draft Greenest City Action Plan.
-
Plant trees to reduce your property tax.
Driving through Vancouver (especially eastern parts) you can notice many front yards that just consist of lawn. No bush, no tree just an empty front. The city should allow home / property owners to get deductions from their property tax (or any other incentive) by proving certain amount (and types) of trees per square-meter open undeveloped property. Vancouver could soon be literally much greener and enjoy all the benefits that come with the trees.
89 votes -
Ensure City of Vancouver buildings/events only serve vegan food.
The production of plant-based foodstuff is far better for the environment than animal products, which are one of the leading causes of climate change. The City should lead by example, and ban animal products at any event they cater - ie meetings, catered food for staff, event food.
31 votesLow 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. We will look for opportunities to offer low footprint choices in City facilities.
-
Put Some Teeth into Tree Policy:Trees really are an essential cornerstone to our green future.
Trees really are an essential cornerstone to our green future. Very few strategies have as direct a relationship to carbon offset as does the planting of a tree. However to effectively achieve the planting of more trees (and protection of existing stock) will require a paradigm shift from the current passive City policy.
For example:
(1) The tree removal bylaw must be actively enforced in the manner that parking bylaws are with routine patrols and ticketing. Why not use the same active enforcement team? They are already out, patrolling resident neighborhoods. And the bylaw needs to be rewritten to put…7 votes -
Reduce number of truck routes - ban trucks on SW Marine Dr & Cambie St (bike routes)
Heavy trucks (G.V.W. greater than 5500 kg) are not compatible with cycling especially on a road like SW Marine Dr. Heavy trucks also cause disproportionate wear and tear on roads and are major air polluters.
4 votes -
Futureproof Green Buildings by adapting to projected climate conditions
Green buildings that do not consider future climate conditions are not as energy efficient or as sustainable as they could be
3 votesThis idea is captured in all our green building policy work, particularly our emphasis on passive design.
-
Develop a city-supported urban farming program
Community gardens and farmers markets are on the rise in Vancouver, but there remains a need for more productive farms (market gardens) to produce significant amounts of local food.
There are more and more people interested in getting into farming as a livelihood, but barriers such as high land values and low profit margins in traditional farming make entry difficult.
The City could develop a municipally-supported urban farming program where city-owned land would be affodably leased to prospective farmers for a season to gain experience, earn an income, and produce food for local residents. This could be coupled with a…
240 votesCity has supported SOLE food project (in the DTES) and is investigating other urban farming opportunities as part of the draft Greenest City Action Plan.
-
fine drivers of noisy motorcycles
there are existing noise pollution laws - why do police not enforce them?
14 votes -
Put turnstiles into all sky train and Canada Line stations - collect easy revenue for Translink
Many more people than we realize are using sky train lines without paying. Meanwhile Translink is short the funding they need to expand the transit network and enhance existing service. This seems like an easy step to increase revenue, and would possibly reduce costs by not requiring Translink staff to be checking tickets on trains.
12 votesTransLink jurisdiction. TransLink is planning to instile turnstiles in stations in the very near future, with smart card technology coming to the region by 2013.
http://www.translink.ca/en/Be-Part-of-the-Plan/Projects/Electronic-Fare-Cards.aspx
-
Develop sustainable education tax incentives
Provide a venue where Vancouver residents could go online and watch educational videos about sustainable and green ideas. In order to promote and encourage residents to watch the videos provide a tax incentive on say property tax. This will make more people watch these videos with the hope that a light will turn on in their heads as to making lifestyle changes that make sense as demonstrated by the videos.
4 votesThe City only has property taxation authority which isn’t an easy link to encouraging this kind of behaviour, although some form of incentive can be explored in the review of City policies and regulations.
-
Make the Stanley Park the greenest urban city park in North America
During the summer, Stanley Park is very busy with visitors. Usually on Sunday, parking spaces within the park are quickly filled. As a result, many visitors drive around the park several times looking for parking spots wasting fuels, and making the experience less enjoyable. Tourist buses often have older engines that are not only inefficient, but they are polluting the air with their harmful exhaust fumes. The solution would be to create parking only at the park entrance. The city can promote the use of alternative energy method of transportation by allowing electric, solar and manual-powered vehicles inside the park.…
2 votes -
Small business from home, up to 10 clients can enter home a day in busines hours, as Burnaby allows
small business at home needs to be able to have clients come to the location.
Small business in a hood emlliminates emission and reduce traffic volume , encourages biking and walking, in creases neigbourhood safty around the clock , creates multi-leveled community interactions making living in the city more welcoming and stress free, supportive.Citizen interaction increases and takes cars out of rush hour as commuting to work is lowered as well as moms and dads can care for kids while having work at home , save money and have better more quallity interaction with their kids , rather then…
7 votes -
Adopt targets for reducing oil consumption and officially acknowledge oil depletion (peak oil).
Global oil depletion will be one of the key issues impacting community and economic resiliency, and our journey to true sustainability. Our priority plans need to reduce BOTH emissions AND oil dependence.
6 votes -
Biodegradable Shopping bags.
As a grocery clerk, I can see this idea being very effective among the people, and the environment.
Plastic bags are commonly used by retailers because they are cheap, strong, functional, lightweight, and a hygenic means of carrying food and other items. However, we use a staggering amount of plastic bags, despite their harmful effects. Plastic bags litter the landscape, kill animals, are non-biodegradable, and created using petroleum.
I propose a change to this system, using biodegradable plastic shopping bags. Also, if a customer may wish to use a biodegradable bag, it will cost them a mandatory fee. Therefore, a…
13 votes
