GC 2020
178 results found
-
Allow, educate, and encourage households to use greywater
In many countries, grey water is used by households and other buildings to collect run-off from roofs, washing machines, sinks, and bathtubs to water gardens and flush toilets.
Allow and encourage people to install alternative plumbing systems to make this possible. In Australia, there is an entire sector of the plumbing industry dedicated to installing and maintaining these systems.
41 votesIncluded in the Draft Greenest City Action Plan.
-
40 votes
City of Vancouver is considering the possibility of a ban for all new residential construction. This idea is considered in the draft Greenest City Action Plan. Chemical products of concern to possibly be addressed through a VoC strategy under consideration.
-
Slow Down Vancouver: Working Less Equals Lower Footprint - Think about it
Slow it all down folks. Shorter work days, less stress, less racing about in cars, more time to walk to work, more time to think about your impact, more time to cook food, if you have time to cook you'll have time to eat whole foods - look for local products. Rushing about in our current culture is a recipe for unsustainability. Slow down Vancouver and Live Again. The facts are here...
"Shortening working time by 1% reduces the environmental impact by 0.8%, according to research carried out by Jörgen Larsson at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden - this…40 votesGreat idea that comes down to personal choices, and discussion with those that set work schedules (labour unions, other employers).
-
Have all of the city's fleet of vehicles be electric and plug-in hybrid (when possible).
Have electric vehicles for short distance trips and plug-in hybrids for longer trips. Also, have all new heavy trucks (like garbage trucks) be diesel hybrid.
39 votesA great idea that will be captured in the draft Greenest Ctiy Action Plan as part of a larger low carbon vehicles strategy.
-
Work with school districts to make commuter cycling/bike confidence skills part of Phys-Ed
Like most cities, there are different sorts of routes for biking - from trails, to physically separate lanes, to painted lanes, or signed shared bike routes. In order to take full advantage of these the City should work with School Districts to help support cycling as a Phys-Ed requirement - working up to kids going on field trips on bikes. There could also be hardscape bike-training space with miniature lanes in neighbourhood parks for families to take their kids to practice riding.
37 votesGreat idea. The draft Greenest City Action Plan will include directions to work with the school board and provincial government to support compulsory commuter cycling education in school curriculums.
-
Create a separated bike lane along Kingsway
It is an incredibly direct route leading from Broadway corridor to Burnaby, but currently has far too many lanes of car traffic to feel good cycling along it.
37 votesThe city’s new 10-year cycling program master plan will soon be in development, and hopefully completed within the next year. A big part of the work ahead is to identify where separated bike lanes might be appropriate.
Lessons learned from the downtown trial will be an important input into the plan. The results so far support evidence elsewhere that separated bike lanes are a great way to make cycling more attractive on busy streets.
For more information, visit http://vancouver.ca/cycling .
-
Buying of Local Foods
Encourage the buying of local foods so products can be bought and sold without harmful chemicals, and are sold and grown with natural products
36 votesThe draft Greenest City Action Plan includes an action to create a local food procurement strategy for City facilities.
-
Grow local supply chains
For Vancouver to be a sustainable city locally-owned businesses mustbe able to source locally. This is especially true of light manufacturing (clothing, utensiles ...), food, local stories. We should be moving information around the world (bits) but physical supply chains should be grounded in the local economy. Let's look for the subsidies and tax incentives that act against local supply chains (most of these are federal and provincial, but let's look at the city as well). A great service would be an open social directory of local suppliers!
34 votesRecommendations for greening existing businesses include recommendations to support building of local supply chains. This idea is included in the draft Greenest City Action Plan
-
Introduce water conservation rebates to encourage purchase of water-saving fixtures and appliances
The City could introduce water conservation rebates to encourage the purchase of appliances and fixtures that use innovative water-saving technology. High efficiency toilets and fixtures, rain sensors, rainwater harvesting, water efficient appliances among other initiatives are proven to reduce water consumption.
Water efficient rebate programs would be targeted towards homes and businesses built before 1995 when the City Plumbing Code began to mandate high efficiency fixtures. Since this time, the City Plumbing Code has required low flow toilets, showerheads, and aerating faucets in all new construction. The industry standard for new toilet installations is now to use six litres of…
33 votesIncluded in the Draft Greenest City Action Plan.
-
mobile community gardens in empty lots
Community gardens could be setup in the gated empty lots around the city. The lot owner could put up a sponsorship sign so they get the free advertising of supporting something helpful to the community. The garden could be setup in a way that it could be moved to another lot when the original lot was eventually put to another use.
32 votesDraft Greenest City Action Plan includes a strategy to increase community garden plots of a variety of scope and scale.
-
Increase residential density to achieve efficient land use and high walking/cycling/transit mobility
Our high dependence on gasoline for transportation is largely due to our lifestyle of single-family dwellings. When density is increased, we would be reducing long-distance commutes and automatically encouraging people to walk and bike. Public transportation would also see more riders and be used more effectively. Higher residential density also means more efficient land use. The greenest city would need to protect its forests and restrict the area of urban development. This density is best accomplished by zoning schemes that discourage single-family dwellings and encourage mixed-use high-density developments. Ideally, there would be one day when some of our low density…
32 votesAs the City reviews land use policy and development bylaws through Community, Central Area, and City-Wide planning programs, opportunities for increased residential density (particularly in walkable neighbourhoods with good transit connections) are actively pursued (in balance with concerns for neighbourhood character and community involvement in city building decisions at the neighbourhood level).
-
Redistribute food that is still edible
A large amount of fine produce is thrown out or composted, especially from "gourmet" grocers who only sell produce of highest quality.
Restaurants often throw out food, because they are unable to sell it the following day.
There are many people in this city who cannot afford, or who do not have the skills to prepare good food.
Divert this waste from the food industry towards feeding people who could use the food.
32 votesThe City supports various community food recovery initiatives currently being planed or already in place. Food recovery is included within the draft Greenest City Action Plan
-
Enforce lawn sprinkling restrictions during summer months
In the summer months, water use can double, with most of this water being used on lawns. Sprinkling restrictions have been in place since 1998 without strict enforcement. By implementing an education and enforcement strategy, Vancouver could expect to achieve a 15 % reduction in outdoor water use.
The cost of an education and enforcement program would be off-set by the revenue from the ticketing program. Additional revenues could be reinvested into other conservation measures, like incentives for low flow toilets and shower heads.
32 votesIncluded in the Draft Greenest City Action Plan.
-
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.
-
Make Robson Square a true pedestrian square: NO through street!
Robson Street has been closed for the block of the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Law Courts due to the landscaping renovations currently taking place - it should ALWAYS be that way :-) Vehicle traffic is easily diverted around this single block - this is one of the few landscaped, sunny, and already publicly used gathering places that exist in the downtown core: make it a TRUE pedestrian square so that the public gatherings and special events that are so often held around the Vancouver Art Gallery can actually be pedestrian friendly events with space for everyone.... Robson Street buses…
29 votesThe draft Greenest City Action Plan will include directions to explore pedestrian-only and pedestrian-priority streets, but specific locations likely won’t be identified until later (e.g. as part of the transportation plan update).
-
Separate organic matter out of the waste stream and convert it to biogas
When food scraps and organic matter decompose in landfills, methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, is created. If captured properly, methane can be used as a fuel source (known as biogas). Biogas is considered carbon neutral since, unlike natural gas, it does not add any new carbon to the atmosphere. Separating organic matter out of the waste stream and converting it to biogas lowers the greenhouse gas emissions associated with our waste, creates a new fuel source, and makes recycling easier.
29 votesThe City has already started a food scraps collection program for neighbourhoods where yard trimmings are collected. These materials are currently composted. With more organic waste diversion, the City will explore opportunties to implement technolgies that produce biogas like gassifiers and anaerobic digesters.
-
Neighbourhood "de-car-missioning"
Neighbourhood collaboration to completely reclaim streets from cars to maximize existing space in support of community initiatives and collective resources; composting, gardens, water storage, outdoor ovens, etc. Encourages depaving and city beautification. Supports and encourages active modes of transportation.
28 votesThis idea has been included in the draft Greenest City Action Plan; we encourage neighbours to get together and develop project ideas.
-
Create an "energy playground" for kids
The City of Vancouver could create an energy playground where playground equipment such as swings, see-saws and merry-go-rounds could be modified to generate energy. The more the kids play, the more energy they create. The energy produced could be used to light the playground at night, making it a fully Carbon Neutral playground. All of this equipment exists and is being used in poor villages in Asia and Africa to generating lighting for schools.
27 votesIdea shared with Parks Board
-
Encourage the use of existing greenways by discouraging commuter cars using them
Simple changes to targetted parts of the greenways could reduce car traffic and therefore encourage more cycling. The existing greenway I use (midway bikeway, along 37th from Balaclava to West Boulevard) is also used quite heavily by cars as a way of avoiding 41st. The road is narrow especially towards W.Blvd and despite having speed bumps and mini roundabouts it has not deterred cars from using this route. I would like to see the use of diverters and one way access (like the do in the west end) so that only cyclists and local residents end up using this.
26 votesTraffic calming is an integral part of bikeway and greenway design, but there is room for improvement. The draft Greenest City Action Plan will include directions to go further with traffic calming and through-traffic restrictions on neighbourhood bikeways and greenways. This will be elaborated upon further in future detailed planning efforts (e.g. forthcoming transportation plan update, cycling master plan, specific greenway designs).
-
Educate young: Add agriculture, renewable energy, sustainable development to highschool ciriculum
Inspire the youth to take action and educate on the importance of sustainable living practices.
26 votesIdea shared with Vancouver School Board; will be considered in City of Vancouver’s ongoing engagement activities as well. Very important to engage all of our community’s diversity.
