My first assignment for a course I’m taking at UBC – it’s called Building Sustainable Communities and is taught by the awesome Sarah Northcott – is to critique the Metro Vancouver Sustainable Regional Initiative (SRI) in about 500 words. I think Katie Burns had a similar assignment for her sustainability class job and wrote about the Greater Toronto Golden Horseshoe Growth Strategy.

To be honest, this kind of thing makes my heart smile. And, really, how could it not? We’re talking about the entire Metro Vancouver region driving towards a better community for all of us. Says the plan: “as we share our efforts in achieving this vision, we are confident that the inspiration and mutual learning we gain will become vital ingredients in our hopes for a sustainable common future.”

Amazing. This being said, I do have some opinions. After all, that was the assignment.

Overview of the Plan

First, this regional community working together for sustainability is “a political and corporate entity operating under provincial legislation as a ‘regional district’ and ‘greater boards’ that delivers regional services, planning, and political leadership on behalf of 24 local authorities.” In this region, 2.3 million people populate 287, 736 hectares of space.

The SRI will embrace and apply sustainability principles to achieve well-being for current and future generations by focusing on three areas: core services, policy and political forum. These “roles” cover everything from drinking water to planning and regulation to information and education to the community.

Some Harsh Criticism

Those who know me know that, like Joel Plaskett, I like things in threes. Here are three areas where the SRI falls a bit short and/or gets tangled in complication.

1. Prosperity vs. Basic Needs. Interestingly enough, during a brainstorming session last class – where we created “the perfect community” – not one group listed “prosperity” as a key theme. Every group did, however, list “basic needs” as one of their key priorities (our team also identified solar powered segways and “fresh bakery smells” as must-haves in our community). The SRI continually refers to “economic prosperity” and “ongoing prosperity” as pillars of its strategy – nice idea, but an economy driven by development, sprawl, international trade, and natural resources will be tough to reconcile with principles of sustainability. Maple Ridge is a long way from becoming a 20-minute neighbourhood. Happiness (see picture) was another central theme in all of our “perfect” communities, so perhaps this simple feeling should be part of the equation in our measurement of prosperity.

2. Governance. During my “research” I came across SmartGrowthBC’s critique of the SRI called Metro Vancouver Smart Growth Strategy. SmartGrowthBC recommends a new goal for the SRI that addresses “strengthening planning and governance.” Good idea. In his book Collapse, Jared Diamond showcases the ecological exploits of the socially brutal, yet environmentally friendly, dictator of the Dominican Republic, Joaquin Balaguer: “personally directed by Balaguer, the army drove bulldozers through the luxury houses built by wealthy Dominicans within Juan B. Perez National Park.” Oh, and he also banned fire as an agricultural method.  Says SmartGrowthBC Executive Director Cheeying Ho, “too often municipalities have put their individual short term interests ahead of regional long term benefits when making individual development and land-use decisions.” Influenced by short-term economic prosperity, voters and leaders sacrifice long-term economic, social and, yes, economic prosperity. Basically, I’m looking for something in between Gregor Robertson and an Environmental Stalinism to bridge these gaps between the vision and governance, planning and delivery.

3. Managing Communications and Messaging. The University of British Columbia doesn’t seem to be one of SRI’s 24 local authorities. But the campus/city does suffer from a problem that affects – and will continue to affect – Metro Vancouver. I learned something interesting at, um, a Lunch ‘n’ Learn I attended today (I also had some delicious lunch). At UBC, there is no centrally coordinated messaging about what is and isn’t recyclable, where to recycle things, who to talk to about recycling, and how recycling is different from reusing. Don’t even get me started on the messaging around what can and cannot be composted. Oh, and there are conflicting signs and instructions about where to compost things, too. And that’s just UBC. Think about the communicative differences and myriad cultural stylings from Abbotsford to Tswwassen to Bowen Island! Principles of sustainability need to be agreed-upon, centralized and commonly applied in every municipality.

Superawesome Ideas

Well, what’s left to say? Between the SRI, my two-year-old-amazing-idea, the Talk Green to Us campaign, Reuse It! UBC (and the amazing Recyclopedia), Surrey, and everything that the Strathcona neighbourhood is doing, the Metro Vancouver region is truly building a sustainable community. If you live in Vancouver, you should do two things. First, the Greenest City Action Plans go to Council tomorrow; second, no matter where you live, watch this YouTube video:

So there it is. As you peruse these links, tell your leaders what you want, embrace sustainability principles, and make your community happier, be sure to have fun with it!

– John Horn