Integrated Community Sustainability Plan

In today's class we talked about Integrated Community Sustainability Plans. During the course of the lecture, our prof started to describe some unique and interesting innovations that municipalities incorporated to reduce their impact and save money. That got me thinking about something I read on line (and watched on the Discovery Channel). It is about how a company decided to harness body heat generated in a subway. An engineering company will use this free body heat to heat a nearby building.

This is an example of sustainable infrastructure that involves sectors such as energy, transport and waste management. This plan demonstrates sustainability especially in the aspects of ecological, social and economic imperatives. By "recycling" this heat they are saving money in terms of heating costs and its it sustainable and environmentally friendly. Air in the subway needs to be refreshed as it is so removal of "used warm" air is replaced with fresh air.

Sustainable infrastructure eventually disseminates in a community but it needs an overarching plan in order to incorporate it into a community plan. This could be done using an integrated community sustainability plan, which brings together all aspects of a community in a way that they are communicating and working together for long term results. In the case of the subway body heat diversion plan, aspects of economic diversification and environmental stewardship are forming a partnership.

Pacfic Gardens

Recently we were asked in class to pick a project or community that displayed characteristics of community engagement and participation. The project my group chose was a cohousing project in Nanaimo. It is called Pacific Gardens.

The concept of cohousing is more common in Europe than in North America but it is growing in popularity in both Canada and the US. Principles of cohousing include participatory planning, non-hierarchical organization, management controlled by residents, and extensive common facilities that were designed by the residents. Cohousing is not a commune nor a shared economic community. Cohousing residents do not necessarily have a common economic, educational or religious background. What they do have in common is a shared life philosophy that includes sustainable living.

The pacific Gardens cohousing project is almost complete. Specific features of this project include:

• using "green" building methods to try to attain LEED certification (I don't know whether it has been accomplished or not)
• energy efficiency standards to control long term energy and environmental costs (such as architectural designs that allow for efficient use of heat, insulation and natural light)
• a common area that includes a kitchen and dining area, shared workshop, craft room, laundry facility and community gardens
• car-share program

Cohousing also brings together a lot of people from different backgrounds and skills. By its very nature, the ensuing community is capital rich with creativity, skills and common goals. The cohousing community forms a network that can build both horizantally and vertically. Also by its nature, cohousing communities are highly engaged and participatory. Issues and decisions related to the community are done on a consensus basis or are dealt with using predefined policies that were initially agreed upon by the community.

Although the concept of a cohousing community looks good on paper, it is not ideal for everyone. People like to have a sense of community but the prevailing attitude of society is still on the side of personal space and property. This attitude is changing but in my opinion, it is slow going.

Recently there has been some new spots on TV about a new bus route for Bay Street. As I was watching the news I got the impression that although the transit company engaged the community, the feedback for this new route wasn't very favorable. The woman representing the community wasn't happy about it while the transit representative spoke as if it were a great idea. There was definitely a bit of a disconnect. It seems Bay street is quite narrow and adding buses to it will congest it more than it already is. Another concern is the addition of buses will squeeze out the cyclists. This concern was also brought up by 2 other interviewees. Some areas of the road do not even have sidewalks for the safely of pedestrians or cyclists.

So I went on the Victoria Regional Transit site and took a closer look. The proposed route will, according to Victoria transit help to alleviate a lot of congestion, to provide transit for the employees of the new expansion to Royal Jubilee Hospital, help take on some of the downtown user burden and to provide service to Victoria West. According to the website the Victoria transit has addressed and mitigated concerns that arose from public forums and feedback from a survey on the website. That doesn't seem to be good enough or satisfactory according to the Bay Street Community Action committee interviewed on TV.

So what should Victoria Transit do? Potential users of the bus route are in favor but the residents are not. Who has more weight in this matter? I'm interested to see how this will be resolved.

I was listening to today's presentations when I started to see some of my own networking connections. It is one of my weaknesses--not recognizing my strengths or skills. In this case when talking about my social capital or networks, I felt like it was pretty much non existent. After the presentation about the Olympics I realize I do have some social capital--in Korea.

The city I lived in for the majority of my time in Korea is the capital city of that particular province. A mountain town/resort from that province was bidding for the 2010 Olympics and if I go by what the local Koreans were saying, it was down to Korea or Canada (not sure if that is actually completely true.) As an instructor-turned-professor at that university I was asked to proofread official English documents and statements for the Korean Olympic Committee bidding for the 2010 Winter games. Through my hard work at that school and the many contacts I made, I was asked to participate in a very small way in Korea's bid. Had Korea been chosen, who knows what might role I might have been asked to play.

On the provincial, civic and university level, I had also been asked on many occasions to be a judge at English speech contests, international events (where English was spoken) and even to record a tourist guide in English (GPS based) for tourists in that province. I was chosen for these roles based on my presence in the community (particiaption and engagement) and by the people who recommended me for the job (social network.) I now realize just how rich I am.

One more thing. Recently I was watching a Korean movie when suddenly I saw they were filming on my old campus and I could see my office window. The movie came out in 2007 and I could have been in my office when it was being filmed. I kinda feel special (and I am not one who feels special often.)

Rider pride

So I have been living in BC for 6 months now. Meh. To be honest I commend BC for being a green province and all the initiatives it has started and followed through with in terms of being environmentally sound but I am really getting sick of it.

So I am going to start to look into what my hometown and home province is doing. I need a shot of enthusiasm for "community" etc and I don't feel the motivation being a transient in this place. BC and more specifically, Victoria is not my home so I don't feel a need to get involved, to get informed or to even care. I am quite the opposite of "engaged"...I am somewhat intentianally "unengaged".

So what is Saskatchewan doing in terms of sustainability, community engagement and the environment?

Roadmap 2020 is site that outlines many of the plans and initiatives started by the city of Sasaktoon to become more sustainable. Not only does it address ways to become more sustainable, it also address the issue of climate change. It addresses the 2 issues together so that members of a community can see how they are related. Instead of throwing around the "sustainability" buzzword, which to be honest really doesn't mean much to the average person, Saskatoon is putting words into practice using terms and plans that the common person can understand.

Being in a climate that requires more energy for heating and not having a "clean" source of power I think it is commendable that the city is working hard to show its citizens ways to reduce their energy bills, which include both private and civic methods from personal housing to business plans as well as transportation.

I feel a surge of pride when I read more and more about Saskatoon's efforts. I feel like I am a member of that comunity and I look forward to getting involved when I go back. I am excited to put this degree to use. This brings me to think about what is necessary to engage a member of the community. Speaking from experience a memeber has to feel like where they live is his or her home. Trust and reciprocity are two important aspects (as talked about in class) and in my opinion they can only occur when a person feels a sense of belonging. What makes a person feel like they belong is different for each individual. Feeling I belong has yet to come to me mainly because of my personality and the fact that I am still adjusting to being a Canadian resident again (and a resident in a vastly different area of Canada to boot!) Add to that the fact that I don't have the money or time to socialize and you get a recipe for "unengagement".

Lazy landlady

I was cruising through some of my classmates posts when I read that someone hates their community. I strongly dislike my lazy landlady. It seems that instead of purchasing the proper recycling recepticals for sorting the recyclables she has resorted to chucking them in the garbage. Sometimes I think she does it on purpose to spite me because I am an enviro-sci student. My landlady talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. My roommate too. I don't push them to do stuff. I prefer to lead by example and provide info when they ask me about it.

So how do I engage these people in a way that doesn't have them running to do the opposite out of spite? (haha actually that is my landlady's MO whether environemtally related or not.) Do I just walk away and try to be content knowing that the seed of being a bit more sustainable has been planted? With these two personalities--yeah that is probably the best course of action but my head says I should try a different tactic. Perhaps I need to use reverse psychology.