VANCOUVER

THE GREENEST CITY OF THE WORLD

SUBMITTED TO:
AR. RANJEET KAUR

SUBMITTED BY:
NEHA KHARB 21017
PRIYANKA GUPTA
21020

APPROACHING- GREEN CITIES

Green Cities to strike balance between
managing currents needs without
compromising with city/environment in
future through Green Urban planning
Environment focus
Using Non-renewable Energy Sources
Generating energy from green sources.
designing Green buildings
Promoting Green Transportation options
Promoting Green living (parks, open
spaces)
Challenge for urban areas to be green

High volume of people.

Traffic congestion
High degree of waste
High Energy consumption
Adoption of renewable energy sourcessolar/wind power.
1. Promoting Green cities
2. Promoting Sustainable agricultural
practices
3. Promoting energy efficiency.
4. Green Innovations /Leadership

VANCOUVERS VISION
Birthplace of the Pacific Northwest, Vancouver is the heart of southwest Washington,
connecting people and places throughout the region. The mighty Columbia River is the
link to our past and a key to our future. We are a friendly cit y for all ages, incomes,
abilities and backgrounds, with proud, unique neighbourhoods. We are dedicated to
preserving our heritage and natural beauty while welcoming the opportunities change
brings to our lively metropolitan community. We are the most liveable city in the Pacific
Northwest. Residents and businesses across our city are passionate a bout building a
safe, thriving and sustainable community together.
- Vancouver Strategic Plan Community Vision, adopted in 2008

VAnCouVer hAs ProVen thAt A City CAn Grow And ProsPer And stiLL beCome A Green
CAPitAL A GLobAL LeAder in AddressinG CLimAte ChAnGe.
Vancouver is set to bring our community-based greenhouse gas emissions down to 5% below
1990 levels, even as our
population has grown by over 27% and jobs have increased by over 18%.
Vancouvers electricity is generated in British Columbia93% of it from renewable sources.
Conversion to renewable
sources will create new green jobs.
The City has implemented the greenest building code in North America.
Vancouver is rising to meet the green transportation challenge by creating compact
neighbourhoods with higher density to provide easy access to work, shopping and
recreation.
The City has shifted investment to walking, cycling and transit infrastructure instead of
building new roads.
...And this Greenest City ACtion PLAn detAiLs how we wiLL beCome the Greenest City in
the worLd by 2020...

THERE ARE FOUR KEY INGREDIENTS FOR GREEN CITY

Vision
The Greenest City 2020 Action Plan is a strategy for staying on the leading edge of city
sustainability. Our vision is to create opportunities today while building a strong local economy,
vibrant and inclusive neighborhoods, and an internationally recognized city that meets the needs
of generations to come.

Leadership
Leadership is required from City staff and elected officials, from organizations operating in diverse
sectors across the city, and from Vancouver residentsmany of whom have already contributed to
the development of this plan.

Action
A plan like this is only useful when it is acted upon. The GCAP gives clear targets to work towards,
with baseline numbers to indicate our current level of performance.

Partnerships
The City of Vancouver cant achieve the GCAP by itself, with its limited sphere of influence and
resources. That means partnerships will be the key to achieving this plan.

INTRODUCTION
Vancouver is one of the oldest inhabited areas in the Pacific Northwest. Native American presence
along the Columbia
River dates back more than 10,000 years. The first permanent European settlement in the
Northwest was Fort Vancouver, established in 1825. The City of Vancouver developed around the
fort and continued to grow throughout the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries.
There were rapid, temporary population influxes with the arrival of industrial workers during the
First and Second World Wars. Steadier growth occurred in the post-war years, spurred by the
construction of Interstate 5 (I-5) in 1965 and I-205 in 1983. During the 1990s, the population almost
tripled from in-migration and the annexation of Cascade Park, the largest annexation in state
history.
Vancouver in 2011 is a thriving and diverse community with a population of 162,000 persons,
covering approximately 50 square miles.

VANCOUVERS LAND USE IN 2011

As of 2011, the City of Vancouver had a population of 162,300 persons, living in an
area of approximately 50 square miles.
Downtown Vancouver and the adjacent Vancouver barracks and reserve are the
historical heart of the city, and have enjoyed a renaissance in recent years.
Additional public improvements and continued commercial, residential, and
institutional revitalization are planned with a goal of establishing a vibrant, diversified
downtown.
West and northwest of downtown along the Columbia River are a mix of larger
industrial properties, including Port of
Vancouver facilities and environmentally sensitive lowlands areas near Vancouver Lake.
East of downtown along the Columbia River are new waterfront residences, mixed
commercial and residential uses, and governmental facilities. Larger homes front the
river farther to the east.

Vancouver is
a city of
neighbourho
ods. The
City of
Vancouver
formally
recognizes
64
neighbourho
od
associations
that
include
almost 90
percent of
the citys
population.

ENHANCING URBAN CENTERS AND CORRIDORS

Implementation of this plan will focus on areas in or near urban centers and corridors.
These areas are expected to contain a mixture of employment, housing, and cultural
opportunities, as many of them do now. The type and intensity of activities and
development at each will vary depending on local circumstances.
As Vancouver changes, these areas can serve as community focal points, building on
the unique characteristics of individual districts.
The areas can also provide opportunities for growth where services can be provided
more efficiently.

PROMOTING PUBLIC HEALTH

The Vancouver Comprehensive Plan contains policies encouraging commercial and
public services to be located near housing, with appropriate sidewalk connections and
paths to encourage walking.
The importance of nearby grocery stores or other sources of fruits, vegetables or fresh
meat has also been the subject of health studies.

FOSTERING SUSTAINABILI
Sustainability can be
promoted in the construction
of individual buildings, based
on the materials used, and
provisions made for energy
usage and production during
the lifetime of the building.

THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN LAND USE MAP

It is a simplified version of the Vancouver comprehensive plan land use map, which
officially designates the type and intensity of land uses allowed on individual properties
throughout the City of Vancouver.

VANCOUVERS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IN 2011

Vancouvers natural environment is typical of an urban area west of the Cascade
mountains. Much of the area has been altered by development, but valuable streams,
lakes, shorelines, wetlands, and forested areas remain.
WATER RESOURCES
Vancouver has an abundance of water resources typical of Western Washington.
Water quantity and quality is important for fish and wildlife habitat, and human
recreation and health.
All Vancouver drinking water comes from local groundwater.
FISH AND WILDLIFE HABITAT
Most typical urban wildlife in Vancouver has adapted to living in the tree canopy, parks
and other open spaces, and in wetlands, streams, rivers and lakes.
LANDSCAPE
Trees help beautify Vancouver in addition to improving air and water quality, conserving
energy by providing shade, and providing habitat for many species. Vancouvers
landscape is a reflection of the effort to preserve existing trees and other vegetation
and to add new vegetation. Historic trees in the city help preserve its character.
Topography and earth
The Columbia River and ancient glacial flooding
have sculpted much of Vancouvers topography

VANCOUVERS MAJOR WATER RESOURCES. SOURCE: CLARK COUNTY GIS.

TRANSPORTATION

Vancouvers transportation system has a variety of components, including river and

rail freight (through the Port of Vancouver and on Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains),
Pearson Field Airport, state highways (managed by Washington State Department of
Transportation [WSDOT]), local streets, sidewalks, bicycle paths, and the C-TRAN public
transit system.
Components cross or overlap jurisdictional boundaries. For example, C-TRAN pays for
and runs the buses in Vancouver but relies on Vancouvers roadway and signal systems
to support these services.

METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLAN FOR CLARK COUNTY

-REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

EXISTING ARTERIAL NETWORK

PROPOSED ARTERIAL IMPROVEMENTS

EXISTING AND PROPOSED BYCICLE SYSTEM

TRANSIT SYSTEM

SERVICES
PUBLIC WATER
Pipeline and system maintenance efforts along with conservation programs have
resulted in an increase in the average daily demand (ADD) for water of only 5% despite
an almost 43 percent increase in served population.
The City presently has 40 groundwater wells. Vancouver has a total annual water right
for withdrawal of 15.8 billion gallons per year.
FIRE FLOWS
A water system is required to have a supply, storage, and distribution system grid
with sufficient capacity to provide fire-fighting needs while maintaining maximum daily
demand flows to residential and commercial customers.
The City of Vancouvers water delivery system provides fire hydrants and water
distribution mains in neighborhoods and business areas throughout the water service
area.
SANITARY SEWER
Sanitary sewer systems consist of neighbourhood sewer lines that take waste from
pipes serving individual properties, trunk lines that collect waste from these lines
within individual drainage basins, and interceptors that receive flow from several
drainage basins and route it to treatment facilities.

EXISTING PUBLIC WATER SYSEM

EXISTING SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM. SOURCE: VANCOUVER PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

EXISTING PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES. SOURCE: VANCOUVER CLARK PARKS AND
RECREATION DEPARTMENT

LOCATION AND SERVICE AREAS OF FIRE DISTRICTS AND STATIONS. SOURCE: CITY OF VANCOUVER

EXISTING SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND SCHOOL LOCATIONS

MAJOR GENERAL GOVERNMENT FACILITIES

GREEN ECONOMY
TARGETS:

Double the number of green jobs over 2010 levels by 2020.

Double the number of companies that are actively engaged in greening their
operations over 2011 levels by 2020.
reduce solid waste going to the landfill or incinerator by 50% from 2008 levels.

ZERO WASTE

Garbage has become so common that it can be hard to imagine life without it.
From plastic packaging on food and out-dated televisions to bins of debris outside construction
sites, waste can seem like an inevitable result of how we live our lives.
A zero waste future is not only possible, its also critical to solving todays climate crisis and
other environmental challenges
As resources become more scarce and ecosystems become more fragile, its that much more
important that we conserve what we already have and put it to its highest use.

VANCOUVER has
achieved to be one of
the biggest GREENEST
cities of the world