Neighbourhood Fund for Climate Action

What is the Neighbourhood Fund for Climate Action?

Urban Resilient Futures Burnaby (URF) puts people at the centre of climate action. Stewarded by Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue in partnership with the City of Burnaby and Vancity, the initiative is working with Burnaby residents and stakeholders to accelerate a just transition to a resilient, low-carbon future.

We are excited to launch the inaugural Neighbourhood Fund for Climate Action which will co-power Burnaby residents and institutional leads to implement initiatives aimed at accelerating climate resilience in Burnaby. The program will build social resilience by connecting the City of Burnaby with Burnaby residents, Burnaby agencies, and climate-leading organisations to collectively catalyse climate action, including creating greater cohesion and collaboration across organisations, institutions, and groups most impacted by climate change. 

By encouraging residents to take actions together in groups, projects can also enable participants to build social capital, explore what climate action means to their personal identity and make connections between climate and other community priorities such as health, equity, and community. This type of group-based action is more likely to sustain progress over the long-term because it is rooted in community aspirations and relationships.

In our research we learned that community organisers in Burnaby face challenges when it comes to climate action and adaptation. For example, it is challenging to access reliable funding and to connect with Burnaby city staff and decision makers. Communities are facing pressing climate issues including heat waves, the need for sidewalk connectivity, and disproportionate impacts felt by certain groups. The purpose of the Neighbourhood Fund for Climate Action is not to “reinvent” or impose ideas about climate action and climate literacy, but rather to recognize, support and further catalyse the many ways communities and neighbours already work together to advance climate solutions in Burnaby.