Renewable Cities
2024 Year in Review
Dear friends,
As 2024 comes to an end, we’re reflecting on a year of collaboration, shared purpose and a deep resolve to continue addressing resilience, livability and equity in cities. We’ve focused on creating spaces for groups to connect with each other, listen deeply, build capacity and co-create practical solutions to address interconnected challenges in B.C.
Since January, we were part of convening 19 workshops, dialogues, webinars and other engagements with over 1,150 people from a range of sectors. Our partnerships are adding momentum to our work, and we feel both grateful and energized as we step into the opportunities ahead.
Thank you for engaging with us. Sending you warm wishes for a new year filled with kindness, meaningful connections, rest and renewal.
Warmly,
Leanne, Rebekah, Amal and Emily from Renewable Cities
Here's a recap of our year!
How can we build affordable, climate resilient and socially connected multi-unit housing?
We released eight cases studies from groups across B.C. and Canada that redeveloped the land they steward to include multi-unit housing alongside their community infrastructure. For example, housing on top of a school, bus exchange and faith spaces.
We partnered with BC Builds and Vancity Community Foundation to host a series of workshops with over 200 participants to discuss goals, challenges, experiences and share resources for organizations who want to develop housing on top of community spaces but are not traditional housing providers.
Resources
Case studies: Innovative housing developments on public and non-profit land
Blog post: Practical tips on housing development from members of the housing community
What We Heard Report: Themes and findings from our housing workshop series
- Storytelling videos: Listen to first-hand perspectives from public and non-profit organizations that recently developed housing
What’s next?
- In early 2025, we’re publishing a case study on BC Builds, a rental housing supply program from BC Housing that delivers new middle-income workforce housing. The case study is intended for governments and housing authorities across Canada and highlights best practices and considerations for governments interested in replicating or adapting aspects of the program to their context.
What happens when you gather housing professionals, planners, government staff, elected officials, architects and illustrators in one room?
We’ve partnered with our friends at Hey Neighbour Collective and Happy Cities to deliver the Housing That Connects Us project. This initiative supports local governments develop effective policies that enable and incentivize inclusive, socially connected and resilient multi-unit housing communities that are ready to meet the climate adaptation and mitigation challenges in front of us.
Together, we hosted the Housing That Connects Us Design Jam, a day to explore opportunities to integrate social connection and climate resilience through design of building sites (new or retrofit).
The ideas and energy lit up the room and are catalyzing our work on this topic into 2025.
Stay tuned for the release of our report back!
Resources
Infographics: SFU ACT and Renewable Cities offer an overview of nature-based solutions and case example of the Via Verde building
Report: SFU ACT outlines the Natural Solutions Initiative for cohesive and systemic nature-based solutions planning, implementation and more
Toolkit: Building Social Connections Toolkit created by Happy Cities and Hey Neighbour Collective
Op-ed: To make communities safe during heat domes, we need consensus rather than tools of coercion co-written by Leanne Sawatzky (Renewable Cities), Michelle Hoar (Hey Neighbour Collective) and Lauren Vincent (SFU ACT)
What’s next
Upcoming workshop series for planners: We’re supporting Hey Neighbour Collective and Happy Cities in offering a national training cohort, Building Social Connections in Practice, for planners to gain practical tools for designing for social connectedness in multi-unit housing in all types of communities. Full details, including registration, are available here
How can transit priority projects transform cities?
We partnered with Movement, a group of transit riders working towards better transit in Metro Vancouver, to support their Room to Move, Room to Grow event.
We brought together over 140 participants and invited two transit professionals to share how transit priority projects like bus lanes can transform cities.
“Buses move eight times more people than cars typically do” - Kate Elliott
Resources:
What We Heard Report: Learn more about bus lane successes and how cities can build them from two transit professionals
What’s next?
We’re excited to continue our partnership with Movement to host multilingual conversations with transit riders. By engaging directly with equity-deserving residents who rely on transit, we aim to gather insights that will inform our conversations with decision makers and help create a more equitable transit system.
Did you know B.C. building code now allows mass timber buildings up to 18 storeys?
We've continued to engage with B.C. municipalities’ design panels and leading industry experts from construction and design sectors to develop custom and adaptable design guidelines for mass timber buildings over seven storeys.
Through these engagements, we published Design Guidelines to Prefab Mass Timber Construction v2.0, a design guide for how municipal land use regulations and design guidelines can better accommodate 7-12 storey mass timber buildings and outlines considerations for 18 storey projects.
Resources
Guidebooks: Design Guidelines to Prefab Mass Timber Construction v2.0 and our supplementary Building Capacity and Quick Reference Guide
Video: A 90-second intro video to the challenges and solutions of prefab mass timber construction
What’s next?
We've heard from city planning staff to building officials that insurance is a key barrier to making mass timber a viable and economic choice. In early 2025, we’re convening a roundtable with a range of siloed insurance, construction and other cross-sector stakeholders to explore priorities, risks, challenges and potential paths forward for mass timber projects in B.C.
What are my housing options as I age?
Explore Seniors Housing Navigator, an interactive website with resources and reports tailored for homeowners, renters, organizations and governments interested in housing options such as home sharing, secondary suites and coach homes.
Early this year, we wrapped up the Housing Solutions Lab. The lab aimed to reimagine housing options for older adults (age 55+) on Vancouver’s North Shore that are more affordable, climate-friendly and socially supportive.
Resources:
Video: A 3.5 minute intro video to the Housing Solutions Lab and housing options such as home sharing, secondary suites and coach homes
Community connections
Vancouver Climate Day
Organized by Moving in a Livable Region and SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
We hosted a workshop at Vancouver Climate Day, a day of collaboration and learning about the work on climate taking place across the wider Vancouver community.
Swiss Innovation Fest
Organized by the Consulate General of Switzerland and Simon Fraser University
We were panelists at the Smart and Sustainable Cities panel discussion to look at how to move toward net-zero carbon targets within the city premises.
Climate Action Dialogues
Organized by MetroVancouver
We moderated this year's Climate Action Dialogues on Human Health and Wellbeing, bringing together experts to discuss the health benefits of climate action.