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Archived NewsSPC in 2013Visit SPC News and Events page for the latest news or visit archived files for the following years:
Smart Planning for Communities thanks the Real Estate Foundation of BC for continuing their support!by Sonja Mulabdic, posted on October 15, 2013 Smart Planning for Communities is pleased to announce that it recently received funding from the Real Estate Foundation of BC. In spring 2013, the Smart Planning for Communities (SPC) team finalized its new three-year strategic business plan for 2013-2016 called Smart Planning in Action. Thanks to the renewed funding from the Real Estate Foundation of BC (REFBC), SPC will be able to pursue the goals in the new business plan. The plan builds on the five years of SPC’s work in assisting BC communities with Integrated Community Sustainability Planning (ICSP) processes, building capacity, providing access to resources, promoting connections between small, rural and First Nation communities, and creating links amongst policy, practice, research and funding efforts. Reflecting our program’s new focus on moving towards implementation, Smart Planning in Action provides guidance for our team when working with rural, remote and First Nations communities to help them achieve and measure on-the-ground integrated sustainability practises. Our key priorities for the upcoming three years are building capacity of rural and small town BC, addressing critical planning gaps, encouraging collaboration between First Nations and Local Governments, enhancing access to resources and information, measuring sustainability progress of BC communities, and conducting further research to address knowledge gaps. Smart Planning in Action is based on multi-party funding, including government and foundations. In the summer of 2013, the REFBC approved its funding thus supporting SPC’s continued involvement in serving BC communities. REFBC’s generous contribution will allow our team to guide BC communities’ transition towards the implementation phase of their sustainability planning processes, while continuing to provide support and services as before. "Smart Planning for Communities is a strong fit with the Real Estate Foundation's goal to advance sustainable land use in British Columbia," said Jack Wong, Foundation CEO. "The province-wide program has done an exceptional job of identifying community planning needs and offering education and advice to meet those needs. We are pleased to support SPC as it moves into the implementation phase and continues to contribute to more resilient BC communities." Smart Planning for Communities (SPC) is a program of the Fraser Basin Council, a non-profit society that works to advance sustainability across the Province. The SPC program was launched in 2008 in response to the 2005 Gas Tax Act requirement for Integrated Community Sustainability Planning (ICSP) at the local level. The program integrates all aspects of sustainability—economic, social, cultural and environmental—in implementing its mandate to help BC communities move towards sustainable future through planning and collaboration. SPC team helps the Village of Kaslo undertake sustainability planning process!by Sonja Mulabdic, posted on May 30, 2013 The Village of Kaslo has launched an Integrated Community Sustainability Planning (ICSP) process. Working with the Village Council and the community, the planning process is being led by staff from Smart Planning for Communities (SPC), a program of the Fraser Basin Council (FBC). The purpose is to envision Kaslo well into the future as a sustainable community, looking at all aspects – social, economic, cultural and environmental. The Kaslo ICSP process will build upon the visions and goals developed recently on related topics such as climate change adaptation and agriculture, as well as the updated Official Community Plan, and other relevant community projects and initiatives. How can Kaslo integrate these goals and bring together these various strategies? What elements might be missing in working toward a sustainable future? To date, the background work has been focusing on reviewing and analyzing the above studies and planning reports. In the coming weeks, the attention will be on organizing community participation, focus group sessions, and information updates on the Village’s website. Visit the Village’s website www.kaslo.ca for regular updates. New Report - Strengthening Neighbourhood Resilience: Opportunities for Communities Local Governmentby Sonja Mulabdic, posted on May 09, 2013
1. Understanding Resilience Read this report or visit Community Social Planning Council website for more information about Strengthening Neigbhourhood Resilience project. Recordings of the Resilient Neighbourhood webinars are also available online. The project was facilitated by Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria, Fraser Basin Council's Smart Planning for Communities program, Transition Victoria and Canadian Centre for Community Renewal. Generously supported by the Vancouver Foundation. For more information contact Stacy Barter at stacy@bchealthycommunities.ca. Dawson Creek makes the "Success Stories" section of the BC Climate Action Toolkit websiteby Sonja Mulabdic, posted on April 15, 2013 The City of Dawson Creek is committed to implementing emission reduction projects that will minimize their carbon liability prior to purchasing offsets to achieve carbon neutrality. The establishment of the Carbon Fund has allowed the City to put a price on their corporate carbon that is then made available to implement corporate and community emission reduction projects, with corporate emission reduction projects given first priority. These reductions are intended to help reduce the number of offsets the City purchases each year to achieve carbon neutrality. Report on Community Energy Planning and Implementation in Remote Communities Webinarby Sonja Mulabdic, posted on March 5, 2013
Integrated Community Sustainability Planning — Implications for Rural British Columbia Reportby Sonja Mulabdic, posted on February 25, 2013 |
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Strengthening Neighbourhood Resilience report
On February 20,2013 Peter Ostegard held a webinar on Community Energy Planning and Implementation. About thirty representatives from First Nations remote communities, utilities and governments participated in a webinar on February 20 on how community energy planning and implementation can help remote communities find better ways to make, use, and save energy. Organized through the Fraser Basin Council’s Remote Community Implementation Program, the webinar featured three presentations, followed by questions and discussion. Peter Ostergaard gave an overview of how community energy planning can fit within remote community sustainability initiatives, the topics they may address, and the typical steps in energy plan preparation. He also covered examples of renewable supply side projects, energy efficiency opportunities, ways to reduce reliance on diesel generation, and possible funding sources. This was followed by presentations on the Uchucklesaht First Nation’s upgrade of their electricity system near Port Alberni: through BC Hydro’s Remote Community Electrification Program a hybrid diesel/battery system has been installed in the community, and there are plans to integrate micro hydro generation to further reduce dependence on diesel. A second webinar on March 20 will cover project financing topics. 