City of Victoria Climate Lens

Leveraging Municipal Resources to Respond to the Climate Emergency.

THE CHALLENGE

The City of Victoria and Capital Regional District Board have both declared a Climate Emergency in response to unprecedented scientific consensus on the risks associated with human created climate change. MODUS contributed to a larger multi-disciplinary team to review existing materials and initial work by City staff and recommend what concrete next steps could be taken by the City to best leverage its current resources, legal authority and regional influence. Our team also acted to provide industry context and evaluate market readiness, precedents for comparable cities, and guidance on the potential GHG impact of considered measures.

THE RESPONSE

The City of Victoria Climate Lens report outlines recommended steps that serve as a ‘recipe’ for implementation towards meeting Climate Emergency Goals across multiple categories of impact. The recommendations are not detailed plans which would come in the next phase of work, but rather directions which follow under a key set of principles and bundled recommendations to outline an appropriate policy response to the Climate Emergency. They include a mix of regulations and incentives that can serve as a cohesive program with both early ‘wins’ and long-term progress towards GHG drawdown. Modus’ work focused on evaluating and recommending land use and transportation related policies and actions. This included recommendations around strategic densification, missing-middle housing, complete urban centres and villages, zero-emission zones, active transportation and transit-oriented development. The City has adopted and implemented many of the recommended measures as it pursues its ambitious climate action work.

Client

City of Victoria

Collaborators

McLennan Design

Christine Lintott Architects

Integral Group