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Fine-tuning key to sustainable development plans
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Contact:
Mark Roseland, 604.291.4161; mark_roseland@sfu.ca
Marianne Meadahl, Media & PR, 604.291.4323; marianne_meadahl@sfu.ca
Mark Roseland, 604.291.4161; mark_roseland@sfu.ca
Marianne Meadahl, Media & PR, 604.291.4323; marianne_meadahl@sfu.ca
January 21, 2004
If Vancouver is to live up to its sustainability mandate over the next several years, plans for a trio of key development projects, including SFU’s Olympic Oval, may need some fine-tuning.
That’s according to a class of 25 SFU geography 449 students who spent last semester examining Vancouver’s sustainability mandate in relation to the 2010 Olympics, and developments at southeast False Creek and the east Fraser lands.
Sustainable developments fulfill present and future needs without compromising nature or the environment.
Their reports were forwarded to planners for consideration. Among their findings:
SFU’s Olympic speed skating oval should be moved closer to campus. Students say it would be better located on an existing playing field to the east of the proposed vacant field site, linked, as an athletic quadrangle, or second AQ, to the rest of the campus superstructure.
Developers of the east Fraser lands, an area west of Boundary Road and south of Marine Way owned by Weyerhauser and the city of Vancouver, need to consider alternatives that allow for more density. They should give greater consideration to creating more community-serving businesses with walkable distances and alternatives to transportation and wastewater management — problems that continue to plague its neighbouring development.
While there has been much innovative planning at the southeast False Creek site, the area will undergo a major transition as the site of the 2010 Olympic athletes’ village. More attention is needed to determine housing needs that will best fit into the existing community. Developers also need to examine alternative land tenure arrangements to generate more community involvement over the long term and consider developing a land trust.
The fourth-year geography course, taught by Mark Roseland, director of SFU’s community economic development centre, gives students a hands-on opportunity to examine issues related to sustainable community development. Previous classes have studied the 2010 Olympic bid and the UniverCity project on Burnaby Mountain.
The students’ reports and recommendations are being posted on the web at www.sfu.ca/sustainablevancouver
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That’s according to a class of 25 SFU geography 449 students who spent last semester examining Vancouver’s sustainability mandate in relation to the 2010 Olympics, and developments at southeast False Creek and the east Fraser lands.
Sustainable developments fulfill present and future needs without compromising nature or the environment.
Their reports were forwarded to planners for consideration. Among their findings:
SFU’s Olympic speed skating oval should be moved closer to campus. Students say it would be better located on an existing playing field to the east of the proposed vacant field site, linked, as an athletic quadrangle, or second AQ, to the rest of the campus superstructure.
Developers of the east Fraser lands, an area west of Boundary Road and south of Marine Way owned by Weyerhauser and the city of Vancouver, need to consider alternatives that allow for more density. They should give greater consideration to creating more community-serving businesses with walkable distances and alternatives to transportation and wastewater management — problems that continue to plague its neighbouring development.
While there has been much innovative planning at the southeast False Creek site, the area will undergo a major transition as the site of the 2010 Olympic athletes’ village. More attention is needed to determine housing needs that will best fit into the existing community. Developers also need to examine alternative land tenure arrangements to generate more community involvement over the long term and consider developing a land trust.
The fourth-year geography course, taught by Mark Roseland, director of SFU’s community economic development centre, gives students a hands-on opportunity to examine issues related to sustainable community development. Previous classes have studied the 2010 Olympic bid and the UniverCity project on Burnaby Mountain.
The students’ reports and recommendations are being posted on the web at www.sfu.ca/sustainablevancouver
—30—