Decarbonizing community's on-road transportation

You are Invited to a Community Workshop on Transportation Futures, Air Quality and Community Resilience in neighbourhoods across the City of Burnaby

What: Researchers from Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia have partnered with the City of Burnaby, Translink, Evo CarShare and Mobi BikeShare to explore a variety of transportation futures and how it relates to air pollution and community resilience in our communities. This project is titled “Community-based alternative urban transportation decarbonization pathways and co-benefits for climate resilience, air quality, health, and equity” and is led by Dr. Vahid Hosseini, Associate Professor at SFU’s School of Sustainable Energy Engineering, with funding support from the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Who can participate? We are inviting anyone who is 18 years and older who lives, works, plays or commutes through the neighbourhoods of Metrotown, Burnaby Mountain, Lakeview/Sperling and/or Edmonds to join us for 2-hour conversation on the future of mobility in your community. As a research participant, you will learn about our research project and partners, help us ground-truth our research results to date (including a city-wide mobility survey and air quality modeling), and co-generate innovative solutions to mobility challenges facing your community through small-group discussions with our team and other members of your community. Coffee, tea and light snacks will be provided to all research participants. A transit voucher for round-trip fare will be available on an as-needed basis to support people to attend (registration required).

When and Where: We will be hosting one in-person and one on-line workshop to accommodate your participation in each of the four case study communities of Metrotown, Burnaby Mountain, Lakeview/Sperling, and Edmonds. In-person workshops will be hosted at wheelchair and transit accessible locations in each case study community (i.e. public libraries, community centres). You are welcome to participate in any workshops, but please note that each conversation is designed to be localized to a specific neighbourhood. We encourage participants to register for workshops following the links provided for each workshop, below:

Metrotown

*In-Person Workshop*	*Online Workshop*
Wed May 28^th - 4:30–6:30 PM	Wed Jun 4^th - 12–2pm
Rob Prittie Library - Community Room	Register through Zoom
6100 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby, BC V5H 4N5
Register through Eventbrite

Burnaby Mountain

*In-Person Workshop*	*Online Workshop*
Tue May 27^th – 10–12 noon	Tue Jun 10^th – 5–7pm
Blusson Hall, Room ____	Register through Zoom
SFU Campus
Register through Eventbrite

Edmonds

*In-Person Workshop*	*Online Workshop*
Tue May 27^th – 10–12 noon	Thu Jun 12^th – 12–2pm
Tommy Douglas Library, Community Rm #1	Register through Zoom
7311 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC V5E 1G8
Register through Eventbrite

Sperling/Lakeview

*In-Person Workshop*	*Online Workshop*
Sat Jun 14^th – 2:30–4:30pm	Tue Jun 3^rd – 11:30–1:30pm
Charles Rummel Centre, Main Hall	Register through Zoom
3630 Lozells Ave, Burnaby, BC V5A 2Y7
Register through Eventbrite

Contact: For more information, please contact Dr. Chris Buse, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, cbuse@sfu.ca

Explore the Insights from Our July 2024 Workshop! Click on the image to download the "What We Heard" report, based on feedback from our community partners.

Objectives

As municipalities craft action plans to achieve zero-emission targets, significant opportunities emerge to reduce urban vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT). While fleet electrification remains a prominent focus in both research and policy, it is essential to consider other pathways to decarbonize mobility that do not rely solely on electrification. Reducing VKT can substantially (a) lower emissions, (b) alleviate the immediate need for widespread private vehicle electrification, and (c) enhance climate resiliency while supporting broader community objectives. Expanding mobility options is likely to boost community resilience and sustainability. This project aims to enhance Canadian capabilities in knowledge and tools, assisting community decision-making processes in pursuit of net-zero goals through exploring alternative transportation options.

The Project

At CREATE, we are working in partnership with Action on Climate Team (ACT), SFU's Chris Buse, UBC's Amanda Giang, and Mahmudur Fatmi to examine community-centered urban transportation decarbonization strategies. Utilizing extensive data from the City of Burnaby and Metro Vancouver, alongside advanced modeling tools, we aim to pinpoint opportunities and assess their impact on community resilience. Health impact assessments and considerations of environmental justice are critical components of our mobility recommendations.

Project's Status

Currently, in year 2, a mobility survey was completed for Burnaby, BC. The traffic agent-based model for Metro Vancouver and Burnaby, the mobile source emission model for Burnaby, the weather and chemical transport model for the Lower Mainland, and the co-impact model for Burnaby are ready. The first co-creation workshop, involving all project partners, was held to select the case study neighborhood and gather initial input on modeling needs, data support, and output requirements. More co-creation workshops will be held in 2025.

Schematic of the Integrated Air Quality Assessment Modeling Framework Developed for SCRAM Project

At CREATE, we have developed an Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT) capable of conducting high-resolution air quality studies at urban and suburban scales. This framework utilizes an in-house, link-based vehicle emission inventory specifically designed for the Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD).

Concentration of Sample Criteria Air contaminants (aggregated at Dissemination Level) over the Metro Vancouver Regional Districts

The integrated assessment tool was used to simulate air quality across the Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD) at a 1 km spatial resolution. Traffic-related air pollutants (TRAP), including CO, NO₂, PM₂.₅, and O₃, were modeled at hourly intervals and aggregated at the dissemination area (DA) level to better identify air quality hotspots and impacted communities. The results highlight that neighborhoods in close proximity to major roadways experience elevated pollutant levels over extended periods.

These outputs will support follow-up analyses on health exposure and environmental equity within the SCRAM framework, contributing to the calculation of a livability index for MVRD communities.

Future directions

Findings of mobility survey expected to aid in the calibration and validation of the agent-based model. The project is set to deliver an integrated and validated modeling system by March 2025, which will subsequently be used in 2026 to test scenarios aimed at reducing vehicle kilometers traveled in Burnaby.

Additionally, the project currently supports 15 Highly Qualified Personnel (HQPs), including post-doctoral researchers, PhD and MASc students, and research assistants.