October 2005
cities^PLUS Themes working in the region
The cities^PLUS themes are finding their wayinto a range of activities iwithhin the GVRD. Read about them in our October 2005 Update letter.

September 2004
cities^PLUS Ripples Through the Region and Beyond

cities^PLUS (or cities Planning for Long-term Urban Sustainability) developed the 100 year sustainability plan for Vancouver Canada in a project that involved 500 experts and participants from 30 cities across Canada. This 2-year long exercise, culminated in Team Canada being awarded the Grand Prix at the international Sustainable Urban Systems Design competition in Tokyo June 2003. Since the win, the cities^PLUS legacies continue to live on through a number of activities and initiatives coordinated by the original partners:

IGU Sustainability Initiative Moves Forward from citiesPLUS to "Bridging to the Future"
The International Gas Union (IGU) has initiated the next phase of their groundbreaking Sustainable Urban Systems Design (SUSD) initiative by awarding an important contract to The Sheltair Group to begin a project called "Bridging to the Future."

Bridging to the Future will develop long-term plans called pathways for five urban areas from around the globe. The pathway for each city will integrate urban and energy planning in the context of different scenarios for energy costs. A desirable pathway will use natural gas and other fossil fuels as a bridge to renewable energy and sustainable urban systems. Pathways define the steps and directions to achieve a resilient energy infrastructure. They provide a route to safer, healthier urban systems to achieve a resilient energy infrastructure. They provide a route to safer, healthier urban systems over the next 40 years.

In the first stage of the project, The Sheltair Group is adapting their tools for modeling and visualizing energy plans to make use of emerging energy technologies and to produce indicators and benchmarks to be used internationally. Sheltair is leading this first phase and will engage a range of participants from the Greater Vancouver Regional District, Canadian energy utilities, and the IGU. Subsequent stages of the project will be collaborative engagements with international teams from diverse locations. The final result will be a suite of rigorously comparable case studies that demonstrate collaborative development by metropolitan regions to develop energy pathways leading to long-term urban sustainability.To find out more about this initiative, please view the press release or contact The Sheltair Group at (604)732-9106 ext 323 or email lswanepoel (at) sheltair dot com.

Greater Vancouver Regional Energy Council
Immediately following the cities^PLUS competition, The Sheltair Group prepared a report on how to move forward on a coordinated regional energy strategy: Energy Directions for Greater Vancouver. The goal is to build upon the success of the collaborative model, and bring together a permanent council for energy planning, comprised of local governments, energy suppliers, senior governments, advocates and experts. The Council's mandate would include the formulation of an area wide energy plan based on the vision and targets established by cities^PLUS. The Council would help to align all of the participant's plans with the big picture, and seek positive synergies through integration of strategies. Using fossil fuels for their best use, for example, requires a plan with a very broad scope.

cities^PLUS Professional Development Workshop
The national team leaders for Team Canada, The Sheltair Group, has compiled the lessons and insights from the Canadian experience into a one-day workshop. The workshop also includes the insights and creative ideas from the other eight international finalists in the Sustainable Urban Systems Design competition. This workshop is offered throughout Canada and internationally. To host a workshop, please read through the brochure and contact The Sheltair Group at (604)732-9106 ext 323 or email lswanepoel (at) sheltair dot com

+30 Network: Planning for Integrated Long-term Urban Sustainability
+30 is a network of cities and communities sharing learning on integrated long-term planning for sustainability. The purpose of the +30 Network is to catalyze action on urban sustainability through integrated long-term planning and demonstration projects in cities around the world. Participating cities will document and share their experiences and tools through a web-based network; meet face-to-face every two years, and report on their learning at various international events, such as HABITAT PLUS 30: World Urban Forum in Vancouver in 2006. The Network will be launched in March 2004 with a conference at the Liu Institute for Global Issues in Vancouver. Project partners include: The International Centre for Sustainable Cities (ICSC), the Liu Institute for Global Issues, the Greater Vancouver Regional District, and the International Centre for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). For further information contact: Nola-Kate Seymoar or Jane McRae at ICSC, telephone 1-604 666-2614, email jcmcrae@icsc.ca

The Green Guide for Greater Vancouver
The Sheltair Group is pursuing the development of a Green Guide for Greater Vancouver. It is anticipated that this Guidebook will showcase a number of case studies across the region, and it will function as a self-touring guide. The Green Guide will gather information on green initiatives in the region that resonate the cities^PLUS outcomes. To participate in the Green Guide as a sponsor or contributor, please contact The Sheltair Group at (604)732-9106 ext 323 or email lswanepoel (at) sheltair dot com

Integrated Risk Management Plan
The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) and The Sheltair Group are moving forward on the goal of a disaster-resilient region. Following the cities^PLUS competition, several reports were prepared on specific aspects of regional resiliency, including Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies for Urban Systems in Greater Vancouver; Threat Perception and Information Sharing in Greater Vancouver; a Vision Statement for a Disaster Resilient Region (still under review); Governance Principles for a Disaster Resilient Regions (still under discussion). Plans are now underway to develop a set of indicators and targets for disaster resiliency, and to prepare an integrated, comprehensive risk management plan for the region, with involvement of all urban systems. The objective will be to align all urban planning exercises around the vision of disaster resiliency, and to allow the region to play a much larger role in disaster prevention and preparedness for all threats, even as threats change. For more information on the Integrated Risk Management Plan, please contact The Sheltair Group at (604)732-9106 ext 302 or email smoffatt (at) sheltair dot com.

Ongoing Presentations and Discussions with Decision-Makers
The GVRD has committed to systematically review the material produced by cities^PLUS and to integrate all useful elements into their own planning exercises and policy documents. In addition, cities^PLUS partners are continuing to communicate the results of the long-term plan, and are working with many interested groups to discuss next steps. Since the competition was concluded, over 30 formal presentations have been given to describe the submissions from the other competitors, and to allow groups to witness and discuss the cities^PLUS Long-term Plan for Greater Vancouver. Groups participating include the GVRD board, head engineers for the municipalities, senior planners, chief administrators, selected city councils and staff, federal government departments, professional associations, national and provincial associations for local governments; research councils; and university classes.