Thread by @TealePB

🧵Yesterday at @Saanich Council's Committee of the Whole, we had a number of presentations from #Saanich neighbours during the Open Forum that included questions to Council....

The structure of Open Forum is such that is provides folks the chance to share their thoughts with #Saanich Council, but it does not allow for a back and forth with questions and answers.

One of the questions that came up a couple of times related to density: whether a denser city is better or worse with respect to emissions and overall environmental impact.

Generally, from what I've read and experienced, dense, walkable communities are an effective way of reducing our impact on the environment.

This is especially the case when we build complete communities, and my favourite model, the street car neighbourhood design, where you have lots of mixed use in those villages and along those corridors.

Denser communities, especially those built in core village areas and along major corridors, make active transportation more inviting, accessible, and practical to a wider range of people. This same model also supports efficient and reliable public transit.

We saw this last night with our Climate Plan Annual Report Card: "transportation remains the largest source of community-wide GHG emissions, majority of which are from personal vehicles." The need to support increased use in active transportation has never been more pressing.

You can't have density alone, of course. You need vibrant community spaces for people to connect and you need lots of greenspaces as well. Mixed used in villages and corridors also creates vibrant streetscapes where people want to walk, connect, shop, and just and out.

In this way, they also help foster community. Parks create spaces for people to relax and play, and provide a host of ecosystem services.

By the way, my passion for active transportation is also why you will see me pushing the issues of road safety and accessibility so hard.

We want people to get out and about, and rely on active transportation and public transit, but it needs to be safe for them to do this. #Saanich has been making excellent progress (speed reductions) and there's more to come (Road Safety Action Plan and more).

So the answer to the question is density plays an important role in reducing our emissions.

I wanted to share some articles that explore this question in a little more detail for those who might be interested.

I found this piece from The Atlantic covered the subject well:

theatlantic.com/science/archiv…

This UN News, which is worth quoting directly, also explores the issue in some detail and illustrates the point I make above.

news.un.org/en/story/2019/…

"Well designed, compact, walkable cities with good public transport greatly reduce our per capita carbon footprint and are key to achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals of which climate action is a key part."

news.un.org/en/story/2019/…

This study out of UC Berkley is also insightful.

news.berkeley.edu/2014/01/06/sub…

There is also a strong connection between density and affordability, which was another question that was asked. Towards this end, I found this article from the CCPA insightful, albeit focuses on Vancouver.

policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/news-…

If you are interested in asking questions to #Saanich Council and getting a response, I'd suggest dropping us an email. The Public Forum isn't set up for this kind of back and forth. You can always reach me at:
[e-mail]