World Cities Day 2022
Urban October is a global initiative started by UN-Habitat, the United Nations agency dedicated to human settlements and sustainable urban development. The month kicks off with World Habitat Day on the first Monday of the month and concludes with World Cities Day on October 31st. Throughout the month, organizations around the world take part in events related to sustainable communities.
This years theme, Act Local to Go Global, brings stakeholders together to share their experiences and approaches to local action, what local action worked and what is needed to empower local and regional governments to create greener, more equitable and sustainable cities. Ensuring cities have the capacity, capability, and tools to address the challenges posed by urbanization has become a pressing global issue.
The Centre is acting local through the Ecocity Peer Network where we help cities evaluate and act on their Consumption-based Emission Inventories (CBEI) and Ecological Footprints (EF). With funding from Real Estate Foundation of BC, the Ecocity Peer Network was launched in 2019 with 10 communities, and we recently expanded to include communities across Metro Vancouver.
One Planet Scenarios
One Planet Living is a sustainability strategy focused on achieving healthy, happy lives for all, without exceeding the planet’s resources and also maintaining space for nature. It focuses on carbon and ecological footprinting as key metrics to advance equity and sustainable levels of consumption. One Planet Scenarios have been created for our Ecocity Peer Network members. The scenarios identify what would be required to achieve a community-wide ecological and carbon footprint to support One Planet Living.
The City of Nelson is one of our Peer Network cities. View their One Planet Scenario [PDF] to explore what One Planet Living looks like for a BC community.
Sustainable Development Goals
At the Centre, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities is encompassed in all of our work to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. It highlights the need for inclusive and sustainable urbanization, access to green and public spaces, and transitioning to cleaner modes of transportation.
BCIT campuses face many of the same complex challenges as a small city, with stresses on transportation, power, and waste management systems.