Sustainability Field School Blog

Below you'll find the location-based blogs compiled by students from the 2012-2016 Sustainability Field Schools. Use the drop-down menu below to filter the blogs by year. You can also explore the each blog post on the Cascadia Sustainability Experience Map.

Displacement and Development in Vancouver: The Ebb and Flow of a Changing City Landscape

Submitted by IanFlock on

 

Vancouver is imagined as one of the world’s greenest cities and is known for its world class livability. But there is another side to that story. As we met with a diverse set of people from Vancouver we heard a narrative of displacement that corresponded with the recent explosion of development in Vancouver. The increased development is exacerbated by the desirability of the city, rapidly changing the city landscape.  Here are some of the stories we heard.  

 

Facing the Challenges of Seattle's Housing Affordability

Submitted by AlisonMartin on

This video captures Jessica Brandt (City of Seattle) talking about the challenges of housing (un)affordability and how the City is trying to respond to this major issue. It was produced by Joshua Ceraldi, Alison Martin, and Mackenzie Sayer as part of the University of Victoria's Cascadia Sustainability Field School (2016). 

 

 

Matt Hern on Green Urbanism and the Problems of Displacement and Dispossession

Submitted by IanFlock on

In this video, East Vancouver-based author Matt Hern reflects on the importance of keeping displacement and dispossession in mind when talking about urban sustainability. The Cascadia Sustainability Field School met up with Matt at SFU's Woodwards Campus (Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories) on May 24, 2016. Video produced by UVic students Matthew Callow, Ian Flock and Hannah Schick. 

 

Is Traffic Congestion Actually a Good Thing?

Submitted by IanFlock on

In this video, Vancouver-based urbanist Gord Price makes the counter-intuitive claim that traffic congestion is a good thing and challenges the assumption that it is a problem that needs to be addressed.  The UVIC Cascadia Sustainability Field School met up with Gord in his home neighbourhood - the West End - on May 12, 2012. The video was produced by students Matthew Callow, Ian Flock and Hannah Schick. 

Plant A Seed in Your Garden, Plant A Seed in Your Community

Submitted by MadelinePoirier on

Whether it was a walk in the woods with W̱SÁNEĆ poet Kevin Paul, lessons on urban agriculture, or the complex details of implementing bike lanes in the city, we can almost all agree connectivity within the urban environment is vital to sustainability. This became a major theme evident throughout our time in Victoria. 

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