Vancouver's Water Narrative Learning from Copenhagen & Rotterdam

Vancouver’s Water Narrative Learning From Copenhagen & Rotterdam Ronja Helleshøj Sørensen Collaboration between an intern at ACT (the Adaptation to Climate Change Team), Faculty of Environment, SFU and the City of Vancouver’s Green Infrastructure Team ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank Wendy de Hoog, Melina Scholefeld, and the rest of the Green Infrastructure Team at the City of Vancouver for helping me come up with this research topic and for letting me dig deep into Vancouver’s transition path towards becoming a Water Sensitive City. My deepest thanks goes to my interviewees. The valuable information you have given me has allowed me to produce this report. I would like to thank Deborah Harford from ACT (the Adaptation to Climate Change Team) at Simon Fraser University, with whom I have been doing an internship in Vancouver. She put me in contact with the City of Vancouver, which launched this project. Last but not least, a special thanks to my supervisor Maj-Britt Quitzau from Aalborg University, Copenhagen. Without her this work would not have become a reality. Thank you for spending your evenings on long-distance Skype calls with me and supporting me with all your great comments and ideas. January 25th, 2019 2 CONTENTS 2 Acknowledgments 24 4.2.1 Living with water 4 Executive Summary 25 4.2.2 An architecture competition 6 1. Introduction and Background leading to immediate action 7 1.1 Research Aim 26 4.2.3 A global leader in urban water resilience 7 2. Water Sensitivity as a Concept 27 4.2.4 Benthemplein water square 7 2.1 Water Sensitive City 29 4.2.5 Lessons learned from Rotterdam 8 2.2 Urban Water Transition 30 4.2.6 Summary—Rotterdam’s water 9 2.3 Need for a Water Narrative narrative 10 3. Methodology 30 4.3 The City of Vancouver—a Water 10 3.1 Case Study Selection Sensitive City on the rise 10 3.2 Interviews Conducted 30 4.3.1 The need for shifting focus 11 4. Case Descriptions towards a holistic approach 11 4.1 Copenhagen—The City of 33 4.3.2 New ways of thinking emerging Cloudburst Adaptation 34 4.3.3 At the “why and what for” stage of 12 4.1.1 Changes in interpretations of the water sensitivity harbour 35 4.3.4 The Cambie Corridor project—a 14 4.1.2 A cloudburst leading to immediate game-changer? action 37 4.3.5 Summary—Vancouver’s emerging 15 4.1.3 Copenhagen’s Climate Adaptation water narrative Plan 37 5. Recommendations 16 4.1.4 The frst Climate-Resilient 39 6. Implications and conclusions Neighbourhood of Copenhagen 39 6.1 The challenge of reaching all- 21 4.1.5 Lessons learned from Copenhagen encompassing water sensitivity 22 4.1.6 Summary—Copenhagen’s water 40 6.2 Concluding remarks narrative 41 7. References 22 4.2 Rotterdam—the city living with water 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The City of Vancouver has begun an important transition journey in terms of its water management. The appointment of a Green Infrastructure Team, the research and development of the Rain City Strategy, the approval of a new Utility Service Plan, and the development of Rainwater and Groundwater Management Bulletins exemplify how Vancouver’s water management methods are changing. These initiatives are the result of City staff champions’ visionary and innovative work, as well as the City’s realization of the pressing need to fnd alternative solutions for handling rainwater in a grow- ing city, and recognition of the adverse effects of climate change. This report investigates how far Vancouver has come in its efforts to update its water management methods. It uses indicators associated with an Australian approach to defning a “Water Sensitive City” to assess the kind of advancements needed for Vancouver to practice truly holistic management of the urban water cycle. The Water Sensitive City concept advocates for holistic management of the urban water cycle in order to protect and enhance the health of receiving waterways, reduce food risk, and create public spaces that harvest, clean, and recycle water. This report draws on a comparative analysis of how the European cities of Copenhagen (Denmark) and Rotterdam (Netherlands) have achieved signifcant advancements in water management, in order to identify recommendations for how Vancouver could advance towards becoming a Water Sensitive City. Based on interviews with key stakeholders at the City of Vancouver and the comparative studies of Copenhagen and Rotterdam, the report recommends the following: 1. A compelling vision and clearly articulated narrative Copenhagen and Rotterdam each exhibit strong narratives that changed the city’s urban fabric and perspective towards water. These narratives are not necessarily specifcally focused on being water sensitive, but rather about improving quality of life for residents. These narratives make a compelling connection between the acute need to make extensive investments in water management systems, and the vision of creating a better city. Copenhagen and Rotterdam have clearly articulated narratives about how water can be handled in more sensitive ways that support creating more livable cities. In Vancouver, this narrative is in its early stages. Learning from Copenhagen and Rotterdam would involve developing more holistic thinking about how water resilience, water systems, and urban qualities go hand in hand. However, the narratives for each city are different, as the core drivers are highly contextual. The challenge for Vancouver, therefore, lies in identifying the broader holistic drivers for changing water management. 4 2. Alignment in organisational objectives, responsibilities, and capacities Extreme precipitation events have resulted in Copenhagen developing innovative solutions for adaptation to climate change impacts. For instance, parks are designed both as retention ponds during heavy rainfall and recreational urban spaces during normal weather conditions. Rotterdam has adopted similar planning and design practices supported by programs and strategies that aim to enhance urban resilience while increasing livability. Vancouver has, through the Greenest City Action Plan, become a front runner on numerous environmental practices. Yet water management, especially rainwater management, has been slow to develop as a City priority, partly due to numerous pressing issues including homelessness and afford- ability. City of Vancouver interviewees, and the Copenhagen and Rotterdam case studies, emphasize that it’s best to integrate water management with other City priorities. Vancouver could beneft from identifying these synergies and associated opportunities to develop a Water Sensitive City narrative. 3. Higher and broader professional capacities Climate change adaptation and associated design solutions are emerging, and cities will beneft from a willingness to experiment while accepting that some risks accom- panies these design solutions. Rotterdam has made itself a hub for knowledge and experience exchange with regard to making cities resilient, a strategic move that has resulted in engagement with cities worldwide. Copenhagen has invested in major pilot projects that function as good practice examples and are presented all over the world as successful ways to combine water management with livability. Interview results suggest that, even with extensive engagement and education, an internal understanding of integrated water management practices is limited in the City of Vancouver, and highlights the need for more education, capacity building and training sessions. Heightened literacy in this area could contribute towards developing the narrative needed to advance the City’s adoption of efforts to become more water sensitive. Furthermore, based on the Copenhagen and Rotterdam case studies, it appears that Vancouver could beneft from hosting water-related conferences and other focal events, raising awareness of the initiatives already being undertaken, as well as providing opportunities for Vancouver to broaden its professional capacities. 4. Greater interest from, and more engagement with, the community The pilot project examples from Copenhagen and Rotterdam describe in detail the importance of citizen engagement. Through small-scale demonstration projects in areas such as St. Kjelds in Copenhagen, citizens learned about climate adaptation through, for instance, making raingardens and learning about the benefts of nature and natural assets. Similarly, in Zoho, Rotterdam, school children were given the opportunity to offer input into the design of what is now a world-famous “water plaza,” Benthemplein, which functions as a showcase for the City’s water sensitive design. These two cases highlight that, in order for a water narrative to emerge, it would be helpful for Vancouver to invest in citizen education and engagement, as well as listen- ing to the interests and values of residents with regards to water management. In conclusion, this report illustrates that in order for Vancouver and other cities to become truly water sensitive, staff must be aligned on integrated water management and water sensitivity, must practice capacity building within the industry, and must understand the benefts associated with an integrated water management approach. Only in these ways will true transformation occur. 5 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND With sea levels rising, projected increases in precipitation and heavy storm events due to climate change, plus urban growth and aging infrastructures, there is extreme pressure on aquatic ecosystems, water quality, food management, and urban water management more generally (IPCC, 2018).

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