Green growth sells, say experts at a recent conference, and can help cities build better neighbourhoods.
About 250 people met at the Edmonton Mayfield Inn last Monday to discuss the status of clean technologies. The conference, organized by the Alberta Council of Technologies, assembled 10 expert panels to examine topics such as renewable power, local food production, and smart growth.
Cities can build denser, walkable urban villages if they take the time to plan them properly, according to panellist Peter Vana, associate commissioner of infrastructure with Strathcona County. His county already has two: Emerald Hills, a 20-hectare greenfield development now under construction, and Centre in the Park, an infill development that's almost completely sold out.
"It's not just a theory. It's actual development on the ground."
Green homes sell
Green construction is the future of retail, said panellist Jim Hole of Hole's Greenhouses & Gardens. His new greenhouse and commercial development near Big Lake is designed to catch rainwater for plants and recycle waste heat. This design will reduce the building's footprint on the environment and attract eco-minded customers.
Stockholm recently built a super-green community called Hammarby, said panellist Godo Stoyke, president of Carbon Busters, that aimed to cut in half its environmental footprint. Among other changes, the city replaced its garbage trucks with suction tubes and started using its wastewater to heat homes and create biofuels. "It cost the city of Stockholm nothing," he noted — they simply mandated the changes through their building codes.
Those regulations added about five per cent to the cost of each home, but they still sold — in fact, they sold for about 25 per cent more. "They actually received five times as much money on their investment," he said. "People want these developments."
Smart examples
Vana talked about how Strathcona County built its urban villages. "We wanted to develop a model that could be replicated anywhere," he said. That model, the sustainable neighbourhood development process, is now available online.
Centre in the Park is an urban village in downtown Sherwood Park. Featuring multiple apartments within walking distance of stores and businesses, it follows many of the design principles of smart growth — big sidewalks, mixed uses, and few cars. They've now sold all but 25 units, Vana said.
Emerald Hills is a 1,600-unit community being built in a vacant region north of Sherwood Park. Taller condos with stores at street level ring the outside, while single-family lots and a large park sit in the middle.
Close co-operation between all parties was vital to getting these projects off the ground, Vana said. "The important part was that we had a group of like-minded people that wanted to achieve the same vision." Once they had that vision, they changed rules and crafted plans as needed to make it happen.
Transit systems were realigned to make sure the areas had buses right from the start. Business owners and developers synched their schedules to ensure homeowners would have places to shop as soon as they moved in. Project champions, design charettes and specific, measurable targets helped keep development on track.
It sounds easy, Vana said, but it took a while to happen. "You know you've been successful when you have people stand up [at a public hearing] and the only thing people say is, 'When can I buy my unit?'"
Lifestyle change
Green development has to be linked to green lifestyles in order to meet its goals, Vana said. Strathcona County held mass public education campaigns and rolled out a comprehensive curbside organic recycling program to boost support for sustainable living.
"If you're going to affect real change, it has to happen at the neighbourhood level."
