Opportunities
Land-use decisions determine where residents live, work and play. Where and how our region accommodates growth also determines how much residents, businesses and infrastructure are exposed to physical risks associated with climate change, such as flood risk from rising seas and rivers.
Metro Vancouver and its member jurisdictions are working to reduce greenhouse gases by focusing growth in a network of transit-oriented urban centres, and building compact, complete communities that offer amenities close to home.
This focused growth reduces emissions by supporting low carbon transportation such as walking, cycling and public transit.
Land-use planning is an important tool for directing growth away from higher risk areas and natural areas that can alleviate negative impacts, thereby increasing community resilience to flooding.
For buildings and other infrastructure that remain in flood-prone areas, protection such as dikes may need to be built or upgraded to mitigate increasing climate risk and additional resources may need to be allocated to emergency response planning.
A land-based carbon inventory would provide a better understanding of the impact that land-use changes are having on the region’s ability to sequester carbon and inform Climate 2050 actions to protect local carbon sinks.
