David van Vliet, a landscape architect professor teaching at the University of Manitoba spoke briefly about a Community development project in Victoria, British Columbia which is currently being created. Although he seems to be pessimistic in the ability for the finished project to carry out the original intentions because of what he believes to be difficulties and inconsistancies within the plans, I believe the idea behind the project to be incredible and I think that it is very plausible for all of the intentions to be carried out.
Completed Dockside Green will cover 15 acres making it the largest eco-residential/eco-industrial development ever created. It will incorporate a wide range of users. Dockside Green will be a “model for holistic, closed-loop design, it will function as a total environmental system in which form, structure, materials, mechanical and electrical systems will be interrelated and interdependent - a largely self-sufficient, sustainable community where waste from one area will provide fuel for another. Here you will find a dynamic environment where residents, employees, neighbouring businesses and the broader community will interact in a healthy and safe environment, reclaimed from disuse and contamination”.
Dockside Green is targeted to be LEED platinum community, which is the highest level of design. The plan includes: New urbanism, green building, sustainable community and smart growth. The plan strongly emphasizes the Triple bottom line (Natural Ecology, Economics and Social Equity) and all of the aspects being integrated with each other, intertwined throughout the creation of the entire project. By using a closed loop design, there is essentially no waste. This is due to the fact that waste from one building is used to operate another.
The entire community is planned to be greenhouse gas neutral, which basically means that there will be no net emissions produced from the site due to the fact that the site will reuse the gases to create heat.
The site uses alternate modes of transportation. The conventional thought of every person (or family) having their own car is non-existent within the community. There is a car share program that is “in partnership with the Victoria Car Share Co-operative. Dockside Green will offer a vehicle-sharing program. Exceeding the LEED® requirement and a recent traffic reduction study recommending one shared vehicle for every 150 residences, we plan to provide a total of ten vehicles – one for every 90 residences. The fleet will include a mix of neighborhood electric vehicles (NEV) that run on green electricity with recharging stations on site, and smart cars. [The plan also includes] introducing electric bicycles into the program.” There is also a harbour ferry which runs between 9am and 9pm that has a number of stops it makes throughout the day. The development is also planning on introducing minitransit (large vans with 20 seats) that will run between the site and downtown throughout the day and possibly the night. Biking will be encouraged by the community and secured bike racks will be available at all commercial, industrial and residential buildings. The racks will also double as art to add aesthetic to the streets. The entire community is designed to be pedestrian first.
Dockside Green will portray New Urbanism. “Accommodating a broad range of uses and accessible to a diverse mix of people, Dockside Green will be a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly hub of activity - a safe community where residents will enjoy an exceedingly high quality of life with incredible amenities and minimal impact on the environment”.
For more information on the site you should check out their website: Dockside Green, Victoria, BC.
~Trevor G
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