Making Connections between Heritage and Sustainability
On Tuesday, September 25, 2007, West Coast partnered with Heritage BC and the Vancouver Heritage Foundation to make a presentation at the Annual Conference of the Union of BC Municipalities. The presentation, entitled “The Heritage Sustainability Nexus,” emphasized the connections between heritage and sustainability planning. The two key take-home messages were: when you are thinking heritage, think sustainability; and when you are thinking sustainability, think heritage. The goal for West Coast and its partners was to underline and remind decision-makers of the natural linkage between the two planning areas, and to point local government decision-makers to the resources available for them to take positive action and leadership on this issue.
The presentation
Our joint presentation consisted of three parts: a discussion of the rationale for reusing heritage buildings, an overview of legal and policy tools available, and a description of some of the programs currently in place to promote heritage and sustainability linkages in Vancouver.
Rationale: Why conserve our heritage buildings? Because, put simply, the greenest building around is a reused building, due to the embodied energy that is conserved when a building is slated for renewal rather than destruction. In other words, it makes little sense from a sustainability perspective to tear down buildings – the energy and materials involved are just too precious. In addition, there are cultural sustainability benefits to conserving existing buildings. The building need not be classic heritage stock. History and culture, architectural and otherwise, are reflected in our existing buildings, whether from 1910 or 1950. Heritage, by definition, encompasses all that is appreciated and valued.
Law/policy: A number of important legal and policy tools exist to support heritage conservation activities, restoration or even green restoration of existing heritage stock. The Local Government Act, the Community Charter and the Land Title Act together provide a suite of specific and more flexible tools for heritage and sustainability, for local government to take effective action. Approaches may be incentive-based or regulatory. Even the BC Building Code offers flexibility.
Local programs: Whether led by a local government on its own initiative or launched in tandem with a local society, programs can support and spur local action. Popular programs include heritage open house tours, heritage plaques and small grants to restore buildings to their “true” heritage colours.
The Reaction
People were keenly interested in this topic. Despite an early morning start, approximately 50 local government representatives attended our session, which ended with a lively Q&A session. West Coast had more detailed follow-up contact with at least three local governments. We were thrilled that local governments are interested, and hungry for resources. Our presentation was timely.
If you are interested…
If you are interested in finding out more about the connections between heritage and sustainability planning, please check out pages 51 to 54 of West Coast’s Green Buildings Guide, available free for download online at http://www.wcel.org/wcelpub/2006/14252.pdf. Heritage BC also has considerable information and resources available online, at http://www.heritagebc.ca. As well, the website of the Vancouver Heritage Foundation features many resources for the public, and provides information about granting programs, projects and events, at http://www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org.
Preserving heritage can, and should, entail a discussion of sustainability – and vice versa. The tools and resources are readily available to support your ideas – check them out!
– Susan Rutherford
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