The Scholars Project Library contents hundreds of reports, charts, tool-kits, and more, documenting the applied research produced since 2011. A useful body of knowledge to support further research around sustainability.

This guidebook offers strategies for mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) effect in UBC Vancouver neighbourhoods. It highlights nature-based and engineered solutions to enhance outdoor shading, reduce cooling demands, and support sustainable transportation use during extreme heat. Offering recommendations and actionable insights, the guidebook serves as a resource to UBC planners & architects, UNA staff, and residents working to build climate-resilience within existing and future neighbourhoods.

Partner: UBC
Funder: BC Hydro
Keywords: climate adaptation, climate resilience, green infrastructure, urban heat island, nature-based solutions

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2024
Tabitha Kennedy

This report equips practitioners with innovative approaches for mapping water scarcity in British Columbia, with a particular focus on Indigenous communities. Integrating global best practices with local context, it emphasizes enhancing community engagement, investing in data collection infrastructure, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration. By adopting these strategies, partners can create accurate, culturally sensitive water scarcity maps that support sustainable water management.

Partner: Fraser Basin Council Society
Funder: Fraser Basin Council Society
Keywords: climate resilience, equity, diversity, inclusion, water, Indigenous Communities

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2024
Upandha Udalagama

The Maplewood Flats Conservation Area is home to sixteen ecosystems in 256 acres. The site's ecosystems are at risk of being lost due to rising sea levels and flooding. This project mapped the ecosystems at Maplewood Flats and modeled inundation levels on site to better understand its impacts. Finally, the plants, topography, ecosystem zones, and inundation were graphically depicted in sections. Drawing on this information the reoprt suggests areas for coastal adaptation strategies and pilot projects.

Partner: UBC
Funder: UBC (Sitka Foundation Grant)
Keywords: biodiversity, climate adaptation, climate resilience, water 

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2024
Samuel Kohlmann

This project assesses the economic impact of Vancouver's Community Benefit Agreements policy by examining policy evaluation tools and determining a multiplier to capture the policy's effects. The project would be used as a reference for the economic development department at the City of Vancouver to discuss with the City council.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver
Keywords: equity, diversity, inclusion, social sustainability 

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2024
Yanghongxuan Yu

This project aims to evaluate how community gardens in Vancouver's parks and city-managed lands contribute to fostering community and climate resilience. It develops a methodology for assessing how gardens impact these goals. The findings emphasize the diversity and adaptability of gardens in promoting resilience, equity, and justice. There is no single model that fits all gardens, as each prioritizes different aspects and reflects the unique needs of the communities it serves.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver & UBC
Keywords: biodiversity, equity, diversity, inclusion, food systems 

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2024
Sophia Ngai

This project focuses on enhancing accessibility at rapid transit stations and plazas in Vancouver for a more comfortable, convenient, and safe experience for all users. It proposes a toolkit of design interventions aimed at improving accessibility within transit stations. The enhancements specifically target users with diverse disabilities, such as visual, auditory, and cognitive impairments, aiming to foster inclusive and equitable experiences throughout Vancouver's transit infrastructure.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver & UBC
Keywords: active transportation, equity, diversity, inclusion, green infrastructure 

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2024
Lea Papillon

This report outlines a policy framework to reduce embodied carbon in new Multi-Unit Residential Buildings (MURBs) in the City of Victoria. It aims to align with the city's sustainability goals by promoting efficient design, innovative urban planning, and sustainable material use. Key recommendations include adopting carbon reporting, revising parking policies, prioritizing carbon-efficient designs, and incentivizing reductions through development charges and permitting fee adjustments.

Partner: City of Victoria
Funder: UBC (Environment and Climate Change Canada, Pathways Grant)
Keywords: green buildings, land use planning, low carbon buildings, waste management & recycling 

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2024
Simarjeet Nagpal

Non-road engines (NREs), operating primarily on diesel fuel, significantly contribute to air pollution in the Metro Vancouver region. Effectively controlling emissions from NREs depends on a thorough understanding and accounting of the different types of sources, engine population, and type. This report develops a methodology for disaggregating provincial-level NRE emissions inventory to produce an emissions inventory from NREs in Metro Vancouver using R programming.

Partner: Metro Vancouver
Funder: Metro Vancouver
Keywords: climate mitigation, transportation 

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2024
Rudri Bhatt

In anticipation of regional population growth, this project quantitatively evaluates the benefits of Transit-Oriented Communities as a sustainable approach to urban expansion, compared to the traditional approach of greenfield development. Includes case studies of six neighbourhoods across Metro Vancouver, assessing common design elements and strengths/challenges to sustainable transportation. Two development typologies are compared based on their environmental, social, and economic outcomes.

Partner: TransLink
Funder: TransLink (South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority)
Keywords: active transportation, land use planning, sustainable development & green economy, transportation 

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2024
Svetlana Zdero

This project aims to identify a holistic indicator to evaluate social sustainability and quality of life, aligned with the City of Vancouver's equity, reconciliation, and accessibility goals. The objective is to provide a clear, evidence-based assessment of whether Vancouver is evolving into a healthier city overall. Additionally, this indicator is envisioned to serve as a benchmarking tool for comparing progress across global and Canadian cities.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver
Keywords: equity, diversity, inclusion, social sustainability 

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2024
Mana Mohebbian

This project explores the feasibility of implementing passive water storage on agricultural land to mitigate flood risk in the context of climate change. It analyzes two examples of passive water storage tools, offering recommendations for further research to ensure their viability in the Fraser Valley. The report examines the governance frameworks and funding mechanisms that may support or hinder the integration of these strategies into British Columbia's floodplain management practices.

Partner: Emergency Planning Secretariat (EPS)
Funder: UBC (Sitka Foundation Grant)
Keywords: climate resilience, climate mitigation, land use planning, governance

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2024
Megan Parno

The project aims to document existing climate research partnerships between UBC and Indigenous communities, collectives, and organizations in the Downtown Eastside and understand the strengths and weaknesses of such partnerships as they already exist. The project goals were met through an extensive desktop review and semi-structured interviews with UBC researchers and representatives from community organizations.

Partner: UBC
Funder: UBC (McConnell Foundation Grant)
Keywords: climate adaptation, climate resilience, equity, diversity, inclusion, social sustainability 

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2024
Meghna Chatterjee

The project focuses on building a centralized online knowledge base for extreme heat preparedness in Vancouver. The resource categorizes strategies from various organizations to address heat risks to foster collaboration, reduce duplication, and enhance policy advocacy, ultimately supporting vulnerable populations in the face of extreme heat events. This resource will be periodically updated to ensure it remains a dynamic tool to access the latest information on heat preparedness measures.

Partner: Women Transforming Cities International Society
Funder: UBC (McConnell Foundation Grant)
Keywords: climate resilience, equity, diversity, inclusion, social sustainability, heat resilience

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2024
Radhika Singh

This project aims to evaluate the condition of habitat availability for Out Migrating Juvenile Salmon in the Lower Fraser Estuary. Using a GIS methodology the project uses existing habitat, shoreline conditions, and land use as the base of the analysis. A final series of maps shows the results of habitat availability and accessibility. The results aim to hopefully support future habitat restoration projects to better support Salmon in the Lower Fraser River and Estuary.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: UBC (Sitka Foundation Grant)
Keywords: biodiversity, climate resilience, ecological systems, water 

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2024
Diego Lozano

The project developed a custom evaluation framework and methodology to assess the impact of Minivillage's community-building model. The final evaluation blends learnings from academic research and community engagement to include 14 well-being indicators and 7 commercial indicators to measure the social and financial impact of Minivillage's approach. The evaluation supports continued and shared learning so Minivillage can continue to adapt its approach to best meet the needs of communities.

Partner: Minivillage Group Inc.
Funder: Minivillage Group Inc.
Keywords: climate resilience, social sustainability, social connectedness, well-being, community resilience 

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2024
Paige Cummings

This report assesses the equity impacts of the City of Vernon's shared e-scooter program. It reviews North American policies and evaluates local data to determine the program's effectiveness in serving underserved communities. Findings show that trips are more frequent in equity-seeking neighbourhoods with better walking and transit accessibility. The report concludes with recommendations for enhancing equity, including targeted outreach, joint requirements, and continuous data-driven evaluation.

Partner: City of Vernon  
Funder: City of Vernon  
Keywords: active transportation, equity, diversity, inclusion, transportation 

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2024
Elmira Berjisian

This project summarises bank erosion issues, along with the different techniques used to stabilize riverbanks in British Columbia. The problems with an over-reliance upon "hard engineering" techniques are outlined, along with the importance of alternative methods (e.g., revegetation and bioengineering) that reduce erosion and floods, while also supporting healthy river habitats. Included are management recommendations based upon both the academic literature and a practitioner workshop.

Partner: Resilient Waters
Funder: UBC (Sitka Foundation Grant)
Keywords: climate adaptation, climate resilience, green infrastructure, water 

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2024
Charlotte Milne

This project investigates citizen science, or community-based science, as a method for monitoring Canadian mini forests, including those planted in the Fraser Estuary. Monitoring mini forests is important for understanding the impacts of this novel approach to urban greening, including determining the benefits to urban biodiversity, water infiltration, and soil health. The report includes a citizen science monitoring guide, protocol instructions, and monitoring tracking sheets for volunteer use.

Partner: Green Communities Canada
Funder: UBC (Sitka Foundation Grant)
Keywords: biodiversity, climate resilience, green infrastructure 

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2024
Kylie Clark

The purpose of this project is to provide a high-level summary of laws governing sea level rise adaptation and nature-based solutions in B.C. This report explores the questions: What barriers exist within the current regulatory regime that hamper the implementation of nature-based solutions along the south coast of B.C.? What sort of conceptual framing of these issues can allow for policy change?

Partner: UBC (Living With Water)
Funder: UBC (Sitka Foundation Grant)
Keywords: climate adaptation, climate resilience, equity, diversity, inclusion, green infrastructure 

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2024
Jessie Gomberg

This project involves the development of a covered building list for the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) to use as a foundation for a proposed energy reporting bylaw requiring existing building owners to report energy usage to RMOW for the purpose of establishing GHG benchmarks and promoting low-energy retrofits. Includes recommendations for making the production of future iterations of covered building lists more accessible, seamless, and efficient.

Partner: Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW)
Funder: BC Hydro
Keywords: climate adaptation, land use planning, low carbon buildings 

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2024
Forrest Paul

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