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Moderator: Neil MacEachern

Metrotown Masterplan: Private Sector Leadership in Climate Resilient Community Development

Presenters: Shane O'Hanlon and Graeme Silvera

The Metrotown Master plan is visionary. The staged renewal and reconstruction of Metrotown Mall over the upcoming decades is an historic opportunity to reimagine a significant part of Burnaby’s downtown using the latest thinking in sustainable buildings,  while increasing resilience to our rapidly changing climate and regenerating local ecosystems. To do this a bespoke Sustainability and Resilience strategy was developed.

This session will be a presentation exploring the three pillars of this strategy (social, environmental and economic) through a lens of resilience, considering future climate projections and their associated impacts, and how they’ve been woven throughout the plan. Some strategies can be applied immediately and others are medium-term or long-term, and a number of the strategies will be examined in detail in the presentation.

A Small Business Disaster Resilience Study with Implications for Adaptation Planning across Geographies and Sectors 

Presenter: Jon Philipsborn

Adaptation planning often focuses on sectors such as power, water and transportation; however, other critical community components require attention due to their importance and role in climate resilience and disaster recovery. A small business (SME) disaster resilience study was completed along six corridors in New Orleans. Over 200 SMEs were surveyed on prior extreme weather experience, risk awareness, preparedness and ability to recover. Results were analyzed and recommendations developed at the business, corridor and city level. Education and engagement were key components: communication with SMEs occurred through in-person surveys, informational material and corridor-specific trainings. 

Data on preparedness to current and future hazards is lacking. This presentation will review the SME resilience study’s methodology, results and recommendations. Discussion will include a call for this approach to be applied to SMEs in different cities, as well as tailored for sector specific analysis across other sectors underrepresented in climate adaptation and disaster resilience.