Sea2City Vancouver
/ False Creek

The Sea2City Design Challenge (Sea2City) was created to inform a framework and vision to guide urban development and ecological revitalization in the False Creek floodplain, a highly valued and constrained urban floodplain in the heart of Vancouver.

Let’s get copy in this space here; describing False Creek a bit more and foregrounding the relevance of the design challenge. There is so much public history we can pull from to include in this section, which will help audiences gain a better understanding of why this water is so interesting and why something like a design challenge is a great way to engage communities in conversation about negotiating space (opposed to more top-down approaches from the 20th century.) The outer wall of Science World, for example, has a wonderful billboard infographic about the history of False Creek’s development including a timeline of the structural interventions made along its landscape. We have a great opportunity to ground and provoke readers here.

 

Design Challenge

The design challenge engages two multidisciplinary teams to work cooperatively:

  • Exploring coastal adaptation approaches that respond to the social equity, economic, and ecological challenges posed by sea level rise and coastal flooding.

  • Investigating coastal adaptation approaches for sea level rise beyond 1 meter.

  • Expanding the City’s toolbox of coastal flood management approaches.

  • Increasing public awareness of climate change and sea level rise.

Given the importance of False Creek to Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh, (how is it important) Sea2City is encouraging teams to develop approaches where adaptation and decolonization are operating in tandem and mutually beneficial (describe an example and/or include a quote that properly cites a Musqueam, Squamish and/or Tsleil-Waututh spokesperson / ambassador / thinker on the subject matter.)

What actually happened?

Let’s update this part:

Implementation will begin after the completion of Sea2City and will likely continue for several years recognizing the additional research, planning, technical design, and engagement that will be required to move coastal adaptation forward in such a complex urban floodplain as False Creek.

  • Vanessa Lueck

    COORDINATOR
    Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions

  • Kees Lokman

    PROJECT PRINCIPAL
    University of British Columbia

  • Stephanie Chang

    RESEARCHER
    University of British Columbia

  • Brent Doberstein

    RESEARCHER
    University of Waterloo

  • Andréanne Doyon

    RESEARCHER
    Simon Fraser University