Pathways to Sustainable Mobility:Two examples at different scales

John RobinsonUniversity of British Columbia, Canada

Presentation atThe Third Conference on Future Urban Transport,sponsored by the Volvo Research and Educational

Foundations

Goteborg, SwedenApr 2-5, 2006

Outline

• Context: creating sustainable futures– the urban tsunami– The CIRS approach

• Two examples at different scales– MetroQuest: exploring regional

sustainability– CIRS sustainable mobility program

Rural-to-Urban Population Shift2005 - 2030

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Po

pu

lati

on

(b

illi

on

s)

2005 2030

Rural

Urban

Source: UN (2005)

The Urban Tsunami

The Sustainable DevelopmentImperative

10 challenges:

Clean air Housing

Clean water Jobs

Energy Health care

Land use Waste disposal

Transportation Human Security

Need for Urban InfrastructureNeed for Urban Infrastructure

Global Global envirenvir. services $500-1000 billion. services $500-1000 billion (GLOBE (GLOBE FndnFndn, 2003), 2003) per year per year

WB client countriesWB client countries $250 billion $250 billion (World Bank, 2002)(World Bank, 2002) per year per year

Asia-PacificAsia-Pacific $140 billion $140 billion (APEC, 1999)(APEC, 1999) per year per year

Centre for Interactive Research onSustainability

“AcceleratingSustainability”

CIRS Vision

To be the most innovative and high performancebuilding in North America and aninternationally recognized leader in acceleratingthe adoption of sustainable building and urbandevelopment practices.

The CIRS Opportunity

Part 1 - building design and operations

Part 2 - visualization, simulation and communityengagement

Part 3 - partnerships and strategies of regionalimplementation

To make Canada a world leader in threeinterconnected fields of appliedsustainability:

The Three Dimensions of CIRS

1. Building as Laboratory

2. Simulation and Visualization

3. BC Showcase

Science World Theatre

Landscape Immersion Lab

The Landscape Immersion Lab (LIL)

Immersion &InteractionTheatre

Community Engagement

Sustainable transportation: twoexamples at different scales

• QUEST: exploring sustainability at aregional/municipal scale

• The CIRS sustainable mobilityprogram

Make choicesabout…

…then see theconsequences instantly

visualize the future

identify tradeoffs

compare scenarios

Scenarioresults

Scenario names

The MetroQuest InterfaceScenarioquestions

Results of QUEST activities

• 6 cities; many workshops• City of Calgary: 100,000 users

projected• Significant effect on user

comprehension, mental models andviews of preferred futures

Sustainable transportation: twoexamples at different scales

• QUEST: exploring sustainability at aregional/municipal scale

• The CIRS sustainable mobilityprogram

Access CIRS: student project

Based on a proposed paradigm shift...

• from moving cars to moving people

• from mobility to accessibility

CIRS user profile

300 users• 70% full time

• 22% students

• 8% public

1. parking management2. transit passes3. car/ride sharing4. bicycle amenities5. enhanced pedestrian

connections6. amenity accessibility7. ‘smart’ principles

CIRS TDM Program

shared usepriority spaces for shared vehicles, rideshare& high-efficiency vehiclescomprehensive monitoring & pricingvariable pricingparking revenue to fund TDM programpermeable surfaces

1. Parking Management

2. Transit Passes

free transit for all CIRS users

separate programs forfrequent usersoccasional users

3-5 ‘smart’ vehiclespriority spaces for shared vehiclespriority parking spaces and/orreduced or waived fees for HOVsrequire all drivers to participate inJack Bell Rideshare databaseprovide an occasional subsidized ridehome to commuters who usealternative modes in the event of anemergency

3. Car/Ride Sharing

bike sharingbike facilities

secure storagehigh quality locker and shower facilitieson-site servicing / maintenance

potential for community bikeeducation

4. Bicycle Program

5. Pedestrian Connections

6. Amenities

monitorparking usagemode of travel for all users

7. Smart Principles

• tenant agreements• TDM coordinator• information access and

monitoring• program visibility

Program Implementation

Student work reworked by parkingconsultants & submitted to the CityNo underground parking in CIRSdevelopment permit application(saving of about $1 million)Expected reduction in surface parkingrequirements from 107 to about 20(savings of about $1 million in landcosts)

Results

Conclusions

• Sustainable urban transport is a multi-dimensional problem

• Critical to analyse alternatives• Need to engage stakeholders

At

multiple

scales• Principles are generic; local conditions

are specific• Key is developing partnerships aimed

at real-world solutions

Background slides

Pot

entia

l

Per

form

ance

Part A - Gapbetween

potential &performance

(e.g. engineeringestimates vs.

measuredperformance)

Addressing the gap betweenIntention & Action

Belief

Behaviour

Part B - Gapbetween

beliefs andbehaviours

(e.g. statedvalues and

goals vs. actualbehaviour)

Addressing the gap betweenIntention & Action

Implementation

Part C - Gapbetween policy and

implementation

Policy

(e.g. federal climatechange policy and

actual GHG emissions)

Addressing the gap betweenIntention & Action

Belief

Policy

Potential

Implementation

CIRSPerformance B

ehaviour

Addressing the gap betweenIntention & Action

Great Northern Way Campus

“work together, with governments, businesses,agencies and the City of Vancouver, to builda unique and integrated centre of excellencein teaching/learning, research andentrepreneurship,”

• Two themes:– Urban Sustainability– Transforming Arts and Culture (incl. digital

media)

Lot 6

880,395 sf

Lot 8

169,193 sf

Lot 7

353,654 sf

Lot 9

0 sf

Lot 3

251,243 sf

Lot 4

276,505 sf

Lot 5

707,597 sf

Land Area: 8.9 ha (22 acres; 957,000 sq. ft.)

Allowable Buildable Area: 2,937,000 sq. ft.

Lot 2

300,000 sf

Great Northern Way Campus

CIRS

Great Northern Way Campus

The CIRS Research Program

Cluster A - Sustainable Building Design andOperation (UBC, BCIT, ECIAD)

Cluster B –Community Engagement Tools andProcesses (UBC, SFU, ECIAD, BCIT)

Cluster C – Sustainability Implementation andStrategies (SFU, UBC, BCIT, ECIAD)

The Three Dimensions of CIRS

1. Building as Laboratory

2. Simulation and Visualization

3. BC Showcase

• Integrated and paperless design• Sustainable mobility program• Positive environmental impact• GHG neutral• Little mechanical ventilation/cooling• Net energy producer*• 100% daylighting• 100% rainwater• Zero liquid waste• Zero Solid Waste• Sustainable building materials• Healthy air quality• Supermonitoring; adaptive controls

CIRS Sustainable Design Goals

Continuous

research:

- technical

- behavioural

The CIRS Building Concept

Improving the Local

and Global

Environment

The CIRS Building Concept

Improving the

Human Environment

The CIRS Building Concept

Cost-effective and

Adaptive

The CIRS Building Concept

Programming at CIRS

• On-site Sustainability MBA

• Sustainability Trades Programming

• Community Service Learning

• University Courses

The Three Dimensions of CIRS

1. Building as Laboratory

2. Simulation and Visualization

3. BC Showcase

Showcasing SustainableDevelopment in BC

• Identify handful of areas of comparativeadvantage in SD in BC

• Create new forms of partnership to makethem happen on the ground in this region:create Showcase

• Use Showcase as springboard for penetratingglobal market in SD technology and services

Xantrex Envision

SGI

NRC

NRCan

ICSC

FCC

DSF

GVRD

Vancouver

Noram

Telus

Siemens

Vancity

Haworth

Terasen

BC Hydro

The Sustainability Mosaic

solar simulation

datamgmt

Industrialecology

energypolicy

urban design

fuel cells

offsets

standards

codes

biodiesel

IT

controls

finance

interiors

utility

DSM

The Sustainability Mosaic

solar simulation

datamgmt

industrialecology

energy policy

urban design

fuel cells

offsets

standards

codes

biodiesel

IT

controls

finance

interiors

utility

DSM

The Sustainability Mosaic

solar simulation

datamgmt

industrialecology

energy policy

urban design

FCC

DSF

standards

codes

biodiesel

IT

controls

finance

interiors

utility

DSM

The Sustainability Mosaic

Partners share a common mission:Accelerating SD practices in BC

Public, private andNGO sector tenants,and researchers are

co-located to facilitatecollaboration

Prospective tenants

• UBC, BCIT, ECIAD, SFU (inter-institutional partners)• BC Hydro*• Terasen Utility Services*• NRC – Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation*• Fuel Cells Canada*• Envision Sustainability Tools*• International Centre for Sustainable Cities*• Windmill Development• VanCity• Natural Resources Canada (Geological Survey of Canada)• The City of Vancouver—Sustainability Group

* Signed non-binding letters of intent; others are under development

Vancouver Sustainability Precinct

Science World Outdoor Science

Experience Park (OSE)

Great Northern Way Campus

South East False Creeks

CIRS

City of Vancouver – SustainabilityPrecinct

• A multi-dimensionalenergy micro-gridsystem

• Multiple stakeholdersinvolved in all sectors

• 500 acre downtownbrownfield (several millionsquare feet of development innext 10 years)

• Potential components:– District scale alternative

heating grid with multipledistributed sources

– Electricity micro-grid withmultiple renewable andclean sources – includingnet-metering to grid forpeak shaving

– Municipal UtilityCorporation to manage thesystem and expand itacross city

Three Outcomes

• World leadership in three critical areas ofsustainability research

– Technology, behaviour, and policy/investment

• Real progress on sustainability in the region– Create ‘sustainability precinct’ in Vancouver

• Enormous export potential– Incubator for entering a trillion dollar market

CIRS Schedule

• Schematic Design Jan 2006• Design Development Feb-Apr 06• Design Charettes Feb-Apr 06• Devel. Permit Application Mar 2006• Working Drawings Apr-Oct 06*• Excavation July 2006*• Substantial Completion early 2008• Occupancy spring 2008• Total Completion early 2009

* Require UBC Board of Governors approval

Economic Analysis

63%63%73%73%83%83%

• CIRS Passes for– all frequent users (70% of 300)• cost to user: $0• cost shared between developer

and tenant

# of users 300 % paid bydeveloper 50%

% usersneeding pass 70%

annual cost todeveloper $63,000

# of passes 210 NPV (20Years)$722,605(@ 6%)

cost per pass $50Opportunity

Cost-100spaces

$2,138,841(@ 6%)

occasional userprogram

transit rebates for one-timeusersindividual transit tickets forshort-term coursesevent tickets valid as transitpasses

Transit Passes