According to a 2020 report by the Insurance Bureau of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, climate-resilient infrastructure provides a 6:1 return on investment, but many communities are struggling to not only implement, but also understand the process of utilizing green infrastructure to adapt to climate change. With so many communities now facing similar challenges including aging water infrastructure, vulnerability to flooding, and increasing urban heat islands it is vital to build local support for green infrastructure, which includes urban trees, rain gardens, wetlands, green roofs, and more.
In the new report, “Green Infrastructure for Climate Adaptation Visualization, Economic Analysis, and Recommendations for Six Ontario Communities”, the Ontario Parks Association (OPA) and Green Infrastructure Foundation (GIF) outline strategies to incorporate green infrastructure into climate adaptation plans, while achieving many other benefits and creating more livable communities. These strategies include creating multi-functional spaces like sports fields that are designed to flood in extreme conditions, incorporate job training into green infrastructure programs, and value green infrastructure as assets.
Six Ontario municipalities participated in the program - Barrie, Brampton, Guelph, London, Toronto, and Waterloo. It included training and charrettes, where participants redesigned development or redevelopment sites in their communities to scale using a menu of green infrastructure types. Aggregate economic analyses demonstrated the returns on these potential investments - in one case, a redesign of a site in Downtown Barrie, a $1.38 million dollar initial investment would pay back in 3.7 years, and over 50 years generates a positive net present value of $10.5 million, creating almost 60 job-years in construction and maintenance.
Conceptual redesign for the Dunlop Gateway Site in Downtown Barrie
Paul Ronan, the Executive Director of the Ontario Parks Association, commends the program: "Being able to provide municipalities with real-time training and a comprehensive understanding of the value of existing and planned green infrastructure projects has been very rewarding. The enthusiasm and interest in seeing the value of our tools will assist all participants to more accurately evaluate key components of existing and proposed developments.” For charrette participants, the charrettes were equally fulfilling. “The design charrette was particularly useful in providing a real-life case study to work through - bringing together professionals from a variety of backgrounds with the developer and consultant team - to identify green solutions for a particular site”, said Kristina Hausmanis, the Project Manager, Green Streets at the City of Toronto.
The program was completed as part of a Climate Adaptation Partners Grant Project funded by the Government of Canada through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.