Communities across North America have an enormous opportunity to benefit from neighbourhood-scale water and energy systems. Goals like reducing carbon emissions, improving energy efficiency, maximizing waste re-use, increasing resiliency, simplifying operation and maintenance, and decreasing cost have rapidly accelerated interest in this area.
This November, EcoDistricts will be hosting a 3-day intensive for teams looking to develop neighbourhood-scale systems. The District Energy + Water Academy will arm teams with the practical knowledge to assess, structure, and develop new projects. This intensive will be in Vancouver on Nov 2-4.
Over the three days, participants will hear world class practitioners speak, including Ian Gillespie, and Susanna Haas Lyons, and will learn from a range of case studies. They’ll take part in expert-driven implementation skills sessions, as well as tours of UBC’s Campus Energy Centre and the City of Vancouver’s Neighourhood Energy Utility.
We are excited to host the skills sessions to take participants through tailored training. Will Cleveland will be speaking to the art of screening and feasibility. Gerard MacDonald will talk to the tug-of war that pulls development between neighbourhood scale design vs individual building construction. Trent Berry will discuss the continuum of ownership models that can be tailored to meet each opportunity’s need.
As geeks and nerds when it comes to city building, we are excited to further our discussions on urban sustainability at the neighbourhood scale. We hope that this event will bring new colleagues to Vancouver to share in the discussion.
In parallel with DEWA, we are hosting an evening networking event on Nov 2nd with Kerr Wood Leidal and Dialog Design. If you’d like to join that event (registration for DEWA is not required), please contact us directly.
Keegan Balcom
