The City of Vancouver
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The City of Vancouver is the largest municipality in British Columbia, Canada. It has a population of approximately 603, 500 (City of Vancouver 2014) and is located on the south west coast of BC.
The City of Vancouver was selected for this Case Study due to the many distinct similarities shared between the two cities.
The City of Vancouver, like Sydney, are both coastal cities with a strong relationship with its harbour and coastline. Within the City, there are over 25,000 people living and working within 300m of the shoreline.
The Geography of Vancouver, again similar to Sydney, is bound on three sides by water and is located on a narrow, intensely developed peninsula. The two cities also share a similar history both being former British Colonies with extensive trade networks to the Pacific Rim (Marshall 2001).
The two respective countries that the cities are located within also share a similar political system under a Westminster system and a constitutional monarchy. Therefore the governments of the City of Vancouver and the City of Sydney can be seen as equivalent both being at the local council government level.
Demographically, the City of Vancouver, like Sydney culturally and ethnically diverse with a large portion of residents from non-English speaking backgrounds. It is home to the third largest Chinatown in North America, as well as as numerous ethnic neighbourhoods such as Little Italy and Little India.
Both Vancouver and Sydney consistently rank in the top 10 most liveable cities in the world across various rankings and sources.
The City of Vancouver, having been built close to water, is also exposed to great risks from rising sea levels caused by climate change. This is evident in a 2008 Report produced by the OECD, listing Vancouver as the 15th out of 136 large port cities in terms of the value of assets exposed to the threat of sea level rise (City of Vancouver 2011).
The City of Vancouver, having been built close to water, is also exposed to great risks from rising sea levels caused by climate change. This is evident in a 2008 Report produced by the OECD, ranking Vancouver as the 15th most at risk city in the world according to the value of assets exposed to the threat of rising sea levels (City of Vancouver 2011).
The predicted damages due to an increase of 0.28m to 0.85m in sea level by over this century in British Columbia is estimated to be between around $2 billion to $8 billion by 2050, with a large portion of it coming from the City of Vancouver and the greater Metro Vancouver areas.
They also estimated over $25 billion worth of property would be heavily affected while the implementation costs of protect such as sea walls, flood gates or dykes that will be required is estimated to range from around $250 million to $500 million (City of Vancouver 2011)
The City of Vancouver was selected for this Case Study due to the many distinct similarities shared between the two cities.
The City of Vancouver, like Sydney, are both coastal cities with a strong relationship with its harbour and coastline. Within the City, there are over 25,000 people living and working within 300m of the shoreline.
The Geography of Vancouver, again similar to Sydney, is bound on three sides by water and is located on a narrow, intensely developed peninsula. The two cities also share a similar history both being former British Colonies with extensive trade networks to the Pacific Rim (Marshall 2001).
The two respective countries that the cities are located within also share a similar political system under a Westminster system and a constitutional monarchy. Therefore the governments of the City of Vancouver and the City of Sydney can be seen as equivalent both being at the local council government level.
Demographically, the City of Vancouver, like Sydney culturally and ethnically diverse with a large portion of residents from non-English speaking backgrounds. It is home to the third largest Chinatown in North America, as well as as numerous ethnic neighbourhoods such as Little Italy and Little India.
Both Vancouver and Sydney consistently rank in the top 10 most liveable cities in the world across various rankings and sources.
The City of Vancouver, having been built close to water, is also exposed to great risks from rising sea levels caused by climate change. This is evident in a 2008 Report produced by the OECD, listing Vancouver as the 15th out of 136 large port cities in terms of the value of assets exposed to the threat of sea level rise (City of Vancouver 2011).
The City of Vancouver, having been built close to water, is also exposed to great risks from rising sea levels caused by climate change. This is evident in a 2008 Report produced by the OECD, ranking Vancouver as the 15th most at risk city in the world according to the value of assets exposed to the threat of rising sea levels (City of Vancouver 2011).
The predicted damages due to an increase of 0.28m to 0.85m in sea level by over this century in British Columbia is estimated to be between around $2 billion to $8 billion by 2050, with a large portion of it coming from the City of Vancouver and the greater Metro Vancouver areas.
They also estimated over $25 billion worth of property would be heavily affected while the implementation costs of protect such as sea walls, flood gates or dykes that will be required is estimated to range from around $250 million to $500 million (City of Vancouver 2011)
The following section will analyse the various Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies implemented by the City of Vancouver to address the issue of sea level rise due to climate change:
Reference List
City of Vancouver 2014, Population, viewed 21 August 2015, <http://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/population.aspx>
City of Vancouver 2012,Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, viewed 21 August 2015,<http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/Vancouver-Climate-Change-Adaptation-Strategy-2012-11-07.pdf>
Marshall, R. (ed.) 2001 Waterfronts in Post-Industrial Cities, Spon Press, New York
City of Vancouver 2012,Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, viewed 21 August 2015,<http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/Vancouver-Climate-Change-Adaptation-Strategy-2012-11-07.pdf>
Marshall, R. (ed.) 2001 Waterfronts in Post-Industrial Cities, Spon Press, New York