City of Langford hosted second event in the 2008 Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation on Vancouver Island Series

 Bridging Engineering and Planning

The focus of Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation in the City of Langford was on how to create neighbourhoods that integrate both good planning and innovative engineering designs, for overall greater sustainability, that is: environmental, social and economic. The City collaborated with Westhills to showcase the Westhills Green Community which will comprise 6000 new residential units at full build-out. Westhills was one of the first Canadian pilots for LEED Neighbourhood Development.

Learn by Doing: At the heart of the City’s approach to innovation is its corporate philosophy for managing risk, learning by doing, and adapting quickly to new information and changing circumstances.

"A corporate culture that is willing to accept and then manage risk with regards to infrastructure standards can open the door to creativity, innovation – and its rewards," John Manson, City Engineer, told the Showcasing audience. "Langford has a tradition of adapting quickly to new information and changing circumstances."

Rapid Adaptation: "Langford's new Official Community Plan, developed within a unique sub-regional planning process, is highly strategic rather than prescriptive," adds Emilie Adin, the City's Deputy Planner. "The Official Community Plan supports Langford's vision for flexibility and rapid adaptation to new ecological and social imperatives." 

Sense of Community:  Westhills is British Columbia's largest LEED-Neighbourhood Development pilot project. "Westhills has design lements and community initiatives that create and nuture a strong sense of community; and a plan that incorporates leading-edge environmental technologies," stated Darlene Tait, speaking on behlaf of Westhills. "The project integrates the principles of smart growth, new urbanism and green buildings into a system for neighbourhood design."

To Learn More: A set of six web stories posted on the Water Bucket website elaborate on the program content. To access those stories and learn more, click here.

To download a document that consolidates the six Water Bucket stories under one cover, click on the following link to the Summary Report on Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation in the City of Langford.