Vancouver, Canada To Host Ecocity World Summit 2019 In October

OLATUNBOSUN BABAJIDE JOSEPH

 

Located on Vancouver’s downtown waterfront with a dramatic mountain backdrop, the world’s first double LEED® Platinum certified convention centre, the award-winning Vancouver Convention Centre will play host to the 2019 edition of Ecocity World Summit from 7-11 October, 2019.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the Ecocity World Summit is the longest-standing international Summit that addresses building cities in balance with nature. It is a biennial event involving over 1,000 delegates from around the world with the first Summit held in Berkeley, USA in 1990 with the purpose of bringing together bright minds to share knowledge on ecological and sustainable city designs.

Ecocity Builders, a non-profit corporation, has since been convening Summits in different locations around the globe such as Abu Dhabi, UAE in 2015 and Melbourne, Australia in 2017.

This year, the Summit will be hosted by the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in collaboration with the City of Vancouver and Tourism Vancouver at the Vancouver Convention Centre West.

P.M.EXPRESS understands that within BCIT, the School of Construction and the Environment, will be taking the lead to convene the Summit program. Ecocity 2019 will consist of keynote and guest speakers, presentations and local field trips highlighting features of sustainable city design, construction and operation.

The 2019 Summit will bring focus to the International Ecocity Standards (IES) which were developed through a decade-long partnership between Ecocity Builders and BCIT School of Construction and the Environment. The IES has 18 standards pertaining to sustainable urban living grouped under Urban design, Bio-geophysical conditions, Socio-cultural features and Ecological imperatives

According to the organisers, each day of the 2019 Summit will highlight one of these four topics in order to promote the understanding and development of Socially Just and Ecologically Sustainable Cities.
The 2019 Ecocity World Summit brings together a diverse mix of researchers, policy makers, city-building professionals, business innovators, and civil society leaders who share a commitment to creating socially just and ecologically sustainable cities. Join participants from over 75 countries to explore solutions and opportunities to reshape cities to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect natural habitat, create urban spaces to enable access to employment, shelter and services at any income level.

The first two days dedicated to workshops, field trips and academic sessions. The following three days, comprising the main conference program, will engage academics, practitioners and other interested parties in the Summit theme of “Socially Just and Ecologically Sustainable Cities.”

Jennie Moore, Director, Institute Sustainability, BCIT