Our Work: 2025 By-Election Candidate Survey (Updated): Question 6

6. There are lots of ways that public space planning can support climate-related objectives, including: protecting and planting street trees; initiatives to support walking, rolling and biking; and the restoration and enhancement of local ecosystems. How do climate matters align with your public space priorities?

Guy DUBÉ (100) - More walkable neighbourhoods, once people are at home they should have the chance to explore the area they live in without having to get in the car. I would love to see a Front Yard Farming Program. Let’s encourage everyone to plant gardens, from front yards to parks to boulevards.

Karin LITZCKE (101) - I do not feel that regulating global climate should be a primary driver of city decision-making, although I do feel strongly that creating a comfortable climate on our streets should be a priority. At our latitude, for 9 months of the year, that mostly means ensuring that people can get some sunshine while they are out on the street, for both mental and physical health.

I am a big fan of trees, but in the city, I advocate for tree turnover because it must be recognized that trees can become too big for urban spaces.

In Stanley Park, however, a different approach is needed. Stanley Park is a forest ecosystem, and as such plays a unique role in the city’s climate and air quality, as well as in its recreational opportunities. The current logging operation in the park seems excessive and counterproductive.

That Stanley Park is being logged while homeowners are denied permits to remove trees, even nuisance trees, is an inconsistency in policy-making that demands further scrutiny.

Jeanifer DECENA (106) - Climate change is an urgent crisis, and our public spaces play a key role in how we adapt and mitigate its effects. The way we design and maintain our parks, streets, and plazas has a direct impact on our environment, our health, and our ability to create a sustainable city.

To align public space priorities with climate goals, I would focus on:

• Expanding and protecting green spaces – More trees, more parks, and more natural habitats. Trees reduce urban heat, improve air quality, and absorb carbon dioxide. Every neighborhood should have accessible green spaces that serve as climate buffers.
• Sustainable public space design – Adding solar-powered lighting, water refill stations, and waste management systems that encourage recycling and composting.
• Encouraging active transportation – Investing in infrastructure that supports walking, cycling, and public transit. Well-designed, safe pedestrian and cycling paths reduce car dependency, cutting down on emissions.
• Flood and heat mitigation – Climate change is increasing extreme weather events. Our public spaces should have rainwater collection systems to reduce urban flooding, and shaded areas with benches and misting stations to help people stay cool during heat waves.

Vancouver has a responsibility to lead in urban sustainability, and public spaces are where we can see real, tangible change in our climate response. These spaces should not only be beautiful and functional but also be part of the solution in building a greener, more resilient city.

Sean ORR (108) - We need to meet and exceed our climate targets. If we don’t we’ll face worsening climate events, freak storms, deadly heat waves, and as things get worse, increasing food insecurity. We need to put the climate crisis front and centre in everything we do- including in the advancement of public spaces and community commons.

It was really disappointing to see Ken Sim and ABC squash the West End Waterfront plan that includes mitigation efforts against climate change. I’m also deeply concerned about how the impacts of climate change are distributed in a way that reflects historic patterns of inequality. For example, how the East Side of Vancouver has magnitudes less shade and green spaces.

Colleen HARDWCK (109) & Theodore ABBOTT (110) - Resilient City planning includes avoiding and mitigating heat island effects by expanded tree planting, mature tree protections, retention, and enhancement of green space.

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