About Campus Vision 2050

Campus Vision 2050 involves input from the community through: 

• Broad community engagement, including open houses, community meetings and on-line engagement through tools such as surveys.
• Targeted engagement (e.g., with Musqueam, UNA Board, Community Advisory Committee and others).
  
  

Inputs received through these channels will be documented and shared as follows:

• Engagement summary reports, including analysis and summaries of all engagement feedback as well as verbatim comments, will be completed after each engagement period and shared with the Board of Governors and the community via the Campus Vision 2050 website.
• Meeting minutes of the Community Advisory Committee will be posted on the Campus Vision 2050 website. 
• Submissions to Board of Governors meetings (including information, recommendations, etc. along with engagement feedback and full engagement summary report) will be posted publicly on the UBC Board of Governors website (approx. one week in advance of Board meetings), and linked to from the Campus Vision 2050 website.
   

Campus Vision 2050 also involves technical analysis and studies (i.e., land use capacity, growth assumptions, existing conditions and analysis of proposed options against the principles, strategies and criteria). Results of technical studies and analysis will inform the development and testing of options and be available to advisory committees and groups throughout the process and will be posted on the Campus Vision 2050 website.

Campus Vision 2050 engagement is designed to be transparent, inclusive, equitable, and flexible to understand and respond to the multiple interests in UBC’s academic and neighbourhood lands that need to be considered. These interests include Musqueam, campus Indigenous communities, students, faculty, residents, staff, alumni and visitors. 

A set of guiding Principles and Strategies will be developed that reflect these interests and values. Along with quantitative and qualitative criteria they will then guide the development and testing of options for the Visioning process and to assess trade-offs and choices for how the university uses its lands to best respond to the complexity of interests, needs and values.
 Examples of criteria include:

• Urban Structure and Ecology (e.g., land use distribution and integration, transportation and mobility network capacity, amenities and services distribution, ecological connectivity, climate resiliency)
• Character and Urban Design (e.g., Musqueam and campus indigenous community values, sense of place and campus fit, human-scale urban design, cultural diversity & community experience, green and open space diversity and connectivity)
• Financial Support to Advance University Priorities (e.g., amount, type and tenure of affordable housing for the UBC community; support for academic excellence; community amenities & infrastructure; and bringing SkyTrain to UBC)

There will be interests and values that align, and there may be some that are in conflict. While full consensus may not be achievable on outcomes, the intent is to make the trade-offs and choices clear to the community through transparent information and participatory engagement in the process, and to the UBC Board of Governors when making decisions. 

Enhancing ecology and biodiversity are critical to campus sustainability, climate resilience, ecological health and human wellbeing. Campus Vision 2050 will explore future land use and development in ways that minimize impact on existing natural areas (e.g., through more land-efficient, compact development oriented around a network of green and open spaces), applying green infrastructure approaches to mimic natural systems and address downstream impacts (e.g., green streets, integrated rainwater management) and enhance ecological connectivity both within the campus as well as to the surrounding peninsula.

UBC continues to implement our 2014 Transportation Plan for the Vancouver campus, which articulates a range of targets, policies and actions aimed at improving the experience of people of all abilities travelling to, from and around campus while encouraging the use of sustainable modes (primarily walking, cycling and transit). Recent and upcoming initiatives include: completion of the new UBC Bus Exchange in 2019; continuation of the campus-wide bike share program operated by HOPR since 2019; new secure bike parking and end-of-trip facilities; ongoing public realm improvements across campus; a growing network of dedicated cycling facilities and wayfinding; other sustainable transportation programs and partnerships (e.g. vanpool program, strategic partnerships with carshare and ride-hailing providers, new ride-matching and trip-planning tools, etc.). UBC will continue to integrate universal design principles at all stages of planning and development processes, ensure barrier-free accessible parking, and deliver programs (like the Accessibility Shuttle) to ensure people can participate equally in campus life regardless of their physical, sensory or cognitive abilities.

UBC’s Climate Action Plan 2030 added a new commuting-related GHG emission reduction target (45% below 2010 levels by 2030) and a suite of immediate and near-term actions. These include: strengthening remote learning and working policies and supports; enhancing our sustainable transportation program offerings; eliminating longer-term parking permits that incentivize driving; introducing a faculty/staff transit pass discount program; improving the cycling experience to and from campus; and working towards an integrated e-bike share program with the City of Vancouver. The anticipated Neighbourhood Climate Action Plan will identify related actions specific to neighbourhoods.

The Millennium Line UBC Extension is critical to achieving our sustainable mode share, single-occupancy vehicle reduction, and commuting-related emission targets.

Campus Vision 2050 will reinforce the need to strengthen connectivity within the campus and to the broader region, prioritizing active and sustainable modes and planning for the arrival of SkyTrain to campus. It is anticipated that an updated UBC Vancouver Transportation Plan will follow Campus Vision 2050.

UBC has developed Climate Ready Building Requirements based on regional climate modelling scenarios to address the increasing severity and duration of climate events. This includes measures to address thermal comfort during heat waves, rainwater management facilities and new landscaping design guidelines that identify plantings that withstands greater extremes associated with intense rain and drought events.

UBC’s Climate Action Plan 2030 also identifies the need to develop a broader climate adaptation, resiliency and biodiversity strategy which will be initiated this year and will be integrated closely with the development of Campus Vision 2050.

UBC is committed to significantly reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. This includes the recently approved Climate Action Plan 2030 for the academic campus, which commits to an 85% reduction in operational emissions. UBC is also in the early planning phase for a Neighbourhood Climate Action Plan that will update the existing 2013 Community Energy and Emission Plan. It will include actions to address a broad range of neighbourhood activities, including energy, new and existing buildings, transportation, and waste.

As an input for Neighbourhood Climate Action Plan work, UBC is developing a Neighbourhood Low Carbon Energy Strategy (NLCES). The NLCES is focused on future developments and neighbourhoods. It will address how UBC can achieve resilient and low carbon developments by defining 1) a low carbon roadmap with targets and pathways for new developments; and 2) the optimal low carbon energy source, considering cost-competitiveness and environmental objectives.

The NLCES is shaped by UBC’s existing land use rules and legal agreements, including for neighbourhood district energy. It also includes detailed scenario analysis comparing different technical solutions including approaches to BC Energy Step Code adoption. As a largely technical exercise it does not include any public engagement. The process started in mid-2021 and is expected to conclude in fall 2022.

NLCES results will inform the upcoming Neighbourhood Climate Action Plan process, which will include engagement with a wide range of stakeholders including the UNA and broader public. The NLCES also links in with Campus Vision 2050 through the Climate Action theme.

Like Census data, Canadian Housing Statistics Program data is valuable and poses challenges for UBC's campus. Andy Yan's analysis relied on 2018 data and showed that 49% of condominium units in Metro Vancouver's Electoral Area A are non-owner-occupied. Non-owner-occupied condominium units could include many situations on UBC's campus: a student's family who has purchased a home while studying at UBC, newly built units not yet occupied, and units owned and rented to UBC's community. UBC monitors rental market and other data sources to assess campus housing occupancy. Census housing data released later in 2022 will provide additional information.

Census data is valuable and also poses challenges for UBC's campus. For example, the category "not occupied by usual residents" includes 1) dwellings unoccupied on census day (May 11, 2021) and 2) dwellings occupied with someone who has a primary residence elsewhere in Canada or abroad. The first group includes vacant rental units, of which UBC had many during the height of the COVID pandemic, and newly built campus buildings not yet occupied. The second group includes students who have their usual residence with their parents off campus. As a result, UBC is likely to have a higher percentage of units "not occupied by usual residents" than other jurisdictions. Through the Housing Action Plan update, UBC is exploring other potential data sources to assess campus occupancy, such as provincial Speculation and Vacancy Tax data for UBC neighbourhoods.

As part of Campus Vision 2050, UBC is also updating its Housing Action Plan, the University's long-term strategy for housing affordability and choice on campus. The Housing Action Plan update will take a campus-wide approach to establishing targets for UBC community housing, including approaches to location, amount, type, tenure and cost of housing.

As part of Campus Vision 2050, UBC is also updating its Housing Action Plan, the University's long-term strategy for housing affordability and choice on campus. The Housing Action Plan update will assess future demand for faculty, staff and student housing on campus, including approaches to location, amount, type, tenure and cost of housing.