Engagement Summary: Needs and Aspirations

The Needs and Aspirations period consisted of two rounds of public engagement that took place between January and April 2022:

• In January and February, we sought to better understand the UBC community’s experience of the campus, as well as hopes and dreams for the future. We also asked for feedback on the eight themes that emerged from the pre-planning process. Community input enabled staff to identify challenges and opportunities to address through Campus Vision 2050 and informed the development of a set of draft guiding principles and strategies.

• In March and April, after incorporating university and community input, draft guiding principles and strategies were presented to the public for further feedback and refinement. The final guiding principles and strategies reflect this feedback and seek to address the challenges and opportunities identified through the entire Needs and Aspirations engagement period.

The Needs and Aspirations period also included meetings with Musqueam to understand interests and receive comments on the Terms of Reference, and the eight themes and the draft guiding principles and strategies. Musqueam and UBC are co-developing a process for deeper land use engagement on Campus Vision 2050 and other initiatives that will share information and seek to integrate Musqueam values, interests and comments.

Engagement highlights

Over 3,300 people participated during the Needs and Aspirations engagement period from January to April 2022. A breakdown of participation by primary affiliation can be found below.

* Includes participants such as emeritus professors, external stakeholders (e.g. Pacific Spirit Park Society), and non-affiliated community members from the Vancouver region.

How we reached people

Launch Event 154 participants	Roadshows 1,437 participants	Community Conversations 262 participants	Digital Tools 113 participants
Pop-ups 470 participants	Workshops and Committee Meetings 231 participants	Online Surveys 510 participants	Open Houses 136 participants

Overview of what we heard

Challenges and Opportunities

Eight preliminary themes identified during the pre-planning process were presented to the public during the January to February engagement period. Public input on these themes revealed the following set of core challenges and opportunities to address through Campus Vision 2050.

• Addressing the affordability crisis — we heard that life on campus is unaffordable for many, and getting worse, and that more housing needs to be built for the UBC community.
• Accessibility and safety of campus — we heard that campus can be inaccessible to some, difficult to get around and unsafe at times.
• Meeting the needs of our diverse communities — we heard a strong call for more amenities and services (e.g., grocery stores, daycares and schools) to enable thriving communities.
• How UBC uses land to finance campus needs — we heard concern that market housing is outpacing housing for students, faculty, and staff, and that it is coming at the expense of livability, campus character and green space.
• Musqueam and Indigenous campus presence — we heard strong interest from the community in honouring and celebrating Musqueam and Indigenous ways of knowing.
• UBC’s mission — we heard a strong desire to emphasize UBC as a university and place of learning above all else.
• Climate emergency and campus resilience — we heard calls for UBC to lead climate action by example and to build more climate-adaptive and green infrastructure.
• Managing growth and the preservation of green space and biodiversity — we heard strong calls to protect campus green space and to consider the capacity of the campus to grow

Feedback on the draft guiding principles and strategies

Insights generated from the first engagement period helped inform the development of draft guiding principles and strategies, which were presented to the public in March and April for feedback and refinement. A summary of key insights can be found below.

• Overall support for the draft principles and strategies — we heard from a majority of participants that the draft principles and strategies were on the right track. We also heard a call for the principles and strategies to be bolder and more aspirational.

Feedback by principle:

• Supporting excellence in teaching, research and learning — we heard participants emphasize that people are at the heart of academic mission, and that meeting the breadth of community needs is essential to the success of this principle.
• Musqueam and the Indigenous Strategic Plan (ISP) — we heard a strong call to co-develop the principles and strategies with Musqueam and to provide transparency on how Musqueam and campus Indigenous communities have been involved throughout the planning process.
• Supporting affordability and everyday needs — we heard that affordable housing is a top community concern, as well as the need for more affordable and diverse food options on campus.
• Inclusion, belonging and community building — we heard support for more gathering spaces and improvements to safety on campus, and received suggestions to use more specific, inclusive and plain language in the strategies.
• Campus ecology, livability and funding UBC’s priorities — we heard strong feedback that funding and housing development does not fit within considerations of ecological stewardship, and that green spaces and forested areas should be preserved on campus.
• Responding to the climate emergency — we heard a call for stronger language and targets to demonstrate institutional commitment to this principle, as well as support for climate adaptable and resilient buildings. We also heard a call for biodiversity loss to be considered under this principle.
• Strengthen campus and regional connectivity — we heard support for the arrival of SkyTrain to UBC and concern around potential impacts that result from new transportation infrastructure investment. We also heard support for more cycling infrastructure on campus, and a call for ecological connectivity and biodiversity to be considered under this principle.

Read the full Needs and Aspirations Engagement Summary Report.