The fantastic Jo Fitzgibbons, UBC Sustainability Scholar, worked with me over the summer to complete a comprehensive look into Vancouver’s “Access to Nature”.

“Through the Greenest City Action Plan and other strategies, the City of Vancouver strives to provide residents with access to nature. However, access to nature is a subjective experience that is difficult to plan for and measure. This report proposes a definition and corresponding mapping protocol (the Restorative Natural Area Index) for measuring and monitoring access to nature in Vancouver, based on synthesized findings from a public engagement survey, interviews, literature review, and a policy scan.”

This is a fantastic step towards mapping access to restorative nature experiences in the city and will help us to identify gaps and opportunities.

The RNA index is a novel solution to the complexity and subjectiveness of the topic.

The report includes useful terminology which will help communicate the function of “access to nature” during community consultation.

I am very proud of how this work developed. I can see so much potential for the topic developing further.

Here is the full report: www.shorturl.at/hmnEJ
Well done Jo!