Urban Biodiversity as Strategy for Walkability ( breakout presentation )

Abstract

Background A “powerful way to understand diversity in Calgary is to observe what’s around us by going for a walk,” explains The City of Calgary’s 10-year biodiversity strategic plan, Our BiodiverCity. “Let’s choose a neighbourhood...” it continues, guiding the reader across the city, from neighbourhood to large natural areas. By prioritizing biodiversity in the urban environment, a city’s strategy becomes an unexpected guide for a walkable city. This breakout session, presented by the BiodiverCity Advisory Committee to The City of Calgary, discusses how strategies dedicated to biodiversity provide an integrative approach to achieving a walkable city – healthy, vibrant, and sustainable. Description of Program Three municipalities in Canada, Montreal, Edmonton, and Calgary, have actively partnered with Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), through the Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB). In March 2015, The City of Calgary Council approved Our BiodiverCity, Calgary’s 10-year biodiversity strategic plan and accompanying Biodiversity Policy (CSPS037). The plan provides a framework for The City to foster more resilient, biologically diverse open space and neighbourhoods that support positive outcomes for Calgarians, visitors, wildlife, and plant communities. Outcomes A plan for biodiversity is a plan for walkability. Attending to matters such as “connectivity” means considering the movement of flora and fauna across landscapes: human and the more-than-human. Movement is also health, physical health as well as broader ecological data, and what they tell us about a community. As a core component of strong, cohesive, and inclusive communities, we need biodiversity to be personally and socially healthy. Urban biodiversity efforts, like walkability, also require an active commitment by all administrative business units of an urban governing body. Implications Walking, generally, means moving more slowly, more quietly, through an environment. It is slower than automobiles and slower than bikes – with the result that you have more time to see and hear the biodiversity around you. Municipalities dedicated to enhanced walking experiences should consider a biodiversity policy as a foundation for attaining “enriched” walkability and economic, social, health, and cultural benefits of a biodiverse walking experience.