Course:LFS350/Projects/Fall2017/CoVPublicPerceptions

Project Summary

Purpose

Conduct an analysis of a the resiliency of the City of Vancouver, focusing on public perceptions and readiness in the event of a disaster.

Areas of Focus

Resiliency
Preparedness
Municipal food system policy

Skills

Urban food system analysis
Literature reviews
Interviewing
Site observations

Background Information

Mayor Gregor Robertson welcomed an announcement from 100 Resilient (100RC) selecting Vancouver among the final cohort of international cities invited to join the network of 100 cities at the forefront of building urban resilience. As a member of the 100RC Network, Vancouver will gain access to tools, funding, technical expertise, and other resources to build resilience to the social, economic and environmental challenges of the 21st century. Importantly, funding from 100RC will enable us to appoint a Chief Resilience Officer, to lead the development of a citywide Resilience Strategy. 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) is a program pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation that helps a network of cities gain access to tools, funding, technical expertise, and other resources to build resilience to face 21st-century challenges. Natural and manmade shocks and stresses from urban growth will continue to hit the world's cities. 100RC is about preparing and acting to strengthen our city economically, environmentally, and socially.

What does resilience mean?

As defined by 100RC, "urban resilience is the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow, no matter what kind of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience." Stresses are day-to-day or cyclical issues like affordable housing, crime, transportation, and social inequity. Shocks are events like fires, floods, and earthquakes. Slower-force stresses can harm cities just as dramatically as one-off events. By looking at shocks and stresses together, and planning for them as a whole, the 100RC partnership aims to assist cities in increasing their governance, operational, and strategic capacity to:

Proactively address their vulnerabilities
Learn from experiences
Adapt to change

Organization Information

Name

City of Vancouver Social Policy Department – Food Strategy Implementation Team

Vision

Creating a system for producing, processing, distributing, and consuming food that is environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable is a City of Vancouver priority. The Food Strategy helps the City address Vancouver’s food challenges and align the food system with broader City plans and processes through five main goals:

Support food-friendly neighbourhoods
Empower residents to take action
Improve access to healthy, affordable, culturally diverse food for all residents
Make food a centerpiece of Vancouver’s green economy
Advocate for a just and sustainable food system with partners and at all levels of government

For more information on the City of Vancouver’s Food Strategy, visit http://vancouver.ca/people-programs/vancouvers-food-strategy.aspx

Primary Contact

Sarah Carten, Social Planner, City of Vancouver

Project Description

Beginning with the publication, The Resilience of America's Urban Food Systems: Evidence from Five Cities, students will adapt the Urban Food System Resilience Framework to investigate the public's perception of the strengths and vulnerabilities of Vancouver's food system in the event of a disaster as well as the public's perception of their own readiness.

Groups will conduct on-line research to determine the various challenges city residents will face int eh event of a disruption to the flow of food into the city due to a natural or human-induced disaster. Students will identify and interview key stakeholders and/or experts to situate findings and recommendations on strategies for increasing Vancouver residents' readiness and resiliency. Students are encouraged (and will be supported) to document their findings in a digital audio format (aka podcast).

Skills Preferred

Strong verbal communication skills
Strong narrative and storytelling skills
Digital audio recording and editing
Organized and able to work independently
Ability to articulate municipal and regional food system components, both physical and social
Understanding of resiliency, sustainable food systems, and role of food in community development processes

Skills to Be Developed

Podcasting skills
Municipal food system analysis
Observational and analytical skills
Interviewing and communication skills

Preferred Days of Week and Hours

Timing is flexible based on student and facility schedules.

Experiential Learning Opportunities

None available for this project although students are encouraged to volunteer at a the Vancouver Food Summit

Expected Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Student will be able to...

Articulate how a municipal residents understand and prepare for challenges and vulnerabilities in food system disruption
Conduct an municipal food-related case study and communicate results back to municipal stakeholders

Organizational Outcomes

The research will allow for better decision making about support for existing and future kitchen facilities and programs through:

Baseline research on a range of perceptions and preparedness of municipal residents