Volume 3 - Program & Project Ideas (PDF - 4.5 - Natural Life Network

Natural Resources Canada – Community Energy Systems
L.1.2 Shops and services within walking distance of homes
Mixed-use development provides shops, housing and services in close proximity to each
other.
• Proximity to shops reduces vehicle use.
• Eyes on the street reduce policing requirements.
• Building reuse curbs urban decline and urban sprawl.
Urban forms that place a renewed emphasis on pedestrian- and transit-friendly
neighbourhoods have become known as new urbanism. These self-contained
neighbourhoods incorporate a mix of land uses and housing types, ranging from
apartments to non-profit housing to single-family detached homes. Streets are designed
to accommodate pedestrians, and services are located within easy walking distance of all
residents.
- Case study: Victoria, BC
Shoal Point is an award winning high-density, mixed-use commercial and residential,
energy efficient complex in Victoria’s city centre. It is considered to be one of the most
environmentally advanced buildings in North America and is promoted as a showcase
initiative by Natural Resources Canada's C-2000 program.
• It consumes about 45 per cent of the purchased energy used compared to an
equivalent built to Model National Energy Code for Buildings standards.
• Much of the heat for the residential suites is provided by a ground source (or
geothermal heat pumps).
• It incorporates a portfolio of relatively low-tech features, responsible for much
of its energy gains.
• It revitalized a depressed economic area by using local building materials,
bringing in wealthy residents (units sell from 280,000 dollars to 3,000,000
dollars), and employing local labour.
• Shops and services near housing also reduce vehicle use.
Source: BC Community Energy Association Committee. Shoal Point: Towards Sustainability in
Victoria. BC Community Energy Association case study.
http://www.energyaware.bc.ca/tk_c_shoalpoint1.htm
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