T2050 - Toronto and Region Conservation Authority

Over the past decade TRCA has been an innovator in community-level engagement and collaborative implementation through our Sustainable Neighbourhood Retrofit Action Plan (SNAP) and Partners in Project Green (PPG) programs, which focus on residential and business sectors respectively. Both programs employ a proven strategic neighbourhood/business zone model designed to deepen engagement and empower local leaders to address climate and other sustainability challenges. The TRCA’s proposed Transition 2050 cluster consists of municipalities that have recently updated their Action Plans or are doing so. They recognize that implementation of these “next generation” climate and energy plans requires social mobilization initiatives targeted to local residents and businesses, and stronger attention to the delivery of co-benefits to garner support. Our collaborative cluster consists of 9 municipalities: 5 within TRCA’s jurisdiction, which include a mix of those new and experienced with SNAP and PPG and 4 beyond our jurisdiction who are interested in piloting the neighbourhood approach. Working together, the goal of our Transition 2050 project is to apply, learn from and develop recommendations for the refinement, mainstreaming and scaling of the neighbourhood model as a municipal policy/practice for implementing climate action plans, and achieving other municipal objectives. However, our project is not only a policy study. It will leverage proven engagement tactics to mobilize stakeholders to adopt low carbon behaviours and technologies, leading to direct GHG emissions reductions in buildings (e.g. energy, water and waste) and transportation sectors. Furthermore, our project will guide participants in the development of longer-term workplans for future projects and generate tools to inform other Canadian municipalities for the purposes of expanding the network of neighbourhood/business zone programs. Specifically, our initiative will kick-off with a two-day “bootcamp” training session on community-engaged emissions planning. Following the introductory training, each municipality will receive hands-on support to develop a neighbourhood-based action plan and implementation program focusing on either: (1) a residential neighbourhood, (2) a business zone/employment lands (3) a hybrid platform focusing on mixed-use neighbourhoods. Each municipality will implement their chosen pilot and project(s) for a period of one year (September 2019-September 2020). In addition to three lessons sharing workshops throughout the project, all municipal partners will come together during Fall 2019 for the capstone evaluation training session, which will be designed to highlight lessons learned and recommendations for municipal policies or practices that could support future applications of the neighbourhood approach. In addition to TRCA’s coaching role, provided to all participants, TRCA will take an active role in collaborative planning and implementation with municipal partners that fall within our jurisdictional boundaries (e.g. Markham, Vaughan, Caledon, Brampton and Mississauga), including contribution of financial resources.