Towards regional interdisciplinary green infrastructure in Metro Vancouver

Green infrastructure (GI) and nature-based solutions (NbS) have been identified as an important strategy to assist in delivering key infrastructure services in Metro Vancouver, particularly when considering predicted and observed climate change impacts such as increased extreme weather, flooding, sea level rise, and urban heat for the region. Municipalities within Metro Vancouver are increasingly planning and deploying GI, though efforts are largely disjointed and are primarily planned and executed at the local government scale. Recent global initiatives to address biodiversity loss and climate change are recommending more integrated governance that incorporate planning between jurisdictions and disciplines highlighting the potential to achieve greater collective benefits including ecosystem services, biodiversity protection, and human health and wellbeing. However, a transformation to more integrated work is challenged by a variety of complex structural, cultural, and conceptual barriers common of wicked social-ecological problems. This research deployed social innovation techniques to engage professionals and stakeholders within the Metro Vancouver area to identify these barriers and reflect on potential solutions to deploy GI more intentionally and effectively at a regional scale. The results of the research demonstrate a strong preference towards greater integration between professions as well as between municipalities and governmental jurisdictions.