The Planning Institute of British Columbia (PIBC) annually recognizes the professional work and individual accomplishments of members across British Columbia and the Yukon through its awards and recognition programs.
The City of Vancouver’s Healthy City Strategy won Gold in the Excellence in Policy Planning – City & Urban Areas category in this year’s PIBC Awards.
The Healthy City Strategy is a bold and ambitious plan to achieve a vision for social development, equity and inclusion that will make Vancouver a “Healthy City for All”. Adopted by Vancouver City Council in October 2014 this plan introduces innovative and far-reaching policies for a socially sustainable City. This social strategy compliments the City’s Greenest City Action Plan (ecological) and the Vancouver Economic Action Plan (economic).
The robust process developed a guiding vision and principles, three interconnected and overarching focus areas, and 13 long-term, generational, aspirational goals aimed at creating a “healthy city for all” and furthers Vancouver’s efforts to create a truly sustainable future for people, place, and planet. The document provides a clear path for strategic decisions and alignment of resources. It builds on and integrates the many initiatives that have been undertaken over the last decade to create a comprehensive, integrated, and measureable strategy for moving forward.
The jury was impressed with the innovative policies introduced through this piece of work. The plan bridges the divide between traditional land use planning and truly integrated community building. Clear support from the Chief Medical Health Officer highlights the importance of developing partnerships between the planning and health communities going forward.
