Patrick Condon

For Professor Patrick Condon and his research team, sustainability is the art of working with communities. Condon pioneered sustainable urban design workshops with citizens, municipal officials, local organizations, industry and academics fifteen years ago, and this collaborative approach remains central to today’s research by the Design Centre for Sustainability in UBC’s SALA.

 “We believe that sustainability research can only be done with real people, in real places, with real dirt,” said Condon, who holds the James Taylor Chair in Landscape and Livable Environments and leads the Sustainability by Design project within the Design Centre for Sustainability. “Working with communities in situ brings research to problems and problems to research. It is necessary to the core of what we do.”

Sustainability by Design is leading a collaborative effort to produce a compelling visual representation of what Greater Vancouver region might look like in 2050, at neighbourhood, district and region-wide scales. Community partners are contributing not only knowledge and ideas but also human and financial resources to the effort. Funders include the Century Group, the City and District of North Vancouver, the Real Estate Foundation of BC and numerous other municipalities and foundations.

One of the foremost successes of the Design Centre for Sustainability is the 100-year plan for the City of North Vancouver’s zero carbon future, which won three prestigious awards and is a model for other municipalities aiming to meet greenhouse gas targets.

“The key to it all is partnership,” said Professor Condon. “Our partners gain knowledge that helps them make measureable progress towards their community’s goals for sustainability and the university advances knowledge and research for sustainable, low-carbon community design and implementation in the future.”