Welcome to Vancouver

Vancouver is a creative city of over two million people and Sustainability by Design predicts this to double in the next forty years. We are bounded in by the ocean and the mountains with only the Fraser Valley which is the source of our food. The City of Vancouver recently formed a Food Policy which was dedicated to creating a just and sustainable food supply. Vancouver has participated in a number of exercises in participatory democracy such as the Citizen's Assembly for electoral reform, and Wosk's Centre for Dialogue, the upcoming World Urban Forum and World Peace Forum. Between the red book and resist.ca there are hundreds of existing organizations already active in Vancouver. All of these factors create both challenges and opportunities.

What Is Relocalization

The concept of Relocalisation is being promoted by the Post Carbon Institute as a response to the end of cheap oil (Peak Oil) and other phenomena, that are forcing us to change the way that we live on the planet. This initiative is considered to be past the development phase, with a defined purpose and an Outpost Manual (book launch imminent) that describes the system evolving for cities to share learning. Above and beyond that we are specifically defined by the members that contribute and the projects that they work on.

Current Interests and Projects

Building Membership

The more members that we have the more opportunities there will be for people to participate. Joining the PostCarbon membership will enable you to recieve their monthly newsletter and find out about progress being made by other Cities, and new resources and activities available to the entire network. When you join the Vancouver outpost you will recieve the local newsletter which is about what we are doing here in Vancouver.

Gardening

Gardening and local food is our biggest interest. Green Cycle is offering a gardening course and Grant is organizing a organic food buying club. FarmFolk / CityFolk have lots of way to get involved.

Local Cafe

Weekly within walking, is the goal for the cafe discussion circles. We meet every Tuesday 7:00 to 9:00 at the Grind Cafe, on Main St at King Edward. Other cafes soon to follow. A good way to meet other localizers and get connected into the network.

Web Forum

There is a private web forum over at the OpenMicCafe, where the Vancouver group can localize conversation and maximize relevance. The software also keeps track of what you haven't seen yet, and a conversational style that approaches real life in interaction, and it accumulates a backstory of the groups history for those that join later. Joining is a two part process, first register at the OpenMicCafe, and then email r_oveson@hotmail.com your userid so that I can add it to the list.

WIKI

A WIKI is advanced, but relatively easy to use software for multiple person document preperation. Post Carbon WIKI, and soon a Vancouver page where a lot of our work will be done. Willits may be a good example for us to copy. Check out the others. And get registered so that you can contribute content.

Housing

Housing alternatives in general is a popular topic. More specifically there is the World Urban Forum which we will be participating in and reporting on what we learned. Philip will be leading a project group on how to create eco-villages, oasis of sustainability within suburbia.

Resource Inventory

One of our first major projects will be creating a data base of all the groups and government services that we the public have access to. Most of this information has probably been collected by government departments, or the local groups, but still this will be a huge project that will require lots of help.

Potlucks and Events

We also have a potluck meeting about once a month, and will often meet at and after the events listed below. Being with like minded people is a reward all in itself.