App: Urban Forage
Hosted in ArcGIS Online:
- Urban Forage: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/a001169b8e2346bcba6e379c193f6afd
- Urban Forage embedded app: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/da251a96256a4e958e764515c6ff1f89/page/Garden-and-Tree-Locator/
Mission Statement
In 2011, Vancouver City Council approved the Greenest City Action plan which outlines 10 goal areas to guide Vancouver towards becoming the greenest city in the world. The 7th goal for becoming a global leader in urban food systems was introduced with the target of increasing local food assets through community gardens. Community gardens play a vital role in strengthening our local food systems, as they provide access to fresh and local foods, increase community wellness and add green spaces to urban areas. Food systems are faced with widespread population growth and rapid urbanization, by bringing in community gardens we are ensuring underused urban areas are being utilized and increasing the resilience and sustainability of green spaces within Vancouver.
As of 2020, the City of Vancouver has gone beyond their goal of having 3,340 food assets/plots, but what does that mean? Urban Forage is designed for users to determine the locality of nearest community gardens and derive how many people a garden can feed within the local neighborhood. Community gardens are recognized for feeding their community but Urban Forage will help to visualize the pattern of where the gardens are able to feed the most and where more gardens are needed.
Video Presentation
Documentation
Team Members
Jordan Lineker: Jordan is a born and raised Vancouver Island boy, currently enrolled in BCIT’s Advanced GIS Diploma program. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Vancouver Island University, majoring in Global Studies, while simultaneously recording and touring with his rock n roll band, The Stacks. After graduating from VIU, he spent several years teaching English in South Korea. Jordan’s looking forward to applying his GIS expertise to the field of Urban Planning. In those rare moments when he isn’t studying, Jordan enjoys hanging out with his dog, exploring the outdoors by foot or by bike, and playing music.
Delphis Lamarche: Delphis is a student at BCIT and is taking the Advanced Diploma GIS program. He first graduated with a bachelor's of science in Economics and Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria before attending BCIT. Delphis is especially interested in the use of GIS for natural disaster events, like GeoBC's wildfire dashboard. Outside of school, Delphis likes finding new places to eat delicious food around the Vancouver region, as well as making trips to Vancouver Island to surf.
Ganimul Singh: Ganimul is currently enrolled in the Advanced Diploma program for Geographical Information Systems at BCIT. She graduated from University of British Columbia in 2020 with a degree in Environmental Sciences where she focused her capstone project on outdoor education. Over the years Ganimul has spent her time working for Surrey parks in the outreach division and volunteering at local community gardens. In her spare time she enjoys going to concerts, camping and baking.