Prepare today to save lives tomorrow: Research finds gaps in British Columbia’s extreme thermal response plan

Local governments must do more to prepare British Columbia communities for the dangers of extreme heat, according to a new research paper from Simon Fraser University.

Four years after the infamous Heat Dome in 2021, which killed more than 600 people in BC alone, the study found a big difference in how municipalities within the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts are preparing for heat events.

While municipalities with more populations and more financial resources are generally taking greater steps to mitigate the risk of fever, the research, published in the Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, shows fewer urban planning initiatives in areas with low socioeconomic status or population density.

Vancouver, Surrey and New Westminster led the way with the most initiatives. Chilliwack, Delta, Portcoki Tram and West Vancouver were among those with limited plans.

“The heat is increasingly dangerous for people around the world. Science shows that global temperatures are rising and extreme heat events are becoming more intense and frequent,” says Andrean Do-young, associate professor at SFU’s School of Resources and Environmental Management. “In BC, we’ve seen first hand the tragic consequences of extreme heat. We need to take steps to prepare our buildings and neighbours today so that we can save lives tomorrow.”

Doyoung applied for a grant to carry out the research following the 2021 Heat Dome. The study analyzed over 240 official documents from 27 municipalities and two regional districts since 2023. To assess whether the plan was in place, the researchers considered key heat terminology and, if so, which steps were taken to mitigate the risk.

The initiative was then grouped into three main areas to determine the nature of the response. It is urban greening, urban design, and land use. This is the first time analyses of heat mitigation strategies have been conducted across local governments in BC.

“We wanted to know what was going on at the local and local levels so that we could form a baseline and look for opportunities to improve our initiative,” says Doyeon, who has completed his PhD. With urban planning. “We found that the level of attention being focused on heat mitigation strategies varies widely depending on where you live. There are many factors behind this fluctuation, such as financial constraints, lack of expertise in staff within the agency, population density, or simply politics.”

The report also found that more cooperation is needed across jurisdictions.

“We need to focus more on how we can improve our entire neighborhood, not isolated initiatives,” Doyoung says. “Better cooperation and coordination between authorities leads to more effective action. While local governments can learn from each other, planning agencies can play an important role in bringing extreme thermal strategies into the mainstream.”

City greening has been found to be the most common heat mitigation response, according to Doyoung, as it provides a large general understanding and support for green spaces such as urban parks and trees.

“What I’m worried about is that Metro Vancouver lost hundreds of square kilometres of ecological space, primarily due to development,” she adds. “We can’t continue doing that. These green spaces help keep our neighborhoods cool.”

As part of the next step in the study, Doyoung and her team are conducting a detailed study on Burnaby’s housing policy, one of the areas that was hit hardest in terms of deaths from the Heat Dome in 2021.