Sustainable Communities
The economy and labour market in the region has many advantages, but also is experiencing higher unemployment (particularly amongst youth), increased employment insecurity, low productivity, and tough conditions for small businesses. Social and green enterprises that combine job and wealth creation with community social and environmental benefits are a growing sector, but lack access to capital and technical assistance. We are creating a network of organizations to strengthen community economic development, financial literacy, social entrepreneurship and economic empowerment. We are working in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce on the West Shore to respond to the community economic development needs of the fastest growing part of our region. We are developing a Community Investment Fund for Vancouver Island to generate RRSP eligible contributions from residents to invest in viable local businesses and housing development. Our research and collaborations actively promote best practices in local government policy; track trends across the continuum of housing needs to develop solutions; and improve access to financing, research and technical assistance for affordable housing development.
We are an active member of the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness and provide housing research services to the Capital Regional District.
Sustainable Communities Reports
What is your project? From a young woman developing a cup share to immigrant women upcycling clothing, the success of the green recovery hinges on opening doors for a diversity of entrepreneurs. There are inequalities in income and earnings for newcomer entrepreneurs while being a green entrepreneur comes with its own challenges. As we build … Read more
The Community Social Planning Council has been actively engaging with regional and international partners on just transitions. Within this initiative we have launched the Transportation ACES project to design a regionally focused climate equity framework for transportation decision making. We are interested in using this framework to maximize co-benefits in program planning decisions that lead … Read more
Financial Inclusion for the Green Economy is an ongoing project that will lead to a full report released by the CSPC. F.I.G.E. creates a safe space and participatory action research engaging women from a host of diverse communities in order to identify current and future barriers to financial inclusion in the green economy. Working in … Read more
February 21, 2020 Mayor and Council District of Saanich 770 Vernon Ave, Victoria BC, V8X 2W7 Sent via email to council@saanich.ca Dear Mayor and Council, Re: Unrelated occupants and Zoning Bylaw, 2003, Amendment Bylaw, 2020, No. 9608. We write in regard to the proposal to amend the unrelated occupants provisions of Zoning Bylaw, 2003. The … Read more
Backgrounder Prepared by the Community Social Planning Council for the September 19, 2019 Healthy and Safe Environments Workshop Download the report
Towards a Healthier Drinking Culture: A Community Dialogue in the Victoria Region Download the Brief Download the Full Report
Youth need to have the skills to find, get and keep a job just like employers need the right skills to attract, select and retain youth employees. In both cases, this starts with preparation and continues throughout the employment relationship. Download the tool
Just as youth need to have the skills to find, get and keep a job, employers need the right skills to attract, select and retain youth employees. In both cases, this starts with preparation and continues throughout the employment relationship. Companies that have a corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandate see developing young people within their … Read more
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