The Voor team is attending and presenting at this week’s 2024 LIVABLE CITIES FORUM: Multisolving for a Net-Zero and Resilient Future. Produced by ICLEI Canada the three-day gathering features municipal policy makers and elected officials from across Canada. Voor advises the City of Vancouver on climate equity and has designed nature-based solutions for City Engineering and launched a green infrastructure stewardship microgrant program for City residents. Among other policy fronts, we also train on decolonizing public policy and conduct research on urban Indigenous climate plans. Voor Director Irwin Oostindie is also a member of the District of North Vancouver Climate Advisory Committee. Irwin spoke at #LCF2024 on mobilizing Indigenous Knowledge in urban natural infrastructure. Voor staff Isabela Ortiz Orozco, Chelsey Schmidtke and Molly Coulter also attended the conference.
Voor Urban Labs
Architecture and Planning
Vancouver, British Columbia 334 followers
Voor Urban Labs specializes in working collaboratively with impacted communities on their solutions.
About us
Voor Urban Labs works collaboratively with impacted communities for their solutions. We love complex multi-stakeholder community planning, placemaking, ethical urban renewal. Our team delivers placemaking, urban planning, communications, research & engagement. SELECTION OF CLIENTS 2023-24 Sunset Seniors Centre, Carscadden Stokes McDonald Architects/City of Vancouver - Indigenous design & engagement. 2022-24 City of Vancouver - Decolonizing Green Infrastructure Program, Coast Salish ethnobotany & public engagement. 2021-24 National Urban Indigenous Coalitions Council, co-building new national voice for urban Indigenous communities in 32 Canadian cities. Research, communications, strategy, production & admin. nuicc.ca 2020-24 Maplewood Flats/Wild Bird Trust of BC - Project managing Indigenous economic redress, ‘Repairing Relations’ land restoration and tourism development strategies with Tsleil-Waututh Nation. 2023 City of North Vancouver Library - Decolonizing spaces 2023 City New Westminster - Truth Before Reconciliation publication 2022-23 Metro Vancouver Aboriginal Executives Council - MVAEC.ca research & policy toolkit 2020-21 Build Social: Measuring the Benefits of Social Procurement in the Canadian Construction Industry - research study w SFU to assess inclusion of workers facing barriers. 2019-20 Downtown Eastside Social Enterprise Impact Report - research, design, and publishing of Buy Social Canada's 2019 and 2020 editions. Profiling North America's largest social enterprise cluster, documenting $26.5m in sales with $18.4m in wages. https://lnkd.in/e7DtNs6 2018-20 RayCam Renew - Building a community engagement & planning framework for inner-city community centre $110M neighbourhood hub. Communications infrastructure for pre-development phase with branding and strategy; secured $2M City of Vancouver capital development plebiscite. Partners: BC Housing, Vancouver Parks, City of Vancouver, and community. www.raycam-renew.ca @RayCamCentre
- Website
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http://www.voor.ca
External link for Voor Urban Labs
- Industry
- Architecture and Planning
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Headquarters
- Vancouver, British Columbia
- Type
- Self-Owned
- Specialties
- urban planning, community outreach, communications, urban renewal, smart cities, social technology, engagement, social procurement, social enterprise, social inclusion, decolonization, reconciliation, public policy, event planning , research, social justice, housing , construction , social media, brand strategy, social procurement, public policy, crossmedia, planning, and project management
Locations
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Primary
239 E Georgia St
507
Vancouver, British Columbia V6A4J7, CA
Employees at Voor Urban Labs
Updates
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Join us this Thursday with Dawn Morrison of the Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty for our Voor Urban Labs' Munch! speaker series event as part of the 2024 Sustenance Festival. We will explore food security and self determination in a changing Downtown Eastside; COVID, housing and health crisis. Gather for a break for Indigenous and Chinatown foods and hear from Dawn Morrison speaking about how Indigenous food sovereignty is emergency preparedness. Dawn Morrison is a Secwépemc leader and founder of the Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty, emphasizes the critical link between food sovereignty and emergency preparedness. Her work highlights how Indigenous food sovereignty is not just about access to food but also about resilience and sustainability in the face of crises. Morrison's initiatives, such as the Wild Salmon Caravan and the Indigenous Food and Freedom School, focus on restoring traditional food systems and knowledge. These efforts are crucial for communities that face food insecurity, especially in remote areas where access to grocery stores is limited. By revitalizing traditional food practices, Morrison aims to create a more resilient food system that can withstand emergencies and support community health and well-being. Thursday October 24th, 5-7pm at Voor Urban Labs Studio (212-475 Main St, Vancouver). Virtual event access also available! Register for the event here: https://lnkd.in/gh_kttFA #Indigenousfood #foodsovereignty
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Fun to see the delight of local children seeding a meadow for our Coast Salish native plant landscape design now completed at Gibby’s Field for the City of Vancouver. (left > right) Molly Coulter (Voor), Madeleine Wilson (City of Vancouver), Julie McManus (City of Vancouver), Chelsey Schmidtke (Voor). The development of Gibby’s Field (18th and Knight) into a nature-based-solution green infrastructure site is a testament to community advocacy that sought to preserve the early settlement and ecological history of the neighbourhood. The design features improved accessible pathways and builds on the community vision developed by neighbours and advocates to preserve and enhance the last undeveloped remnant of creek bed of the historical Gibson’s Creek. With enhanced planting and drainage design, the site collects water from the nearby lanes and roads and treats roughly 6,253 m³ of rainfall each year – the equivalent of 62,530 bathtubs, while providing critical habitat to pollinators, bats, and birds. Voor provided an innovative planting, featuring native plants and implementing recommendations from Squamish Ethnobotanist T’uy’t’tanat- Cease Wyss. To engage students from the nearby school, Tyee Elementary, Voor also developed an engagement plan which saw gr. 4 and 5 students learning about the local diverse histories of Gibby’s Field, engineered storm water systems, and plant ecology. Drawings that the students produced from the educational workshops were later stencil painted by them on the sidewalk at the opening today. The project was made possible in partnership between the City of Vancouver Engineering Department Green Infrastructure Implementation team and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. Through projects like Gibby’s Field, Voor is proud to be able to contribute to decolonizing landscape architecture and lift up Coast Salish knowledge in our community. We see a need to weave together First Nations redress with opportunities to also connect to diverse immigrant community stories. The project connects with the site’s settler and agricultural heritage, while also designing Coast Salish planting plans. Media release from City of Vancouver today Sept 18, 2024 https://lnkd.in/g_9aQGtW
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We’re pleased to be a top-tier sponsor for the Second Annual Dutch Street Market in Vancouver this Labour Day long weekend! We have supported the event logistics and strategy to curate a street market model that is the largest Dutch event in BC and will grow to serve the needs of 200,000 BC resided Dutch descent from the broad diaspora. The DutchBC event is also sponsored by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Vancouver and Blue Chip Logistics Inc. and TaiwanFest, with the support of great businesses Dutch Heritage Greenhouse, Van Noort Bulb Co. Ltd., Downtown Van, The Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society, De Esdoorn - Dutch Language and Cultural School, Zip Courier, Global Reach Confections and More, Dutch the magazine, Holland Shopping Centre, and others.
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Our Voor team are pleased to be coproducing this conversation on Saturday. We are delivering a couple of projects with the Tsleil-Waututh led organization including Repairing Relations project management and a Tourism Development Strategy for the 256-acre site.
We are excited to announce we will be hosting the annual Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Action Symposium this weekend! Saturday 17th August 11am-3pm Get your tickets here: bit.ly/4chOrMX Connect with leading edge scientists, landscape architects, Indigenous knowledge keepers, and climate activists who are exploring the application of Indigenous Knowledge on sea-level rise issues with particular focus on Burrard Inlet. By centering climate solutions with Indigenous Knowledge, we can effectively apply both a justice lens and a science lens to this crisis. In this symposium, we will consider local and global impacts of climate change on sea-level rise, explore actions and innovations being taken, understand how Indigenous Knowledge is guiding solutions, and consider landscape architecture alternatives on the site. Public policy on climate change adaptation must include education and orientation to practical local solutions. Hear from a wide range of professionals and academics address sea-level rise here in Coast Salish lands and waters. Speakers will be present in the nature house, as well as across the site through scheduled nature walks. The symposium includes an exhibition, discussions around Tsleil-Waututh views on climate change, Coast Salish responses to climate change and a presentation on the Sea-level Rise Strategy at Maplewood flats. Sponsored by District of North Vancouver Sustainability Grants Program.
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Great to witness this historic announcement by Salish Elements partnering with Xaxli'p (St’at’imc) as they build out hydrogen production and distribution across BC and beyond. Congrats to Rueben George Omar Kassem James Delorme Deanna Ambrose REgen Geneviève Noël T. Maginnis Cocivera and the team for this important work. Opening words by Charlene Aleck (Tsleil-Waututh) and BC Minister of Mines and Low Carbon Innovation Josie Osborne. Good to introduce my hydrogen colleague Robin Heijmans from Consulate General of the Netherlands in Vancouver to Rueben George and Salish Elements. Salish Elements constructs a “hydrogen business table” to unite First Nations, government, technology providers, and other stakeholders in the development of hydrogen projects. We envision revolutionizing fuel production through Indigenous-owned green hydrogen production and distribution centres. https://salishelements.ca/
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Looking back at a busy month the Voor team was at the #BCLandSummit representing our Tsleil Waututh Tourism Development Strategy at Maplewood Flats and Repairing Relations restoration project management work with the Wild Bird Trust of BC. It was fun to stand in front of the banner that said “Ask me about land back” surrounded by 650 professionals all impacting land use in the province. Great to visit with many colleagues and have time to build relations. Good to have Voor represented by coworkers Molly Coulter, Isabela Ortiz Orozco and Irwin Oostindie. It’s definitely an important gathering every five years and look forward to significant shifts in decolonial practices of the associations who coproduce the gathering. Grateful for the sponsorship of the Real Estate Foundation of BC who are pushing these ideas so well.
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Glad to involve Capilano University students in our work for a tourism development strategy for səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) (TWN) and Takaya Tours knowledge holders at Wild Bird Trust of BC Maplewood Flats site. The 256 acre location is unceded TWN lands and currently the only wildlife sanctuary in Vancouver harbour and has transitioned to TWN community governance. Voor Urban Labs project manages their $400,000 Repairing Relations infrastructure project as well as the tourism development strategy. Through 2024 research and engagement will produce cultural and economic opportunities at the site for Tsleil-Waututh and help “put the face of TWN on the land.”
Reflecting on the journey of our recent final project for 227 (Culture, Heritage and Arts planning in Tourism) I can't help but feel immensely grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such an impactful initiative. My teammates Helene Reichel, Meredith Watson, Asumi S. and Brittany Felde and I have been working along side Voor Urban Labs and Wild Bird Trust of BC in regards to decolonization aspect in Maplewood Flats. Today we had the opportunity to meet the Deputy Premier of British Columbia and Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Mike Farnworth and Parliamentary Secretary for Accessibilty, Susie Chant! Thank you to everyone involved, especially Chris Carnovale, BTM, GDUS, MACD for the guidance provided throughout this ongoing project and making this experience one to remember :) School of Tourism Management- Capilano University
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Voor Urban Labs is honoured to be supporting National Urban Indigenous Coalition Council and producing this inspiring conference. Our staff team have worked behind the scene for the past 2.5 years helping coalitions in 30 Canadian cities develop a national federation for one million urban Indigenous peoples. 80% of Indigenous people live in cities. The 3000 urban Indigenous nonprofits and charities across Canada are not merely service delivery partners to governments, but the coalitions that unite these communities have rights to self determination and urban governance. Background reading on the Misquadis and UNDRIP legal frameworks that inspire our work please read our brief: https://lnkd.in/gYiA57iZ
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Irwin Oostindie will be the first speaker in Heritage Vancouver Society's new series "Shaping Vancouver 2024: Community-Based Planning Conversation 1." Catch the presentation that is centred on Voor Urban Labs' unique approach to community planning and heritage. Jan 18, SFU Woodward's Cultural Programs, with support from Vancity Office of Community Engagement. #vanpoli https://lnkd.in/gKhnefEc
Shaping Vancouver 2024: Community-Based Planning Conversation 1
eventbrite.ca