• Introduction
  

• New construction
  

• Retrofits
  

• References
  

Introduction

West Broadway Development Corporation
West Broadway Development Corporation’s mandate is “to renew and revitalize West Broadway through responsible leadership and participation of people who work, live, and play in the neighbourhood with a vision of a stable, healthy, safe neighbourhood that is diverse, welcoming, vibrant, clean, and self-reliant”( Manitoba Eco-Network, 2004).  WBDC supports many projects and initiatives in reaching this objective including a Youth Builders Program, community gardens, housing renovation initiatives, cultural programs, the Good Food club, neighbourhood enhancement projects, and riverbank maintenance projects. Its core areas are: neighbourhood revitalization, community outreach, leadership development, neighbourhood planning, heritage and conservation, inner city advocacy and cooperation, employment, and housing development and coordination.

The Neighbourhood
West Broadway is a vibrant neighbourhood located in Winnipeg’s inner city.  It is bounded to the south by Cornish Avenue, to the north by Portage Avenue, to the east by Maryland Street, and to the west by Colony Street. The majority of the houses in this neighbourhood were built prior to 1946 (56.3%) with less than 2.0% built between 1991 and 2001(City of Winnipeg, 2004). Houses built prior to 1946 have extremely poor insulation such as wood shaving, rock wool, or no insulation (Miko, 2005).  While many of the houses in West Broadway are in need of some repair, renovations can be quite costly and beyond the means of many residents.

Green Building Initiatives
The green building initiatives of West Broadway Development Corp support principles of sustainability.  While social sustainability leads many of these initiatives, the initiatives also incorporate economic and environmental aspects.  Social sustainability is supported by the creation of healthy living environments for residents, some of which are subsidized housing units or have supporting programs.  Economic sustainability is supported by reduced heating and cooling costs of renovated homes as well as employing local renovation companies, and environmental sustainability is supported by reduced fossil fuel consumption for heating and cooling, reduced use of toxic building materials, and water conservation. Green building initiatives also provide opportunities to demonstrate key principles of ecological design stated by Hough (1995): environmental education begins at home and making visible the processes that sustain life. WBDC has been involved with the completion of four large green building initiatives, including both retrofits and new infill construction, and is involved with a LEED project currently underway.

Source: West Broadway Neighbourhood Housing Plan

Neighbourhood mural by Ryan Smoluk
Source: The Murals of Winnipeg (http://themuralsofwinnipeg.com/index.php)