A River Runs Through It – Zibi is Ottawa’s Amazing Carbon-Neutral Community
Source: David Dodge | · GREEN ENERGY FUTURES · | May 20, 2022
A River Runs Through It – Zibi is Ottawa’s Amazing Carbon-Neutral Community
It’s called Zibi, named after the Algonquin Anishinaabe word for “river” and it’s an amazing planned carbon-neutral community in Canada’s capital city.
Zibi is located smack dab in the middle of the Ottawa River; half of the project is on the west banks in Ottawa and the other half is Chaudière Island in Gatineau, Quebec.
It’s all part of an ambitious project to repurpose, rehabilitate and reinvent the historic site, located just 1.5 kilometers from Canada’s parliament buildings.
The Algonquin Anishinaabe considered it a sacred site and lived on the territory for millennia. The site was also a meeting place, portage site, and trade route. The 65-meter wide falls were later named Chaudière by Samuel de Champlain which means “kettle,” alluding to the frothing water at the bottom of the 14-meter plummet.
The colonizing Europeans had other ideas for the site and it was turned into a massive industrial development of factories and lumber mills. The Ring Dam was built in 1909, but the first generating station was built in 1891 on nearby Victoria Island.
Source: Zibi is an ambitious carbon-neutral community located right on the Ottawa River in the nation’s capital. Photo Zibi
Birth of a Sustainable Community
The historical focus on paper mills, factories, and industrial growth typified the development of Bytown, (as Ottawa was once known). One could say that early focus on the industrial revolution is part of what led to the climate change emergency now faced by the world.
But now, a new vision is emerging of a publicly accessible waterfront with new parks, walkways and one of Canada’s largest carbon-neutral communities.
Zibi is being developed by Dream Unlimited, (one of Canada’s larger real estate companies with $14 billion in assets) and Theia Partners, a development agency focused on sustainability.
“It’s a 16-hectare development, 60% of that lies on the Gatineau side of the river and 40% is on the Ottawa side,” says Ashley Graham of Theia Partners who represents Zibi.
The mixed-use community will be home to 6,000 workers and 5,000 residents on build-out.