At 50th Parallel, we’ve seen firsthand that when community voices are not only included but prioritized, projects move forward with greater strength, clarity and resilience. This is especially true in development projects, such as housing and pipelines, where input from those most affected significantly impacts next steps. This commitment to community is more than just a step in the process; it’s the foundation on which successful development is built.
Discover why community engagement is essential, how it transforms outcomes and how our approach can help ensure your project is not only efficient but rooted in the values and aspirations of the people it serves.
Strategic, ethical and above all, the right thing to do
Meaningful community engagement is a strategic step, an ethical responsibility and above all, the right thing to do. Here’s why:
Strategic Considerations
Understanding
When moving forward with a project, we need to truly understand those impacted by it. While impact can be measured in numbers, it’s difficult to quantify lived experience. By connecting with community members, we uncover history, context and genuine emotion. When we listen to that insight, our decisions become more grounded, more effective and more likely to last.
Collaboration
There’s no substitute for real, face-to-face conversations when it comes to assessing risk. Communities often see things planners don’t. By inviting their perspectives early, we uncover blind spots and avoid costly surprises later on. And when people feel heard, they’re far more likely to support the outcome.
Reputation
Even when we’re focused on one project, it’s important to keep the big picture in mind. Projects succeed and have the potential to create more opportunities when we focus on more than just infrastructure. By collaborating with the community, we build credibility, which in turn fosters trust. That trust then becomes the foundation for everything that follows: future projects, shared goals and a reputation for doing things the right way.
Ethical Considerations
Involvement
Community members have a right to know and shape the decisions that impact their everyday lives. When we approach a project, it’s not just about consultation; it’s about empowerment. Giving people the chance to be heard, and showing that their voices truly matter, isn’t just good practice, it’s the right thing to do.
Sustainability
Sustainability isn’t just about carbon footprints or green spaces. It’s also about social and economic inclusion. Every development creates ripple effects: who benefits, who bears the cost and who might be left out. Honest engagement helps balance those scales, ensuring that progress is shared and long-lasting.
Transparency
Trust can only be built in the open. When we share our intentions, our process and our constraints, we invite others to become active partners in the project. This openness shows a willingness to learn and do what is right, and builds accountability along the way.
Commitment to Reconciliation
When we talk about development, engagement and community, there’s an important dimension that goes beyond practical and ethical considerations: the responsibility to meaningfully consult with First Nations.
Truth and reconciliation is a commitment to acknowledging history, understanding ongoing impacts and actively working to repair relationships. For development projects, this means recognizing the past harms of colonization, dispossession and exclusion from decision-making. It’s about ensuring projects don’t perpetuate those harms and instead contribute to healing and mutual respect. Acknowledging this truth is the first step. Without it, consultation risks being performative rather than a genuine partnership.
How We Do It
The 50th Parallel Approach
At 50th Parallel, this is the approach we use to ensure the communities we work alongside are empowered:
Listen First
This work takes time. Hold space to listen and reflect on the needs, values and cultural protocols of each community.
Learn with Intention
Learning will be a constant. There is always more to discover.
Collaborate with Meaning
Recognize the ongoing need to practice openness, listening, humility and teachability to nurture fruitful relationships. We walk alongside our clients, not ahead of them.
Take Real Action
Only when we have done the work to listen, learn and ask questions can we move forward to take real, intentional action.
Create Long-Lasting Relationships
We don’t just focus on the current project. By collaborating with communities, we aim to foster relationships that last.
Community Engagement in Action
We help sustainably-minded organizations lead with clarity, confidence and care. When working with our clients on development projects, we bring experience that helps companies lead with purpose. Whether that’s through social media campaigns or strategy and key messaging, get a sneak peek into the work we’ve done below:
We partnered with Snuneymuxw First Nation to help revitalize and move forward a community planning initiative, building on past engagement and input. Our goal was to reconnect members with more than 30 parcels of Snuneymuxw land and gather their stories, ideas and hopes for the future.
In addition to planning community information sessions for members, our team joined existing community events to make participation natural and genuine. We also launched a social media campaign to reach youth and members living away from home. Throughout the process, community feedback guided each step, ensuring members could see their voices reflected in the work.
Another part of this collaboration was the te’tuxwtun land transfer agreement, recently shared with media. Our team supported the event through on-site coordination, media relations and monitoring coverage. To learn more about this historic transfer, explore some of the media coverage below:
We worked with the Anglican Diocese of Islands and Inlets to raise awareness for its Building for the Future project, a proposed redevelopment of Cathedral Hill in downtown Victoria. As the Diocese prepared for a public hearing, our team refined the communications strategy and project plan to strengthen public understanding and support.
Together, we developed clear key messaging, updated web content and designed a tri-fold brochure to inform and engage visitors at the Cathedral. By maintaining consistent messaging across all materials, we highlighted how the redevelopment is part of a broader effort to address the housing needs of vulnerable people amid a housing crisis and, moreover, to build stronger, more inclusive communities.
At the centre of every project is people.
Development projects, whether institutional, residential or commercial, shape the daily lives of the communities around them. Listening to those voices is not just about preventing challenges along the way; it’s about respect and building something that lasts.
Because when people are invited to share their experiences and ideas, projects gain depth, direction and lasting impact.
Let’s Connect
Are you looking for guidance on how to move forward intentionally and meaningfully in your project?
At 50th Parallel, we’re here to support you in doing just that.
To learn more about our process and how we can collaborate, click the button below:
