By Surrey LIP | Link to Article
By Surrey LIP | Link to Article
Surrey is the fastest growing city in British Columbia and one of the fastest growing communities in Canada. Geographically, it is the largest city in the province with one of the highest number of immigrant population in BC. As a result of a continuous influx of newcomers, Surrey has become a “super-diversity” city with many residents coming from different places, practicing different faiths and speaking different languages. As Dr Sarah Spencer, Director of the Global Exchange on Migration and Diversity, stated in her recent interview, a “super-diversity city” “is a community where the old approaches to multiculturalism and its structures don’t necessarily fit anymore”.
The Surrey LIP Service Mapping Project aimed to identify new approaches to settlement service delivery in Surrey, i.e. to understand a big picture of the settlement service sector in Surrey, identify service gaps and duplications, and explore potential solutions to enhance service coordination. SPARC BC was retained by the City of Surrey to lead a five-month Service Mapping project from November 2014 to March 2015 .
The project included conducting an online environmental scan, developing an inventory of services and programs, developing and conducting an online survey (completed by Social Services Senior Leaders), and mapping and analyzing settlement services against immigrant settlement patterns and main transit routes in Surrey. The online service map of 235 unique programs and services was created in collaboration with Ion Brand Design. The Final Service Mapping Project Report was released in May 2015.