Join young Citymakers in a panel and open discussion in one of Vancouver’s hotly discussed topics for young people: Affordability.

In the face of skyrocketing housing prices and shrinking vacancy rates, there is no shortage of opinions on how affordability is impacting young people. That said, it’s less common to hear opinions directly from young people themselves. A diverse panel of young citymakers will share their views on array of questions ranging from the basics – renting, buying, should I stay or should I go? – to the complex – entitlement, Airbnb and who’s not in the room?  

Drawing on their distinct and related city making backgrounds, the panel will additionally address affordability beyond housing, offering interactive discussion relating to mobility, space for leisure and coping strategies.

Join us for an evening of drinks, free-wheeling discussion and open questions and find out what ‘Vancouver’s lifeblood’ really thinks about affordability in Vancouver.

Panelists

Katelyn McDougall is a passionate urbanist and an advocate for sustainable transportation. She is completing her Masters degree in Urban Studies at Simon Fraser University, where she also sits on the Board of Governors. Currently Katelyn works at HASTe on Active School Travel Planning. Katelyn has also worked with several different municipalities and organizations on both Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland, managing research projects and community engagement initiatives with OfCity Consulting. In her spare time, she likes to use different artistic mediums such as pottery, photography, and poetry as a means to creatively and critically think about cities. 

As an Engineer and Urbanist, Darren Proulx brings experience from active transportation and transit planning. He is a co-founder of Slow Streets with a focus on researching data-driven multi-modal transportation and land use solutions that make our public investments more productive and our cities more affordable while still remaining interesting places.

Melanie Matining works to create physically, financially, and emotionally accessible spaces for communities that have been marginalized, including racialized communities, youth and LGBTQ. She works for a community space in Vancouver called Heartwood that focuses on the costs of inaccessibility in cultural and social spaces and the ways that these issues can impact how communities thrive in Vancouver. 

Brandon Yan is the Program Coordinator for Out in Schools, an innovative education program that brings independent queer film into BC schools and communities to initiate discussions with youth and educators about safety and inclusion. His past experience includes helping youth play meaningful roles in their communities on youth advisory councils, through granting programs, and through Youth Vital Signs, Vancouver Foundation's youth-led public perception report that informs community investment decisions. As a an energetic community advocate, he volunteers his time around the city and also serves on the Vancouver City Planning Commission to hold space for critical discussion's about Vancouver's future. 

Moderator

Mitchell Reardon is a city-maker and Prinicipal at Metropolitan Collective informed through urban planning and research Exploring the potentials for bottom-up holistic urbanism, his interdisciplinary work centres on people and how they live, work and move through the city. The aim is to establish and communicate the connections among social issues, sustainability, public engagement, physical planning and design, urban economics, walking and biking. Mitchell recently moved back to Vancouver, following 6 years of living and working in Stockholm, Sweden.