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About the event

In this session, are excited to welcome four panelists to share their insights about potential changes to False Creek South:

John Atkin - Civic historian, author, and heritage consultant

Nathan Edelson - Project Manager at False Creek South *RePlan and retired Senior Planner for the Downtown Eastside, City of Vancouver

Tom Davidoff - Director, Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate Associate Professor, Strategy and Business Economics BC Sauder School of Business

Jennifer Maiko Bradshaw - Renter and a pro-housing activist with Abundant Housing Vancouver.

 

Overview

False Creek South is a 55-hectare stretch of waterfront land between the Burrard and Cambie bridges, characterized by extensive green spaces and a diverse mix of housing types. The design of this community has its roots in the values-based social planning that was revolutionary when introduced in the 1970s and 80s. By giving priority to values associated with quality of life and a livable city, this area was created with an equal portion of non-market rental housing, co-ops, and condominiums in a “Garden City” setting geared to a pedestrian culture.

The lease agreements, with strata leasehold owners, co-ops and non-market housing operators that made this diverse mix of housing possible, will begin to expire in 2025. The City, which owns approximately 80% of False Creek South, has begun to explore the future of this neighbourhood and its residents. There are many additional issues: the diversity of people supported by the current housing mix central to this community; development along the edges of the area; and retention and redevelopment of the existing urban fabric. False Creek South is an example of how values-based community planning can integrate with the ever-evolving urban fabric of the City.

Heritage Vancouver Society respects the importance of the built environment, the communities which make up that environment and the underlying social structures which support them as pillars of heritage. We also recognize that heritage can have a strong positive role in the management of change as living communities continue to evolve.

Through this public discussion, it is our goal to contribute to the discussion around the inevitable change to False Creek South - a change through which the City intends to achieve broad civic priorities such as the pursuit of development opportunities to provide more housing, and strategic asset management which includes “achieving a reasonable rate of return”.

 

In this session, we seek to provide a space for attendees to discuss:

  • What physical and non-physical aspects of False Creek South are significant and definitive, and what degree of change is acceptable before these qualities are compromised?
  • As a piece of city-owned land that can contribute to civic priorities – in particular housing issues – how much responsibility should be placed on False Creek South as a solution to housing needs?
  • False Creek South is seen as a city real estate asset both for the potential density that can be added and the rate of financial return that can be achieved. Does this view trump the other ways in which False Creek South is of value to the City?
  • What are the implications of the fact that the land is City owned? Does the City have a special responsibility to these areas which have become cultural and social assets to Vancouver?
  • What can be expected in terms of a collaborative process based on the False Creek South Provisional Vision Statement and Guiding Planning Principles formulated and adopted by the City?

 

About this series

Shaping Vancouver 2018: Contested Places

Welcome to our fourth season of Shaping Vancouver. This season, we focus on the multiple values of places. Change is a fundamental part of heritage. Places are not frozen in time - with the passage of time, changes occur in them layering additional meaning on top of another. These changes bring about the diversity and differing values that characterize a place. And these values may not be the traditional ones we think of – the historic and the aesthetic values of architecture. In many cases, some of those values may conflict.

We engage with these complexities of place and their differing communities by looking at several examples in Vancouver where these multiple values stand out. How do we learn, understand, capture, protect, and balance the differing values that are central for a place so that it contributes to social benefit and for the public to understand, appreciate, and experience the value of the sites. Importantly, we also explore the need to plan for and have appropriate policies that secure the advantages of this diversity and allow for the coexistence of these multiple realities.

Location: SFU Woodwards

49.282372, -123.10858

SFU Woodwards

149 W Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
Canada