Moving in a Livable Region (MLR) is happy to host our new series of community dialogues entitled Moving Van: Building our Region for a New Normal. COVID-19 has made us question many things we take for granted; it has accelerated the need for rethinking how we move, how resilient our systems are, and what the future of our communities looks like. We know you've been having these conversations with your friends and family, and we want to create a space for us to have this conversation together.

We will be having a 3-part series of dialogues on the following themes:

Tuesday, July 21 | Safety + Transportation

What are the most important decision making factors that will influence whether you physically partake in an activity like work, school, or recreation? How are you looking to move about now? What's safe now and what do we need to change to ensure we're safer in the long run? These are the questions we will be exploring with you and with experts in the mobility space. 

Monday, July 27 | Understanding Density + Land Use

Is density a bad word after COVID-19? Are we better off in sprawling communities instead? Does COVID-19 shift how we plan our cities? What does this mean for housing prices and cost of living? Is there still hope for reducing our GHG emissions? These questions look at how the pandemic will affect our community planning in the future and will allow us to separate myths from facts when it comes to safety risks.

Friday, July 31 | Moving Beyond the Farebox

Why was our public transit infrastructure under threat of financial collapse because of COVID-19? Are we funding our priorities sustainably? Has COVID-19 highlighted system vulnerabilities that organizations have been pointing out for years? This event will explore how we fund our public transit system, where the dollars go, and what other funding methods exist out there that we could learn from.

We're excited to have you join us and expand these conversations with your perspective. By having experts and decision makers in attendance, your ideas can shape how we build our region for a new normal. We look forward to (digitally) meeting you all." 

About MLR

Moving in a Livable Region (MLR) is a growing consortium in Metro Vancouver that aims to build a more resilient, equitable, economically strong, and healthy region. We are currently comprised of the Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation, TransLink, Metro Vancouver Regional District, provincial and municipal government representatives, active transportation groups, non-governmental organizations, boards of trade, business associations, academics and student organizations, industry representatives, Vancouver Coastal Health, and SFU and UBC. Convened by the Simon Fraser University Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, MLR stakeholders recognize that we can only move forward as a region when we work together and understand the values we each share. We acknowledge that positive growth in this region can be achieved when we improve our mobility and land-use planning processes.