Who should decide what scale and type of development should go into an existing neighbourhood? Should it be the City which has close relationships and an overall perspective of development and housing needs across all neighbourhoods? Or should it be the Province who understands the urgent need for development and sees that many local governments are not doing their part to allow change and growth?
Are we too safe; have we gone too far with the building code?
Building regulations are in place for many good reasons, including keeping residents and first responders safe. At the end of 2023, the BC Government announced adjustments to the Building Code. They are aiming to “right-size” the code, mostly through seismic and accessibility provisions. But, with ambitious housing supply goals, are the proposed reforms enough or are the years of accrued regulations getting in the way of good and affordable housing design?
The Downtown Eastside Plan (2014) was created to protect low-income residents and other community members by restricting new development and uses not specifically targeting the poor. Many believe the DTES is Vancouver's last authentic and compassionate neighbourhood in the city; others see a neighbourhood in decline. Is it time to rethink the DTES Plan to allow for a greater mix of self-supporting uses, residents and businesses? Or, does the DTES Plan effectively protect a vulnerable population and preserve/work towards a cohesive neighbourhood?
Links to the Plan:
Metro Vancouver, a federation of 21 municipalities, one Electoral Area and one Treaty First Nation, relies on consensus decision-making by nominated councillors to direct its planning and activities. The urgent issues of our times—climate change, Land Rights, housing, transportation/transit—require decisive regional action. Would an empowered regional government, directly elected by the region, be more effective and accountable?
First established as a loop around Stanley Park in 1980, the extended Seawall now stretches 28 kilometers. Despite its heavy usage, it is served by few commercial activities. Is the Seawall a beloved public realm success story or boring strip of pavement for single-use recreation? Should the Seawall continue to resist any further “revitalization”, or should more commercial activities be encouraged to foster a greater variety of activities?
Around the world, people are calling for the renaming of places and the removal of monuments honouring racist colonial figures. Does erasing the historical markers inadvertently diminish the opportunities for current and future generations to remember and meaningfully confront our history? Or does removing the offensive markers enable a more productive dialogue? In that case, who decides which markers to remove, what happens to them, and what, if anything, replaces them?
What are the key urban design initiatives your city plan has introduced to foster deeper community resilience? What jurisdictional tools have been most effective in making these initiatives happen?
In the fifth and final lecture of this series, we are bringing five renowned speakers together in a panel format to explore the ways our parks and public space system create resilience and wellbeing in our communities. Panelists will present their topics, followed by a moderated discussion with the audience. This event will end with a hosted reception in the lobby of UBC Robson Square.
Should citizens be more empowered to decide what gets built and where in Vancouver? Or is the process already too prone to public pressures, stifling the creativity, knowhow and vision that professional planners are hired to provide?
Vancouver allows a lot of wiggle room in its zoning requirements to be able to negotiate trade-offs with developers. That can spawn public amenities, but sometimes public backlash as well. Time to stop this “spot zoning” and nail down a city-wide plan?