Urbanarium

In most cities across North America, the single-family zone encompasses the majority of the urban land base. This zoning reserves the right to access in these urban areas to those who can afford or have inherited real estate wealth – the majority of the land base does not currently accommodate the majority of our residents.

A dialogue on emerging futures with San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver's top planners:

John Rahaim, Planning Director, City and County of San Francisco

Joe Zehnder, Chief Planner, City of Portland

David Driskell, Deputy Director of Planning, City of Seattle

Gil Kelley, General Manager of Planning, City of Vancouver

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Two years ago, Urbanarium hosted Gil Kelley's first public lecture as Vancouver's new Chief Planner.

As part of the 2017 Vancouver Design Week, The Urbanarium is proud to present Smart City Talks by Alison Brooks

Alison Brooks, Principal and Creative Director of Alison Brooks Architects, is one of the leading architects of her generation. She has developed an international reputation for a multi-award winning body of work since founding the practice in 1996. Born in Ontario, Canada in 1962, she moved to London in 1988 after graduating with a BES and BArch from the University of Waterloo.

Unleashing the potential of The Missing Middle will hinge on the economics of land assembly. The pervasive development culture, requiring land assembly, underground parking, presentation center marketing and tendency towards large scale developments begs big questions for this missing housing type.

Imagine Parks and Recreation – What could Vancouver’s parks, public space and recreation opportunities look like in 25 years? How about 100 years?

In the third lecture of this series, we explore the ecological and environmental sustainability dimensions of parks and public spaces in urban environments with two leading experts and a moderated Q&A:

Opening speaker: Melina Scholefield, P. Eng, Manager, Green Infrastructure Implementation, City of Vancouver

Imagine Parks and Recreation – What could Vancouver’s parks, public space and recreation opportunities look like in 25 years? How about 100 years?

Our second lecture of this series delves into spatial distribution, access and equity dimensions of parks and public spaces with two speakers and a moderated Q&A:

Opening Speaker: Aaron Licker on using GIS to investigate cities

Keynote Speaker:   Kurt Culbertson on environmental and spatial justice

Imagine Parks and Recreation – What could Vancouver’s parks, public space and recreation opportunities look like in 25 years? How about 100 years?

As the first lecture on our series, we are opening the floor to some of Vancouver's thinkers on the theme of COMMUNITY + VISION:

6:30pm to 8pm: Group Lecture

-     Dr Tara Moreau: UBC Botanical Garden

-     Jessie Mann: Youth leader

-     Ildiko G. Kovacs: engaging children in parks planning

Vienna, one of the world’s most livable cities, has no affordable housing crisis. Four-fifths of new housing is government subsidized. Should Greater Vancouver follow suit?

6:00 Doors Open

6:00 - 7:30 The Vienna Model exhibition + Drinks Bar

7:30 - 9:00 Smart City Debate

Greater Vancouver is gripped by a housing affordability crisis that threatens its economy and livability. What do the three parties pledge to do? Who will earn your vote?

New Democrat Housing Critic MLA David Eby, BC Liberal MLA Sam Sullivan and Green Party Housing Spokesperson David Wong lay out their parties’ positions and answer tough questions.

Should zoning laws be rewritten to protect character homes? Or will that lock in unaffordable, outdated housing?