Planning should be providing community needs, not just promoting unlimited growth.
For example, a subway extension to the University of B.C. that isn’t a regional priority now, or possibly ever, is being used to justify huge tower developments at Jericho Lands, both of which would add significant embodied carbon.Article contentAfter a decade of record amounts of rezoning and development, Vancouver is one of the most-unaffordable cities in the world. Spot rezonings, land assemblies, displacement, speculation and land inflation are contributors. We need to do things differently.
Just adding more density doesn’t make neighbourhoods complete or walkable. Even if transit is close, busy parents often still drive their children to school and other programs just to fit within a tight time schedule. Most households will still require at least one vehicle. Proposed removal of on-site parking minimums shifts parking onto the street and removes options for on-site EV charging.
All neighbourhoods are overwhelmed by disconnected arbitrary rezonings without neighbourhood-based planning or transparent accurate data. To be a livable, affordable and sustainable city, Vancouver needs to be building for actual needs, in a scale and location that suites each neighbourhood with meaningful community input, supported by affordable electric transit, amenities and services. Pause and pivot is what has to happen to address climate change and affordability now.
Elizabeth Murphy is a private sector project manager. She was formerly a property development officer in the City of Vancouver’s Housing and Properties Department and for B.C. Housing.
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