With the Winter Olympics fast approaching, the editor of Vancouver Magazine takes a shot at capturing the big picture of the city that has become a model for planners everywhere.
Beyond the clichés of sustainability and eco-consciousness (all true, he adds) Gary Stephen Ross attempts to portray all the facets of Vancouver.
Ross writes, "It's easy to forget now, a quarter century after Expo 86 introduced the world to Vancouver (and Vancouver to the world), easy to forget after the exodus from Hong Kong in the '90s altered the city's demographic profile and fuelled a real estate boom, easy to forget now that Hermes and Coach and Gucci fill our shop windows - and especially easy to forget during the klieg-lit invasion of the Winter Olympics - what a small city this is. With a population of about 600,000, it's a quarter the size of Toronto proper."
FULL STORY: A Tale of Two Cities
Making Density a Cornerstone for Successful City-Making
Density is a loaded term that brings with it many negative connotations. But it can help solve "our city's toughest challenges." Brent Toderian discusses lessons from Vancouver on how to turn "the third rail of municipal politics" into an asset.
Why Has 'Vancouverism' Become a Hard Sell in Canada?
Vancouver's remarkable experiment in livable density is the envy of, and model for, cities across the world. So, after a decade of skyline expansion across Canada, why has densification 'lost steam' in the country? Doug Saunders investigates.
Is the Success of Vancouver's Urbanism Just a Facade?
Bob Ransford argues that the policies that have shaped Vancouver's streets and skyline over the last decades into a global icon of planning and design are an accomplishment of style over substance that fail to look at how people inhabit buildings.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.
BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.
Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
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Harvard GSD Executive Education
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