Shaping Vancouver 2016 | What do I want from my street?

In this panel, speakers discussed the impact of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) along some of our prominent North South arterial streets – Cambie, Main, Fraser, and the communities along them.

Increasingly, we see the character and street level retail disrupted by the creation of high-density mixed-use areas close to public transport. Although this kind of development increases the housing supply, questions around diversity, density distribution, community assets, and neighbourhood quality remain. It is a model that appears to preserve low-density single-family neighbourhoods by introducing Metrotown like developments.

Is this the best way for Vancouver to address the development imperatives it is facing and if the preservation of low-density single family areas justify the creation of high density nodes?

The panel explored what factors make a street work, including how accessible it is for various modes of transportation, how it allows for a variety of activities, how pedestrian-oriented it is, whether it provides comfortable gathering spaces, and how it contributes to a distinct image of its neighbourhoods as a means to assess the impact of the TOD development being proposed for Vancouver. A general discussion with the audience followed.

SHAPING VANCOUVER 2016: OUR NEIGHBOURHOODS

Following an extremely successful Shaping Vancouver 2015 series on the City of Vancouver Heritage Action Plan, its initiative to update how the City’s heritage conservation is managed, Heritage Vancouver was thrilled to present our award-winning series for 2016.

The series put together heritage and community experts together to engage in conversation with the public around the heritage of our neighbourhoods, not only in terms of conservation but also in terms of the legacy we are creating for the future of Vancouver and what the actions we are taking today might mean for heritage in the future. The series began with an overview of how we may define a neighborhood and what is needed to create community. The series then took the discussion to specific neighbourhoods in our city.

With close to 1000 residential buildings being torn down in Vancouver in 2015, many residents fear the erasure of neighbourhood character as demolitions become rampant. There is a general sense that new construction, an increase in empty houses and neighbourhood plans lack consideration for the existing neighbourhood context.

These conversations were intended to explore how we can accommodate change and preserve what is important to neighbourhoods and community.