The Vancouver City Planning Commission has published an online version of its two-year retrospective for 2007-2008. The report reviews the Commission’s major initiative, A City Built for Change, as well as other projects and initiatives. The topic of adaptability was a common thread through much of the Commission’s work during this period.

The Commission has completed a draft Vancouver Change Charter in preparation for presentation to City Council along with its report on A City Built for Change – the Commission’s two-year examination of the City’s resilience in the face of change.

The Change Charter is the culmination of an extensive process of engagement discussion about adaptability as the key tenet of sustainability. It states that “an adaptable city is one that can grow and change in response to social, environmental and economic factors, while minimizing the disruption of these systems.”

The Change Charter articulates 5 principles of urban sustainability:

1. A flexible public realm
2. Adaptable building
3. Responsive public policy
4. Open public discussion
5. The economy of adaptability

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Editorial: The citizen-led Vancouver City Planning Commission argues for immediate City Council response to our evaporating rental housing supply

According to recent Census figures, more than half of all Vancouverites rent their homes. Fifty two percent of our city is an extraordinary number – over a quarter million of us. Projections for population growth within city boundaries range from 15-30% within a generation. Today, however, there is no purpose-built rental accommodation being built in Vancouver.

Why?

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The Vancouver City Planning Commission is sponsoring a pilot project to map community amenities in an approach that combines traditional public engagement approaches such as asset mapping with online mapping tools and community festival events.

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On September 19, teams of students, community leaders, design professionals activists and civil servants participated in two workshops organized by the Vancouver City Planning Commission to envision ways to build adaptability into urban design and practice, and to explore and model new solutions.

The workshops formed part of the Urban Adaptability Ideas Forum, the third major event in the Commission’s A City Built for Change initiative to examine how our city responds to shifts in societal, economic and environmental patterns and trends.

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A Special Presentation by Professor Robert Kronenburg, Liverpool School of Architecture
When: Thursday September 18 – 6:30 pm (no charge)
Where: H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, 1100 Chestnut St., Vancouver

How our city responds to shifts in societal, economic and environmental issues is the basis of A City Built for Change, the central focus of the Vancouver City Planning Commission’s 2008 program.

An Adaptability Ideas Forum is the third and final event of the Vancouver City Planning series of events developed to engage a broad group of citizens in a discusion about sustainable change in the city. Highlighting this two-day forum is a presentation by Professor Robert Kronenburg, author of Flexible: Architecture That Responds to Change, on flexible architecture and city building.

According to VCPC Chair Alan Boniface, Kronenburg is a perfect choice to stimulate deeper discussion on these important themes. “Vancouver is already leading edge in the sustainable development field, advocating for walkable, transit-oriented communities and environmental technologies as a few examples. But we would like to see the boundaries pushed for new ideas, ensuring that future policy in this area is truly progressive and as informed as possible.”

The input received during the series of City Built for Change events will be incorporated into the Commission’s Change Charter, which will be presented to City Council.

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The Vancouver City Planning Commission (VCPC) is bringing a host of Vancouver’s thinkers, innovators, dreamers and activists together to gather opinions on what is ‘driving change’ in Vancouver and the sustainable path to accommodating this change.

The Summit on Change will involve presentations by Steven Sheppard, Professor of UBC Forest Resources Management, and Michael Geller, President and CEO of SFU Community Trust, followed by roundtable discussions. Participants include leaders from the arts, culture, philanthropy, high tech, business, social services, neighbourhood groups, media and academia. The outcomes from the events will contribute to the Change Charter to be developed by the Commission.

“In creating a plan for the City to become more responsive to change over time, the VCPC is engaging with citizens to investigate the drivers of change in Vancouver,” said Alan Boniface, Chair of the VCPC. “The intent is to assist the Planning Commission in creating a methodology and toolkit for responding to change in its built form and public realm. This is a rare opportunity for a City to create a forward-looking mandate for truly sustainable responses to changing urban forces.”

The event takes place on Thursday, March 20th, 2008.

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VCPC has begun a public outreach series to address issues of urban growth and adaptability, launched today with the free public lecture by Metro Portland Councilor Robert Liberty on the Politics and Principles of Urban Sustainability.

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What can Vancouver learn about implementing smarter growth?

Growth in Metro Vancouver is at a crossroads. We welcome newcomers and are planning for a predicted increase in population. But citizens and developers are skeptical about the planning process and are debating the outcomes. What does it mean to implement smart growth? And what kind of leadership is needed to make it happen?

The Vancouver City Planning Commission is presenting an evening with Councillor Robert Liberty from Metro Portland, Oregon – an early and leading smart growth advocate. Like Vancouver, Portland has weighed into the debate over urban sprawl and Councillor Liberty has been at the heart of the debate. He has strongly promoted walkable districts through the redevelopment of neighbourhood centres and along main streets, as well as increasing local transportation and housing choices, as key components to healthy communities. He also advocates giving citizens a stronger role in the regional planning decisions affecting their future. Councillor Liberty will speak about the political challenges and triumphs of smarter growth in cities and regions.

When: Tuesday, November 20, 2007, 6:45 – 8:00 pm

Where: SFU Harbour Centre, Labatt Theatre, 515 West Hastings St.

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