According to Pe
ter Mitham, in a recent article in BC Business, Vancouverism can be traced back to 1986 when city planners made a conscious decision to encourage residential development in the downtown core. The result they hoped to achieve: Liveable Urban Communities.
Liveable Urban Communities, first defined by the New York Times, were “widely separated, slender towers interspersed with low-rise buildings, public spaces, small parks and pedestrian-friendly streetscapes and facades to minimize the impact of a high-density population.”
The result in downtown Vancouver is clear: grass boulevards and wide sidewalks, green spaces and, public amenities, townhouses on the ground floors and an ‘eyes on the street’ mentality. As the downtown Vancouver core continues to progress, Peter Mitham takes a look at how this model of Vancouverism is expanding into the suburbs.
Cities such as Surrey, and Fort Langley, are integrating this model of Vancouverism and Urban Liveable Planning, but doing so in a way that combines suburban living. Incorporating ‘ground-oriented housing’ instead of highrise towers, being sensitive to the community’s history, and emphasizing walkability, all contribute to creating an urban-suburban way of life.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on this standpoint and encourage you to connect with us on Facebook or Twitter. If you’d like to check out the entire article in BC Business by Peter Mitham, you can find it here.