Vancouver: The Sustainable City

ABSTRACT:

Vancouver exemplifies the richness of the many processes that set the civic culture of large contemporary cities. This paper focuses on what drives the social and economic construction of Vancouver, pointing to the complex linkages that tie agents to their environment. It shows that, in Vancouver, power arises from strong popular control and local democratic and participatory values, where group interactions produce and co-produce community development. The Vancouver regime is open yet stable, socially progressive yet fiscally conservative and pro-development. It is a regime that upholds an activist, tolerant and entrepreneurial civic culture. It emerges from an on-going process where the openness of the regime is re-negotiated in each neighbourhood and around each policy arena leading to the emergence of a culture of ongoing participation where civic, neighbourhood, ethnic and business groups constantly re-invent the city.

Notes

1 I would like to acknowledge the rich and generous comments of three peer reviewers, and of both guest editors, Laura Reese and Raymond Rosenfeld.

2 Checkoway describes how the housing market of the 1940–1950s supported major changes in the building industry, and favored large builders. These large builders were subsidized by federal government programs, and fought for new legislation that accommodated them.

3 The GVRD has freeways but not the municipality.

4 The following agencies provide a means for citizens to have input into city decisions: Advisory Body Task Force, Bicycle Advisory Committee, Board of Variance, Building Board of Appeal, Chinatown Historic Area Planning Committee, Citizens’ Advisory Group on Property Taxation, Development Permit Board Advisory Panel, Advisory Committee on Disability Issues, Advisory Committee on Diversity Issues, Family Court Youth Justice Committee, Fire and Rescue Services Advisory Committee, First Shaughnessy Advisory Design Panel, Gastown Historic Area Planning Committee, Peace and Justice Committee, Public Art Committee, Urban Design Panel, Vancouver Athletic Commission, Vancouver Civic Theatres Board, Vancouver Economic Development Commission, Vancouver Heritage Commission, Vancouver Heritage Foundation Board, Vancouver Public Library Board. Note that the terms of reference, legislative authority, mandate, composition, requirements, meeting frequency, length of existence etc. vary from committee to committee. Details on each committee can be found at http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/ctyclerk/civicagencies/civicindex.htm

5 CUPE is the acronym for Canadian Union of Public Employees.

6 The RCMP is the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

7 The municipality of Vancouver is one of the few Canadian Cities that has its own charter; its powers are regulated by a provincial act specific to the city of Vancouver. The primary difference with other B.C. municipalities is that Vancouver can intervene in greater policy arenas. The Vancouver Charter can be accessed on http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/stat/V/vanch_00.htm (accessed February 2007).

8 The Kaiser Foundation recognizes individuals and organizations that promote physical and mental health by reducing harm from substance use.

9 The GVRD has done extensive consultation on the LRSP as well as the SRI. Citizen engagement can be a slow process, but it is endemic to the culture of the GVRD and the way that it functions. Within the GVRD, there are a number of municipalities which also have extensive engagement policies, including the City of Vancouver itself. In an assessment of citizen engagement practices across BC municipalities, Symonds found that engagement begets more engagement. The more the municipality offers opportunities to participate, the more the citizenry comes to expect to be engaged.