Vancouverism

Vancouverism is an urban planning and architectural technique pioneered in Vancouver, Canada. It is characterized by mixed-use developments, typically with a medium-height, commercial base and narrow, high-rise residential towers to accommodate high populations and to preserve view corridors. [http://www.spur.org/documents/031101_article_04.shtm SPUR - Articles - Vancouver's View Corridors ] ] [ [http://www.archnewsnow.com/features/Feature177.htm ArchNewsNow ] ] [http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/commsvcs/BYLAWS/odp/dd.pdf] With a large residential population living in the city centre, no expressways connecting the core to the suburbs, and significant reliance on mass public transit, Vancouver is somewhat unique among large North American cities. In part, these reasons contribute to the fact that it is consistently ranked among the most livable cities in the world. [ [http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/livable_cities_worldwide/ World's Top 100 Most Livable Cities ] ] Other cities have begun to take note of the principles of Vancouverism and have begun to incorporate this approach in their own planning directions.

Renowned architect Bing Thom described Vancouverism this way: [ [http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/pastpodcasts.html?42#ref42 Past Podcasts | Podcasts | CBC Radio ] ]

It's a spirit about public space. I think Vancouverites are very, very proud that we built a city that really has a tremendous amount of space on the waterfront for people to recreate and to enjoy.

At the same time, False Creek and Coal Harbour were previously industrial lands that were very polluted and desecrated. We've refreshed all of this with new development, and people have access to the water and the views. So, to me, it's this idea of having a lot people living very close together, mixing the uses. So, we have apartments on top of stores. In Surrey we have a university on top of a shopping centre. This mixing of uses reflects Vancouver in terms of our culture and how we live together.

Background

Vancouverism developed as product of Vancouver's context. Wedged between the sea, mountains and the border with the United States, the Greater Vancouver Regional District partnered with the area's municipalities to encourage controlled development. Early recognition that British Columbia's farmland would be engulfed by sprawl led to the establishment of the Agricultural Land Reserve in the 1970s. This assisted in containing and intensifying development throughout the Vancouver metropolitan area and the Fraser Valley.

Architect Arthur Erickson is credited by some with developing the concept that became Vancouverism in the mid 1950s, in a never-realized development called "Project 56". [ [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/06/23/vancouver-architecture.html Vancouver's architectural style in spotlight at London exhibit ] ] Many of the principles were incorporated into the development of the West End, which became the highest density neighbourhood on the west coast of North America by the 1960s. The city's planning department, under the direction of Ray Spaxman in the 1980s, began to expand on the concepts, many of which were brought into fruition with the development of the former Expo 86 lands along False Creek and Yaletown.

References