Planners in Vancouver are moving to curb booming residential growth to expand commercial development downtown. 'It's all good to walk and bike to work, but if you don't have offices for people to go to, that makes things rather difficult.'
"City planners are proposing that residential development be banned from an expanded new commercial district, that office towers automatically be granted 20 to 40 per cent more density, and that developers be encouraged to build as high as possible without blocking the city's designated view corridors.
"When you look at the capacity for job space in the city, there's a problem, particularly in the downtown," said planner Kevin McNaney, who is in charge of the city's massive metro-core jobs study that has been examining what kinds of occupations and locations the city will need in the future. "And it really has nowhere to go but up. There's heritage on one side, strata condos on the others and then the port."
The city is also proposing that all conversions from office to residential in buildings over 50,000 square feet will be discouraged through the new central business district, which will now stretch from Bute to Beatty and Robson to Cordova. Similarly, conversions of buildings over 30,000 square feet in Yaletown, Chinatown and Gastown will also be discouraged.
That change is being welcomed by the business community, which has been raising the alarm for a couple of years about the way office development has been losing the battle to more profitable condo development.
FULL STORY: Vancouver's commercial downtown goes up and out to create job space
Seattle Downtown Plan Expands Permitted Uses
The Downtown Activation Plan shifts from Euclidean to form-based zoning to encourage more commercial development.
Study: How to Revitalize Downtown Minneapolis
A proposal calls for a reevaluation of the city’s skyways, a focus on street-facing businesses, and an improved public realm.
Draft Plan Takes Aim at Downtown DC Revitalization
The plan calls for policies that support adaptive reuse, new housing construction, and improved public parks and facilities.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
Fair Housing Cannot Take a Back Seat to ‘Build, Baby, Build’
If we overlook fair housing principles in the plan to build US housing back better, we risk ending up right back where we started.
LA Metro Board Approves New 710 Freeway Plan
The newest plan for the 710 corridor claims it will not displace any residents.
Austin’s Proposed EV Charging Rules Regulate Station Locations, Size
City planners say the new rules would ensure an efficient distribution of charging infrastructure across the city and prevent an overconcentration in residential areas.
Making California State Parks More Climate-Resilient
A recently released report offers recommendations for keeping state parks healthy and robust, including acquiring additional land for conservation and recreation.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
