In a policy shift, the Vancouver City Council voted to limit the number of new condos being built downtown in order to preserve room for office space.
"Council voted on Tuesday night to limit residential development within 17 square blocks of what is considered the central business district, centred around the intersection of Burrard Street and West Georgia Street. City staff said there will still be some mixed-use development allowed in about one-third of the space.
The move counters what has been called the livable city model developed by city planners over the past decade to encourage residential condominium construction inside the business district, a model of development that was copied by other cities around the world.
Coun. Raymond Louie said the regulations affect only about 15 per cent of the downtown peninsula and shouldn't change the feeling of life on streets downtown.
"What we've done is stabilize the speculation or reduce the speculation in the central business district, so that office space can be more affordable, because we do need to have a good mix of jobs and people living in the downtown core rather than just having people living or working in the area," said Louie."
Read the full story: Vancouver caps downtown condos to save office space
Putting in Condos Without Kicking Out Renters in Vancouver
Transit oriented development doesn’t have to mean evictions and demolitions for existing renters, but often it does.
Report Finds Much Ado About Nothing for Vancouver Real Estate
Despite reports to the contrary, a recent report created in part by the City of Vancouver, finds that most housing types in the city have yet to be sold to absentee landlords.
Why Are There So Many Vacant Condos in Vancouver?
New analysis of census data has found that a quarter of the condos in some areas of downtown Vancouver are empty or occupied by non-residents, leading analysts to raise concerns about the role of investors in the city's housing market.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
Mass. votes against statewide minimum lot size for single-family homes
Over 2 million residents voted on Question 7; it was decided by just over 30,000 votes.
Maryland’s $15 billion bridge project gains key approval
The Maryland Transit Authority said the project will create over 60,000 jobs and add $23 billion to the local economy.
‘No clear next steps’ for Chicago's permanent festival grounds
Eleventh Ward Ald. Nicole Lee has suggested Soldier Field as a possible location for the permanent event space.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority