British Columbia

B.C. and Washington Seek High Speed Rail to California

Officials in the Pacific Northwest are calling for a high speed rail line that connects British Columbia with California.

October 21, 2010 - CBC

Operational Issues Keeping Residents Out of Olympic Housing in Vancouver

Housing created for the Olympic Village in Vancouver was intended to be reused after the 2010 event as affordable housing. But the province hasn't been able to find an operator. Now the city wants to move ahead without the province's help.

October 1, 2010 - The Vancouver Sun

Paying for Roads: Drivers Versus Cyclists

This piece from The Vancouver Sun asks who pays their fair share for roads and transportation infrastructure costs: car drivers or cyclists?

September 29, 2010 - The Vancouver Sun

Are One-Way Streets Really Necessary?

One-way streets are a relatively new phemenon and encourage drivers to drive faster, says John Calimente. He argues it's time to convert Vancouver's one-ways back to their two-way pasts.

September 28, 2010 - re:place Magazine

Hyper-Local Becomes Even More Local

Local food advocates have promoted the idea of only eating food raised within 50 miles of your home. But how about 2 blocks? A Vancouver neighborhood experiments in communal growing.

September 23, 2010 - The Vancover Sun

Holograms Used To Make Drivers More Aware

The City of West Vancouver is piloting a new program to help drivers slow down for the back to school season: they are projecting a hologram onto the road featuring a young girl running after a ball to call attention to driving safety.

September 8, 2010 - Globe and Mail

Building Business By Building Bike Lanes

Cycling activists in Vancouver are trying to tout the economic benefits of bike lanes to help build the case for a proposed separated bike lane.

September 4, 2010 - Straight.com

The Vancouver Dream, The Vancouver Nightmare

Despite its reputation as a planner's dream, the city of Vancouver has incredibly high housing prices, which is part of the reason New Geography's Steve Lafleur calls it a middle class nightmare.

August 20, 2010 - New Geography

Vancouver Businesses Opposing Bike Lane

Officials are planning to install a second major separated bike lane in downtown Vancouver. Local business owners are trying to stop them.

August 13, 2010 - The Vancouver Sun

Vancouver Tests Out Street Vending

Vancouver's streets are buzzing with a new wave of street food vendors, part of a pilot program to expand formalized informal commerce downtown.

July 15, 2010 - Globe and Mail

Funding Neighborhood Food Security in Vancouver

The city of Vancouver has announced a plan to dedicate $100,000 to fund neighborhood-based food security projects.

June 25, 2010 - The Vancouver Sun

Vancouver's Laneway Homes Begin to Arouse Complaint

The idea was for the homes to be 'mortgage helpers' or cheaper way to house elderly parents. Since the citywide policy was passed last year, 89 laneways have been approved and some are already generating complaints.

June 24, 2010 - The Globe and Mail

Vancouver Debuts Two-Way Bicycle Lane

The new bike lane is fully separated from car traffic and runs downtown on Dunsmuir Street, and is being tested for the next six months for viability.

June 16, 2010 - Price Tags blog

New Crop on BC Farms: RVs

With fruit prices way down, some farmers in British Columbia are taking their fields out of production and renting them out as RV parks. The government in Kelowna, BC, is not happy.

May 28, 2010 - The Globe and Mail

Towering TOD Proposed For Vancouver: City Unsure

A 30-story residential building will be at the core of a transit-oriented development project at Canada Line's Marine Drive Station in Vancouver.

May 27, 2010 - The Vancouver Sun

Vancouver Considers $25 Million Investment in Bike Lanes

The city of Vancouver is looking to expand its bike network with the proposal of a $25 million investment in bicycle infrastructure over the next two years.

May 6, 2010 - The Vancouver Sun

Are NIMFYs Next?

Converting front lawns into edible gardens is becoming popular, but some neighbors only see ugliness and worry about their property values. Are we entering the age of Not In My Front Yard (NIMFY)?

April 29, 2010 - The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

2,029 Urban Gardens

Vancouver set a goal of creating 2,010 food gardens around the city by the time of the 2010 Olympics, and managed to reach that number (and a little more).

April 12, 2010 - The Vancouver Courier

Looking Back at the Olympic Experiment

During the 17 days of the Winter Olympics, Vancouver significantly beefed up its transit offerings and reduced lanes for automobiles. Did the experiment work, and what would happen if these temporary changes were made permanent?

April 6, 2010 - re:place Magazine

A Closer Look at Dockside Green

Dockside Green, a development in Victoria, B.C., is a breathtaking model of urban regeneration, brownfield reuse, green design, and community building, says Ken Pirie.

April 1, 2010 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.