Vancouver is famous for high-rises and a decidedly urban quality of life, but housing prices are still skyrocketing. A new ten-year housing strategy proposes a few drastic measures to rebalance the market's scales.
Earlier this week, the Vancouver City Council approved a ten-year housing strategy designed "to address everything from combating homelessness and revitalizing low-density neighbourhoods, to taming real estate speculation and increasing rental housing stock," according to an article by Dan Fumano and Nick Eagland.
"The overall strategy includes, among other things, a target of creating 72,000 new homes for renters, families and vulnerable residents over the next 10 years," according to the article.
Dan Fumano wrote a follow-up article on the Housing Vancouver strategy, focusing on the new plan's attention to the city's rental market. In addition to proposing new tenant protection measures, the Housing Vancouver strategy recommends the immediate implementation of the Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Program. That program offers incentivizes to the private sector "to develop purpose-built rental buildings," such as additional density or relaxed parking requirements.
Controversially, the "strategy also raises the idea of creating 'rental-only zones' in the city, which would require legislation from the provincial government," according to Fumano.
For more information, see also the City of Vancouver's Housing Vancouver website.
FULL STORY: Vancouver council approves 'bold, ambitious' 10-year housing strategy
Vancouver Again Raises its Empty Homes Tax
The Vancouver Empty Homes Tax will soon be three times as high as it was when adopted in 2017.
Vacancy Taxes as a Response to the Housing Crisis
Could vacancy taxes solve multiple housing challenges at once?
Rent Control Approved for Montgomery County
The Montgomery County Council has approved a new law that sets limits on how much landlords can raise rents from year to year.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association