If its proposals are effectively implemented, Vancouver's new housing plan would promote 'missing middle housing' and increase density near jobs and transit.
While it has taken years for Vancouver's city council to develop the framework for a plan to increase housing density and provide more affordable housing in the city, the Globe and Mail editorial board sees the recently released plan as a step in the right direction for a city where housing costs have doubled in the last decade.
The board blames Vancouver's widespread single-family zoning for the rise in housing costs and argues that pushing people farther away from jobs and services in the central city could be a hindrance to Vancouver's economic growth. Some homeowners, however, are ready to fight the city's plans to increase density in residential neighborhoods. Meanwhile, housing advocates say permitting density only on busy arterial roads, which expose residents to higher levels of pollution and noise, discriminates against low-income households.
According to the editorial, the proposal focuses on encouraging "missing middle housing" and mixed-use development, but does not yet include specific provisions for zoning changes.
More than 50 per cent of Vancouver’s land is devoted to just 15 percent of the city’s housing. The draft plan has ideas to increase development near rapid transit and shopping areas, but it is the proposal to allow more types of housing in neighbourhoods of detached single-family homes that likely will make the biggest difference in the decades ahead.
The council expects to vote on a finalized plan in mid-2022.
FULL STORY: Vancouver has a plan for the future of Canadian cities
Washington Could Legalize 'Missing Middle' Housing Statewide
A proposed bill in the Washington state legislature that would legalize more multi-family housing in the state could add hundreds of thousands of units to the state's strained housing stock.
How Cities Are Resisting State Efforts To Increase Density
Cities are attempting to wrest back local control over land use and zoning via some ingenious—and sometimes disingenuous—strategies.
How policy changes helped Minneapolis beat rent inflation
Despite a boom in population, Minneapolis has managed to keep rents relatively steady through a combination of legislative action and private investment.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
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.
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