Vancouver's "Living First" strategy, which emphasizes downtown living, as well as careful attention to designing the downtown skyline, has made it one of North America's most livable cities.
"Most North American cities have been turned into doughnuts by decades of flight to the suburbs. Not so in Vancouver, the third largest metropolis in Canada. At least 45,000 people have moved downtown in the last 15 years -- more than doubling its population, which is now expected to reach 120,000 by 2020.
Much of the downtown area is now peppered with apartment blocks, rising to 30 storeys or more...The towers are usually set on podiums with shops and restaurants at ground-floor level and flanked by three-storey 'row houses' -- terraced houses, we would call them -- to cater for people who prefer their own door onto the street. Over 600 of these row houses have been built in the city centre so far.
None of this has happened by accident...Vancouver has a strong planning and regulatory regime, one of the most interventionist in North America."
FULL STORY: Vancouver -- healthy, happy and high density
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?
The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.
San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.
Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.
Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions