That's the question the Vancouver Planning Commission has been tossing around with the public for the last year or so, as they prepare a "Change Charter" for City Hall.
"Most of Vancouver's built form -- the buildings, roads and man-made public spaces -- is relatively new. Few of the small collection of buildings constructed around the time of Vancouver's birth remain today. Most have been adapted for modern re-use.
It is hard to imagine how most of our modern-day buildings might be adapted over time to meet future needs. For example, can you imagine the many highrises that sit atop townhouse-wrapped podiums in Vancouver's downtown south being transformed into buildings that might accommodate light technical manufacturing or even educational institutional uses 100 years from now?
The way we design and construct buildings today, it is hard to imagine those structures will still be standing a century from now.
One possible direction that Vancouver could head in addressing the widespread concern about housing affordability and choice is to rethink the form and layout of Vancouver's single-family neighbourhoods and their limited building types to adapt to the growing need for change."
FULL STORY: Keeping a bit of the past for the future
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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