Planning students at the University of British Columbia unveiled bold new plans for Vancouver for the next 40 years, but as planning director Brent Toderian put it, the plans are "the easy part."
Kim Davis of the Vancouver Sun was at the student presentation. The students presented an "urban structure framework" projecting the city out to the year 2050.
"In no disrespect to your accomplishment, but what you have done is the easy part," Toderian told the students, in acknowledging their efforts, while comparing them with real-world challenges. "The hard part in terms of actually achieving something is engaging in this narrative with the general public."
Davis reflects, "As we all know, even the best of plans do not see the light of reality if people do not embrace them. Toderian argued that the narrative, or the story around any plan or design, is critical to its ultimate success and widespread acceptance. Even if most people support an idea, that narrative can be distorted and its implementation stymied if a particularly vocal minority opposes it."
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