Solving Our Urban Challenges Requires Speaking Openly About Density

In cities across the world, every time a new development project is proposed, the desire for urban living confronts the desire of urban communities to maintain their quality of life. It's no different in much-admired Vancouver, where Ransford notes that "planners, developers, civic politicians and citizen-advocates for smart growth are all struggling with finding the game changer. They desperately want to move the public from setting off an emotional values-based debate to becoming engaged in dialogue that honestly focuses on our collective community challenges."

Ransford reflects on a report [PDF] that captures the proceedings of a daylong session hosted by City of Vancouver planners with 20 citizen advocates that aimed to accomplish exactly that - move the discussion beyond reactionary positions to address the need for increased density to help solve citywide problems.