Former Vancouver Mayor: Development Politics Equals 'Generational Warfare'

"The battle over densification just got a lot more interesting," according to an article by David Staples. That's because "Former Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan, now an MLA with the British Columbia Liberal party, says the densification fight is both class and generational warfare."

That's your headline: generational warfare. "It pits haves against have-nots," writes Stapleton, "old against young, wealthy baby boom homeowners against millennials, poorer young people who hope to live in the city core, rather than commute from sprawling suburbs, but can’t afford to buy into these established areas."

Among the other scathing soundbites employed by Sullivan to describe the effects of decades of Baby Boomer resistance to densification: Vancouver as a "Venice surrounded by a Phoenix." Sullivan also pins the responsibility for Baby Boomer development politics on a backfiring version of Jane Jacobs's influence.