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CityPlan: Directions for Vancouver
Summary Document
Introduction
In the fall of 1992, Vancouver City Council asked citizens for ideas about
Vancouver's future. Over the following three years more than 20,000 people
participated in developing a shared vision for Vancouver's future: CityPlan.
On June 6, 1995 Vancouver City Council adopted CityPlan: Directions for
Vancouver as a broad vision for the city to guide policy decisions, corporate
work priorities, budgets, and capital plans.
City of Neighbourhoods
Vancouverites want a city of neighbour-hoods each with its own identity.
To make these neighbourhoods happen, CityPlan sets directions for neighbourhood
centres, housing variety, and neighbourhood character.
Neighbourhood Centres
In all areas of Vancouver neighbourhood centres will provide a "heart"
for each neighbourhood. Here, people will find shops, jobs, community
services, public places, and housing for various ages and incomes. These
centres will, for the most part, develop from existing shopping streets
and attract people from the surrounding area to shop, work, meet with
neighbours and friends, and participate in community activities.
Neighbourhood Housing Variety
Neighbourhood centres will provide a greater variety of housing in single-family
neighbourhoods _ townhouses, rowhouses, and apartments _ for people at
different stages of life and of different incomes. Older people will be
able to stay in the community where they've lived most of their lives.
More young people and young families will be able to find homes in their
familiar neighbourhoods. Additional housing will be built around the downtown
peninsula within walking distance of the many jobs downtown.
Distinctive Neighbourhood Character
Even with more people and more housing, Vancouver will retain much of
its traditional look and feel - the trees and greenery, the heritage buildings
and areas, the distinctive character of each neighbourhood, and the generally
low-scale buildings away from the downtown. Change will be focused in
the downtown and new neighbourhood centres. Around these centres, traditional
single-family areas will remain.
How the character of each neighbourhood develops will reflect the wishes
of the people who live there. Working with City Hall, neighbourhood residents
will have a say in the types of new housing and the look of the neighbourhood.
The Challenges
- Defining where and how neighbourhood centres develop.
- Agreeing on how much growth and how to distribute
this growth in the city. Developing new ways for residents to work with
City Hall to shape their neighbourhoods.
- Creating the feel of single-family housing in new
types of medium density housing.
- Balancing stronger design regulations with the need
to reduce red tape and allow innovation.
Sense of Community
Vancouver residents want everyone to feel part of the community, to have
access to services, and to live and work safely. To create a sense of
community, CityPlan sets directions for: accessible, community-based services;
promoting safety; addressing housing costs; art and culture; and diverse
public spaces.
Accessible, Community-Based Services
CityPlan will help people create a city where community services are developed
in consultation with the people who use them. Services will be located
in neighbourhoods where they are easy to get to and targeted to those
who need them most. Health, police, recreation, library, and other City
staff will work together as part of community-based service teams
Working Together to Promote Safety
CityPlan will help Vancouver residents create a safer city _ not just
by reacting to crime, but by preventing crime before it happens. Community-based
police officers, neighbourhood residents, and social agencies will work
together on the social problems that often lead to crime. Neighbourhoods
and developers will keep safety in mind when creating public spaces and
new buildings.
Addressing Housing Costs
CityPlan will help to keep a supply of affordable housing in the city.
Subsidized housing measures will continue to provide housing for some
low and moderate income households. New City programs will encourage some
lower cost market housing so a range of people can continue to afford
to live in Vancouver.
Art and Culture in a Creative City
Art and culture will contribute more to the city's identity, neighbourhoods'
character, and people's learning and self-expression. Vancouver will maintain
a strong arts community that encourages local artists and reflects the
city's diverse cultural heritage. Arts and cultural activity will increase
through partnerships with business, education, and recreation.
New and More Diverse Public Places
CityPlan will lead to the creation of diverse public places. Streets will
be designed for people, not just cars. Greenways for walking and biking
will connect neighbourhoods throughout the city . Parks and open spaces
will be developed in areas that need them. Downtown public places will
be improved to make the city centre more welcoming.
The Challenges
- Finding innovative ways to fund community services,
affordable housing, and parks.
- Forging partnerships between the City, other governments,
business, arts, and non-profit groups to provide community services.
- Creating better ways to involve citizens in service
delivery.
- Involving residents in the safety of their neighbourhoods.
- Defining the City's role in regulating housing costs.
- Securing regional support for Vancouver-based services,
arts, and cultural activities.
- Sharing street right-of-ways as public places for
- walking, socializing, biking, as well as cars.
Healthy Economy - Healthy Environment
Vancouver residents want a livable city with a wide variety of jobs,
where our activities are sensitive to the environment. CityPlan sets directions
for: creating a diverse economy and jobs close to home; ensuring clean
air and water; and making transit, walking and biking a priority.
Diverse Economy and Jobs Close to Home
CityPlan will help create a city with a variety of economic opportunities
and more jobs closer to where people live. Downtown Vancouver will continue
to be the "region's downtown". Industrial lands will be maintained
for new types of industries and businesses _ high tech research, repair
services, and warehouses located near their customers and workers. More
office, service, and retail jobs will be located in neighbourhood centres.
Vancouver will continue to support job creation in regional town centres
to cut down on commuting into the city.
Transit, Walking and Biking as a Priority
CityPlan puts walking, cycling, and transit ahead of cars to cut down
on traffic congestion and improve the environment. People will have travel
alternatives such as better transit service and streets will be more friendly
for biking and walking. Cars will not be as convenient as they once were.
More people will live close to shops, services, and jobs in their neighbourhoods,
this will reduce car trips and congestion.
Clean Air and Water
CityPlan participants put clean air and water as top priorities. People
may also be asked to pay user fees for services like water use and garbage
collection to encourage conservation and reduce harmful impacts on the
environment.
The Challenges
- Attracting suitable businesses to neighbourhood centres.
- Reversing the trend of allowing housing and retail
developments to replace industry.
- Improving transit services.
- Using cars less.
- Implementing tolls and charges to encourage conservation
and transit use.
- Adjusting our lifestyles to reduce, reuse, and recycle
to reduce the impact of city life on the environment.
A Vibrant Central Area
Vancouver residents want a downtown that is a welcoming city centre and
a place to work, live, and visit.
Downtown Vancouver
Vancouver's central area, surrounded by Burrard Inlet and English Bay,
and encircling False Creek, will extend its activity to its waterfronts
and have two major office districts - the region's downtown central business
district and the medical-civic "uptown" on Broadway. Surrounding
the business districts, new residential neighbourhoods will provide livable
environments for a variety of people. Speciality character and heritage
areas, lively retail streets, waterfront walkways, and diverse plazas
and open spaces will be welcoming public places for residents, employees,
visitors, and tourists. Offices served by transit, people living near
work, and pedestrian and bicycle friendly routes will help to minimize
the traffic pressures of downtown activity.
The Challenges
- Addressing the social impacts of growth and meeting
the social needs of low-income people and families in and near the downtown.
- Keeping traffic impacts in check by encouraging more
transit, walking and biking.
- Enhancing downtown's streets as public places.
- Making CityPlan Happen
Vancouver residents want a voice in decisions affecting them and their
neighbourhoods, and they want a City administration that continues to
make sound financial decisions.
People Involved in Decision-Making
Though City Council will still be the place major decisions are made,
CityPlan will lead to more community involvement in decision-making. City
staff located in the community will work together and with residents to
shape service delivery. Residents will also play a major role in how their
neighbourhood centres develop and what their neighbourhoods look like.
Financial Accountability
Vancouverites want a city that maintains a top notch financial rating
and keeps spending under control. To move toward the vision without raising
taxes means redirecting the City budget to gradually make CityPlan a reality.
This means some parts of CityPlan will take longer to achieve than others.
The City in the Region
Vancouver residents want to do their share to help create a livable region,
protect the region's green zone for agriculture and recreation, slow urban
sprawl, and cut down on car travel by creating more complete communities.As
the largest city in the region, Vancouver will continue to be the engine
of the region's economy and play a major role in achieving the "Livable
Region Strategic Plan". CityPlan suggests that Vancouver accept a
share of the region's housing and job growth and provide for increased
transit services. By doing so, Vancouver will help reduce urban sprawl
onto farm and greenlands in the Fraser Valley.
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