Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan

Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan (DTES LAP)

The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is one of Vancouver's oldest neighbourhoods and the historic heart of the city. It’s a strong community rich in history, architecture, and diverse groups of people. The DTES has many assets, especially for its low-income residents, who appreciate feeling accepted and at home within the cultural heritage and having nearby health and social services. Many volunteers contribute countless hours to help improve the community and work for social justice.

In recent years, the Downtown Eastside (DTES) has struggled with many complex challenges including drug use, crime, homelessness, housing issues, unemployment and loss of businesses in the community.

The City of Vancouver has been actively working to improve the quality of life in the Downtown Eastside for many years, and is now launching the Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan (DTES LAP).

The goal of the DTES LAP is to create a vision and plan for the Downtown Eastside (which includes Gastown, Victory Square, Strathcona, Chinatown, industrial lands, and the Oppenheimer and Thornton Park areas) that will focus on ways to improve the lives of low-income DTES residents and community members.

The DTES LAP will be developed in partnership with the DTES Neighbourhood Council (DNC), Building Community Society (BCS), and the Local Area Planning Committee which will include residents of the community.

Meetings and public events and information

The Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan is centred on feedback from the community. Whether you are a resident, business owner, expert or advocate, we want to hear from you. Through each phase of the planning process, there wil be a range of meaningful community engagement opportunities where you can share your ideas and offer feedback. It's your community, so we want to hear from you.

Stay tuned to this webpage for upcoming events and meetings.

View previous meetings and events