Chuck Brook: How increased density, robust transit and bold innovation can rebuild lost community

How did this all happen so quickly?

Within the span of three decades — a mere blink-of-an-eye in the life of a city — Vancouver has been transformed from a sleepy, picturesque destination on the West Coast of North America to a relentlessly commoditized, global depository of luxury real estate.

For years, we Canadians knew that the fundamentals were there: climate, security, affordability. And while Vancouver is still temperate and safe, today, we hardly recognize the place. Whether you look to the downtown peninsula, Metrotown, Brentwood or Coquitlam Town Centre, or the tree-lined single-family neighbourhoods hollowed out by global speculation, we’ve seen a perfect storm.

It began in 1986. Expo. Vancouver invited the world, and the world liked what it found — especially Li Ka-Shing, who bought the Expo Lands for just $75 million. In 1986, Downtown South was a ragged collection of surface parking lots, garages, strip joints and hookers. The new Cambie Bridge was a vast and empty link between the sprawling surface parking lots of downtown and the crumbling one- and two-storey buildings around City Hall.

Then the world changed. With Tiananmen Square, the handover of Hong Kong — even with 9/11 — Vancouver looked more and more like a safe harbour. Globalization brought the shift of wealth and the “gift” of growth. The 2010 Olympics seemed to put that growth on steroids.

Our homes are now the second most expensive on the continent, by income affordability. Yet, we have very few head offices, and wages have never kept up with the cost of living — least of all now. How do we deal with this, especially as our population rises by another million by 2040? We innovate. We embrace change — fearlessly. We recognize that Vancouver does not belong to Baby Boomers, clinging to a nostalgic, unsustainable vision of three-bedroom homes on sprawling lots.

It’s time to fully embrace big-city life, being considerate of those around us, and respectful of how we use our resources. We must make room for others — be they recent immigrants or our own children — by making far better use of land, public or private. We have no choice.

We must stop building ever-larger single-family houses in our neighbourhoods and add duplexes, row houses, townhouses and apartments. We must give up our cars and ride share, take transit, cycle, or even walk. We can’t afford not to.

So, matching transit initiatives to densification is essential. The pending Broadway and UBC rapid transit extension will change the face of the West Side, bringing UBC to the city, expanding housing choices, and revitalizing local shops, services and public spaces. A Surrey SkyTrain expansion will deliver similar benefits and opportunities south of the Fraser River.

We also need to embrace innovations like the proposed gondola connecting SkyTrain to Simon Fraser University. Like UBC, the burgeoning community of UniverCity deserves our attention. For less than $200 million, the gondola would greatly improve service, end snow-day disruptions on the mountain, and free up dozens of buses for use elsewhere in our high-demand system. It’s the only significant transit investment that would pay for itself in less than its lifetime — we can’t afford to pass it up.

What’s the upside to all of this innovation, change and growth? An improved quality of life, coupled with affordability. Rather than forever thinking of real estate as just another equity play, we need to relearn how to live in and enjoy Vancouver as our home. This will be the reward.

Chuck Brook is an urban planning consultant in Vancouver.

---

Letters to the editor should be sent to [email protected]. The editorial pages editor is Gordon Clark, who can be reached at [email protected].

CLICK HERE to report a typo.

Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email [email protected].