City Making in Paradise: Nine Decisions that Saved Vancouver

This critical work explores those key choices that made Vancouver one of the world's most livable cities, an international urban poster child-and challenges policy makers and the public to reinvigorate the debate for the next generation of successful, sustainable city building

Time and again, the Vancouver region is recognized internationally as one of the world's best places to live. Chroniclers of the city's success over the past half-century have noted its achievement - unique among the world's cities -- of growing past 2 million in population without losing any of the features that make it a great place to live. In fact, many would say that it is an even better place than 50 years ago, with more protected green space, better environmental quality, more choice in housing and transportation, a more diverse and stronger multicultural society, and urban design that frames a spectacular natural setting. Even with its current problems of housing affordability, drugs and crime, and congestion, Greater Vancouver is a world leader in addressing urban sustainability issues. Interestingly, it has achieved that status by breaking rules and pioneering new directions in North American urbanism.

This compelling book details the nine most important decisions made in the Greater Vancouver region since the 1940s. Authors Mike Harcourt and Ken Cameron, themselves key players in several of these developments, take readers to the heart of each story, focussing on the people involved to reveal the political machinations, the ideological struggles and the personal commitment that lay behind each one. The Fraser River flood of 1948 demonstrated the need for regional planning for the entire Fraser Valley. Shirley Chan and Darlene Marzari led the fight against bulldozer urban renewal in Strathcona. Dave Barrett was called a communist when the Agricultural Land Reserve was introduced, but the real battle was inside his cabinet. Gordon Campbell cut his political teeth building consensus around an inspiring vision of the future that set the regional agenda for a decade.

By tracing today's successes back to their roots, Harcourt and Cameron illustrate their central theme that cities-both those that work well and those that don't-are the result of the daily choices we make as leaders, activists and citizens.

According to urban critic Trevor Boddy, Vancouver is in a position to "write the new rulebook of city-making for the twenty-first century." But Harcourt and Cameron argue that Greater Vancouver itself is at a crossroads. They end their book with a survey of the decisions Greater Vancouver must make concerning transportation, growth, air quality, regional governance, relations with First Nations, and climate change if it is to remain an international model for urban sustainability.

Our future will depend largely on our ability to successfully plan and manage the development of our urban regions. If we can do this in a visionary, collaborative way, Harcourt and Cameron argue, Vancouver can continue to be a model for how to get things right.