Musing Urbanist on Tour: Toronto

Vancouverites are not meant to like Toronto.  Putting ice hockey obsession aside, there is plenty to differentiate the two cities.  Toronto is home to big finance and media; Vancouver home to the 'good life' of mountains and beaches.  In my short introduction to Candian life I've been told on more than one occasion that in Toronto you "live to work", but in Vancouver you very much "work to live".  What I didn't expect was for this generalization to become so clearly obvious on my short visit to Toronto recently.


Having lived in Vancouver for 8 months I was caught unaware of how different a 'big city' can make one feel.  The difference between rural and urban life is obvious, but the changes that occur when comparing a mid-size city like Vancouver to a truly big city like Toronto are unexpected (at least for me on this occasion).  Vancouver punches above its weight no doubt and has built a successful brand of sustainable urbanism that is now internationally recognized.  But do not be fooled into thinking that Vancouver is a big city - it isn't.  Being in Toronto made me realize this more than ever.  Jumping from London to Vancouver last year led me to think that many of the differences I noticed in city life were because of the change of country.  This still holds true, but a lot of the changes also stem from departing a global city of 13 million to a city of approximately 2 million. 

Front Pages News - Planner Sacked!

I have quickly understood that the planning profession is more high profile in Vancouver compared to other cities I have lived and worked in.  But the sacking last week of Director of Planning Brent Toderian really emphasized the point.  The news that Mayor Gregor Robertson had sacked Toderian was just that – it was news.  Lead story on the CBC radio news.  Front page of the Vancouver Sun.  What would it take for the Director of Planning in London to make the front page of the Evening Standard?  More to the point, who is the Director of Planning in London?

Partly this situation stems from the differing governance structures, where in the UK the head of planning is less visible in articulating a vision for the city and it is normally the lowly ‘case officer’ who presents development schemes to Council.  In a discretionary system I would argue the UK planner has less influence on proactively setting policy compared to the US and Canada where land is actively zoned and rezoned. 

The other reason Toderian’s firing got such extended media coverage was the emphasis placed on city planning in Vancouver.  The city likes to take planning very serious, as shown by the premium placed on urban design reviews, substantial amenity contributions and the development of a ‘Vancouverism’ model.  Because the city lacks a longstanding urban form (especially compared to European cities), Vancouver has seen significant change over the last 25 years.  This has allowed the planning department to masterplan large tracts of brownfield land, including Coal Harbour and South East False Creek.  It should also be remembered that Toderian has followed in the footsteps of Larry Beasley who raised the profile of planning both locally and internationally through a sustained branding of what Vancouver urbanism entails.  This has meant that real estate and development are highly visible to locals on a day to day basis and, by association, the Director of Planning is hard to escape from.

Either this or it was just a slow news day.

The Invisible Economy - Design in Vancouver

In a previous article I wrote about how the Vancouver city region is struggling to define itself economically – is it a port city? Is it a resort city? Or can the future be built on savvy tech entrepreneurs?  Last week I got a glimpse of one part of the economy which generates less headlines but could be as important to the city over the coming years.  I undertook the Eastside Cultural Crawl which does exactly what is says on the tin.  Beginning in 1997 the crawl is an opportunity for artists, craftspeople and designers to increase their visibility through a series of coordinated events and programmes.  Mostly it just involves studios being opened up to allow the general public a better idea of what is being produced in the Strachcona neighborhood.  I was hugely impressed with both the turnout (not everybody enjoys walking around an industrial estate on a freezing weekend) and, more importantly, the quality of the products on sale.  With my eye on a new coffee table I was particularly impressed with the carpenters and would recommend the work of Enrico Konig as a start (see here).

  

Guest Article: Reigning in the Chain Stores

Nick Havard recently spent time in British Columbia and has kindly guest authored this article for Musings of an Urbanist.  Nick explores the issues surrounding food and grocery stores in Vancouver and why the city could do more to build on the healthy attitudes of the local population.  Thanks Nick!

I don’t recall seeing many fruit and vegetable shops in Vancouver when I visited recently. However, when we did find these shops the quality was fantastic. I noticed occasional roadside stalls on the drive to Calgary, but generally it seemed pretty difficult to stay away from the big chains, especially in the cities. I suppose this isn’t all that different from the high street in England, but it just seemed to me that it was more of a challenge to quickly pick up an apple in Vancouver than it is over here.

Cutting a Deal - Heritage in Vancouver

Since arriving in Vancouver it has not taken me long to realize that the city lacks heritage.  'But we're a new city' is the response I often hear from locals in this 125th anniversary year of the city's founding.  And coming from Europe this makes sense.  125 years is only two generations above me so there is no value in making comparisons with London or other European cities which have longer and more varied histories. As a schoolboy I was ignorant towards the fact that my high school was founded in 1563.  But to a Canadian this is beyond comprehension.

Yet after attending a talk from Brent Toderian (Director of City Planning in Vancouver) it became clear that the lack of heritage actually stems from the weak planning laws and not the relative newness of the city.  It sounds so simple, but in the UK if a building is deemed to be of merit or value it is placed on a statutory protection list.  Likewise, if a distinct area (neighborhood or street) is judged to have a 'special character' it is allocated as a conservation area.  Put simply, permission is required to make alterations or demolish properties that are either listed or reside in a conservation area.  In British Columbia the opposite is true and the City have no legislative powers to prevent a property owner from obtaining a demolition permit.  As Mr Toderian stressed in his presentation, he has more power to regulate what goes up compared to what comes down.

The reason for this is the odd mix of civic values that try to bridge European socialism with the US-favored protection of personal property rights.  Unfortunately the personal property rights win out and any sense of heritage as a city-wide resource is lost.  This is incredibly hypocritical because whilst the legislation claims to value heritage it fails to provide adequate protection and instead leaves buildings open to the demands of the development sector.  This is the real reason Vancouver has such little heritage, not just the fact the city is so young. 

A Future With No Direction - The Regional Economy of Metro Vancouver

In a recent post I talked about how in the absence of a dominant industry, Vancouver has become obsessed with real estate.  This theme has been excellently, but worryingly, developed by Frances Bula in the current edition of Vancouver Magazine (see here).  In her article, Bula struggles to define the Vancouver economy in contrast to other Canadian cities.  If Toronto is finance, Calgary is oil and Ottawa is politics - what is Vancouver?  She settles on three possibilities - freight movement, tourism and technological entrepreneurs.  But in my mind all three have inherent problems in taking the bigger step to dominating the Metro Vancouver economy.

• Freight - with rail freight close to capacity do we want more trucks on our roads?
• Tourism - an unstable industry that can be impacted by external factors.  Hasn't the city already become a resort-type environment in parts of Downtown?
• Technological entrepreneurs - does the city have the necessary business support structure (and suitable workspace) to upscale small enterprises?  

Real Estate in Vancouver: A Local Obsession

Two months have now passed since I landed in Vancouver and what has struck me most is the local obsession with house prices.  And this is not just because I have been hanging around with real estate agents and urban planners!  One only needs to pick up a local newspaper or turn on the television news to witness the continuous stream of stories on house prices.  Yesterday's Vancouver Sun was typical in that it led with a new survey reporting how the city's housing market is in 'dangerous territory' (see here).  In many other cities this story could act as a major warning, but in Vancouver this type of story appears as often in the newspaper as the weather forecast.  In the short time I have been in Vancouver, I have been amazed at how locals have fetishized real estate.

First, the obvious.  House prices are incredibly high in Vancouver and show no sign of changing.  This article reports on how the average house in Vancouver is priced at 11.2 times the median family income, a ratio far in excess of other Canadian cities.   

 

The high cost of housing in Vancouver stems from a number of factors, including: land supply; influx of overseas capital; the creation of a resort-style city; the type of development product being promoted; and planning regulations.  But I don't want to focus on the reasons for the high prices, and instead focus on why Vancouverites cannot stop talking about it.  London has similarly high house prices compared to average incomes, but from my experience it figures less in the everyday conversation.  Do people in London just accept the situation and move on?  Do Londoners have better things to talk about, like the weather?  Soccer?  Riots?  (ok, they also apply to Vancouver).

I can identify two reasons why the topic of house prices is so much to the fore in Vancouver.  Firstly, house prices are unreasonably high and it is a legitimate concern for youngsters and families looking to get onto the housing ladder.  Many people believe that the only way to afford property is to move further out the city.  Yet, this brings anxieties related to increased commuting and a disconnection from the urban amenities that many young people have grown used to.  This then shapes the local conversation and media discourse.  However, this is no different to many other cities and is not exclusive to Vancouver.

It is therefore more important to look at the characteristics of the local and provincial economy.  While Vancouver has historically been dominated by logging and other exports moving through the seaport, it is now real estate that largely shapes the economy.  As Vancouverism has developed into a brand of urbanism, the real estate sector has capitalised on this to place a premium on living in the 'Liveable City'.  This is not to deny other economic sectors operating in the city (e.g. tourism, film, minerals etc), but the city is noticeable for a lack of HQs or a sizeable financial sector.  Into this void has stepped real estate, whereby local people are more informed from either working in the sector or having greater exposure to it. 

Finding a solution to this obsession is no easy task.  The reasons for the high prices need tackling, and that is wide-ranging strategy which requires coordination from numerous city departments as well as a recognition of wider (and more macro) economic issues which cannot be directly shaped by city policy.  But a greater diversification of the local and regional economy would dilute the dominance of real estate and prove that real estate speculation is not the only industry that a city exists for.  And if all that fails?  Perhaps go back to talking about the weather.

'Spacing Vancouver' - Thinking outside the (newspaper) box

You can check out a feature article I have written for the Spacing Vancouver blog here.  The blog is an extension of the Spacing magazine which is now covering all Canadian urban and public space issues, following the original focus on just Toronto.  I will be looking to make some further contributions to the blog in coming months.

 
The Spacing Vancouver blog can be found here.

Obsessing Over City Rankings

Barely a day goes by without the Vancouver media presenting a new city ranking.  Last week it was that Vancouver is the 2nd 'greenest' city in North America behind San Francisco and today the Vancouver Sun reports that the city has the fourth most expensive parking rates in Canada.  This follows yesterday's gleeful reporting of the new Mercer Cost of Living Survey which places Toronto above Vancouver.  Although as a new resident of the city, I was just pleased that Vancouver was 47 places below my old home, London! 

I'm still awaiting the city ranking on 'rioting for meaningless reasons'

The constant benchmarking of Vancouver against other cities is only helpful if it moves beyond self satisfaction and towards actual lesson learning.  Unfortunately a number of local professionals have told me that the city is too insular and content that it always knows best.  This is dangerous because urban policy is moving apace globally and Vancouver should not rest on its laurels.  The recent passing of the Greenest City Action Plan is a step in the right direction but must be substantiated with greater operational and financial details.  Looking at the facts behind the various city rankings could be a good starting point.

Imaginary City

I have been a big fan of British author David Mitchell for a while, in particular his most recent book The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.  Yet he has gone up in my estimations even more after I found this short passage he wrote on Vancouver for Geist magazine (see here).  Mitchell was visiting the city for a writers festival and wanted to capture his imagnary Vancouver before the reality of the city erased his initial musings.  And yes, Canadians do actually manage to concentrate on work, what with all those hockey scores and Rush songs!

Enjoy the full article here. 

The Subjective Perception of Bus Stops

With the City of Vancouver currently engaged in a long-term strategic transportation plan up to 2040, it could be easy to forget the everyday transport issues that appear relatively minor in scale.  Yet these so-called minor issues are often the key to unlocking vast improvements in the transport network.  In the current issue of PORT, advertising guru Rory Sutherland writes an excellent article on our perceptions of value.  He argues that value is as much a function of subjective perception as it is of actual material form.  Sutherland questions whether the UK should be spending £15bn on a high-speed rail link when it would cost 99% less to upgrade the carriages and stations in order to make the journey more pleasant. 

Where to go? A bus stop in Vancouver.

This got me thinking about small improvements that can be made to transport infrastructure which often get drowned out in the call for new roads or railways.  I am slowly becoming familiar with the public transport system in Vancouver and cannot help make comparisons with where I have just arrived from, London.  With very low rail coverage, Vancouverites rely heavily on buses yet I have noticed a distinct lack of public information at bus stops.  Having already traveled around Downtown and some key routes in the Lower Mainland, I have yet to find a bus stop with a timetable or map!  It appears that the transport operators expect bus riders to either know their route in advance or rely on a friendly bus driver for directions.  This compares to London where I have always been impressed at the level of information provided at a bus stop/shelter.  This information often includes geographical maps of local buses, timetables, expected duration between stops (see below) and finally the electronic countdown.  

An information sign found on all London bus stops

I accept the argument that many people have smartphones and can track routes on Google Maps, but not everybody has internet access and neither should they be expected to.  I would not expect Vancouver to provide all this travel information as it is a much smaller city than London.  Yet even the addition of a route timetable could increase the bus experience by much more than the minor costs involved.  If the city is to achieve the ambition of being the Greenest City in the World by 2020 it should start paying attention to the smaller things in life.  

Musing Urbanist on Tour - Vancouver Olympic Village

Following a previous article on the Vancouver Olympic Village back in 2010 (and seen here), I could not pass up a visit on my recent trip to the city. With my visit coinciding with the one year anniversary of the Winter Games, the media was full of reflective stories on the legacy of the event. Unfortunately this reflection was not wholly positive as it focused on leaked emails surrounding the death of Georgian luge competitor Nodar Kumaritashvili and the ongoing troubles of the Olympic Village. Unsurprisingly, I have chosen to focus on the latter.

Pricing the Market

Following the exodus of the 3,000 Olympic athletes and officials in February 2010, the 600 apartments in South East False Creek were placed on the market. Very little happened. As a result the developer (Millennium South East False Creek Properties) went into receivership, owing the City of Vancouver approximately $740 million in loans. At a time of fiscal tightening in the public sector, the local tax-payers are understandably desperate to see a return on the investment. As a last role of the dice the City have slashed prices to stimulate activity and try to overcome the 'ghost town' feel. With some prices cut by 50% and a rebranding exercise underway, it appears there is light on the horizon with the developer claiming that 128 units have since been sold over the course of a weekend (see here).



During my short visit the lack of commercial activity was notable. Very few of the promised retail occupiers have started trading from the ground floor units (although the standalone liquor store may have been a sign of the times!). This is understandable as until the Village is populated with sufficient people and visitors there is no demand for groceries and restaurants. Therefore the City will be hoping that the recent sales, though representing a loss, will be enough to kickstart commercial interest and activity will snowball from there.

Key lesson to learn - the developer bought the land at too high a price. This required the apartments to be sold at levels which were not appealing to the local market. Vancouver is awash with condominium developments and the Olympic Village offers very little to distinguish it from surrounding schemes.

Design Review

Reading Owen Hatherley's masterful deconstruction of much of Britain's recent waterside urban regeneration (here) weeks before my visit prepared me well for what the Village offers. The scheme provides all the notable characteristics that define much of recent high density urban development. Overly small apartments - tick. Token splashes of colour on external elevations - tick. Wind swept public space with misplaced public art and street furniture - tick. Whilst the overall lack of people did not help the ambiance, I felt it offered nothing different to what I have seen in Greenwich, Salford, Leeds or Newcastle.


Most of all, the Village felt isolated and out on a limb. Downtown Vancouver is across the water but it feels worryingly distant. Being a grid city, Vancouver finds it hard to connect up the key parts of the city with a mass transit system. The metro and bus system are both too infrequent and lack the coverage required to connect the Village to other parts of the city. Whilst the Village benefits from the Sea Wall walkway, it still felt frustratingly disconnected.

Post-Olympics Planning - Lessons from Vancouver

With concerns having already been raised about the post-Olympics planning in London (here), it is prudent to look at the example of Vancouver and the current problems with their Olympic Village. Vancouver hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics and by all accounts was judged to have done an excellent job, despite some early reservations (here). The Olympic Village is part of an area known as South East False Creek and follows a long line of large planned mixed use neighbourhoods close to Downtown. The Millennium Water's sustainability credentials have been much trumpeted and is talked of as a 'model of sustainability'. But here is the problem. Whilst 257 of the lower end apartments have been sold, there are still 480 unsold! The remaining apartments were built to high end specifications with the latest fixtures and fittings and were expected to sell at close to $2,000 per sqft. But so far no buyers.


The City Council are in a tough postition as they lent the developer $731 million, of which only $200 million has been recouped. With sales flagging it looks as though apartments may be sold at a fire sale price in order for the City Council to try and recoup some value. So what was once seen as the jewel crown of the Olympics legacy is now threatening the political careers of many involved. There are some excellent articles on www.citycaucus.com which focus on the past politiking surrounding the village and the current troubles with how best to progress the scheme.

Any lessons for London? Vancouver couldn't have predicted the apartments would go onto the market at a time of economic downturn, but this argument falls down because prices appear to have remained strong across the wider city despite global financial troubles. A key lesson is the level of affordable housing. Whilst initial policy referred to a 60% provision of affordable units, the final figure appears closer to 10% in Vancouver. For a city with problems of affordability and homelessness this is particularly disappointing. With two years to go, London is promising 50% affordable units for the athletes village - it will be interesting to see how this develops post-2012.