Metro Vancouver renewing the LRSP
Posted on November 14th, 2007 in environment, surrey, transportation, urban planning, vancouver |
I recently completed reading City Making in Paradise, by Ken Cameron and Mike Harcourt. Beyond getting a good feel for municipal, regional, and provincial politics, I also learned a lot about the bumpy history of regional planning. It’s quite amazing, what we’ve been able to accomplish in the last 10-15 odd years with the Livable Region Strategic Plan, but as I’ve alluded to in the past, Metro Vancouver is at a cusp at the moment: expensive housing, lack of transit-oriented development and rapid transit routes, issues of cultural and ethnic integration, constant protection of the Green Zone… It’s at these moments where we make a turn for the worse, or embrace opportunity and continue pushing the envelope.
As Harcourt mentioned in the book, the largest move we must make with this new Regional Growth Strategy is a shift from livability to sustainability. And it seems that municipalities may be more prepared for it than ever. Perhaps it’s because of years of success from the LRSP; perhaps it’s because of climate change. But, just from the top of my head, we’ve got the EcoDensity intiative in Vancouver, and the development of city-wide Sustainability Charters for both Surrey and the Township of Langley.
As would be expected for the development of a regional plan, Metro Vancouver is doing a travelling road show across the GVRD, doing community meetings to get your feedback on the proposed options in the new Regional Growth Strategy. I highly suggest you take the time out of your schedules and express your voice on this. Based on what I read in City Making in Paradise, Metro Vancouver (the organization) has an instilled culture of doing what the people want, not something you usually get with governmental organizations. Your opinion matters and will greatly affect this region’s next 30 years. Think globally, act locally. Change starts with you.
- Burnaby/New Westminster: Nov. 14, 7 - 9pm
- Metro Vancouver Head Office, 4330 Kingsway [map]
- Vancouver/Electoral Area A: Nov. 19, 7 - 9pm
- Vancouver Public Library, 350 West Georgia St [map]
- Pitt Meadows/Maple Ridge: Nov. 21, 7 - 9pm
- Ridge Meadows Senior’s Activity Centre, 12150 224 St [map]
- Northeast Sector: Nov. 22, 7 - 9pm
- Port Coquitlam Recreation Complex, 2150 Wilson Ave [map]
- North Shore: Nov. 28, 7 - 9pm
- Harry Jerome Recreation Complex Memorial Gym, 123 E 23 St [map]
- Richmond: Dec. 5, 7 - 9pm
- Richmond Cultural Centre, 180 7700 Minoru Gate [map]
- Surrey/Delta/White Rock: Dec. 6, 7 - 9pm
- Newton Recreation Centre, 7120 136 B St [map]
- Langleys: Dec. 11, 7 - 9pm
- George Preston Recreation Centre, 20699 42 Ave [map]
3 Responses
Nice post. I would just like to challenge you on “years of success from the LRSP”. Seems to me that the region has only been half committed to the LRSP (which may be worse than no commitment at all). Cities like Vancouver and Burnaby have densified and encouraged transit quite a bit, but there has been no commitment outside of those cities. Your own town of Surrey, until recently, has been guilty of this.
If we had been fully committed to the LRSP, we wouldn’t be in our current boondoggle, where we “need” to expand our highways and roads.
However, I do think it is good news that Surrey seems to be committed to urbanizing its core.
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