Vancouverism and the neighbourhoods. Vancouverism behind some Vancouver Specials, Kingsway at Nanaimo In the Vancouver Sun this Saturday is an article from Michael Kluckner explaining how old urban development was really the equivalent of “green-city design”, with walkable neighbourhoods linked by train or streetcars.
Says Kluckner: As Metro Vancouver struggles with affordability and environmental issues, are there lessons from the past that might help it adapt to the 21st centuryThere’s no magic to creating new versions of the Commercial Drives and Main Streets that are so popular today. The city was laid out with transit lines running north-south about eight blocks apart and businesses established themselves near the stops. Few people were farther than a halfdozen blocks from a set of shops, important in a society where few could afford a car. But Kluckner is also critical of Vancouverism: Hmm. Just look at Oakridge. Plateau Mont-Royal, Montreal As a former Montrealer, I’m biaised. Grandview area…cute, no? In North Grandview. The architecture of Vancouverism. Empire buildings ...
SkyTrain near condos in Vancouver's Yaletown. Photograph: Richard T Nowitz/Corbis A long time ago, I ran away from home and ended up in London. Then I returned home to Vancouver and found my city had become a verb. The sleepy, rainy town of my youth had become an international urbanist's darling. I've just come back to London to witness the birth of a new exhibit called, precisely, Vancouverism, part of the London Festival of Architecture. This is no demure Canadian exhibition, though. Then again, can a city be over-designed? The Growing Urban Class Divide, Vancouver Edition - Richard Florida. The 21st century is shaping up to be the century of the city.
But global cities are not only becoming increasingly-important economic forces of the world economy. They are also becoming increasingly divided and segmented. Several years ago, my colleague J. David Hulchanski of the University of Toronto’s Cities Centre issued a landmark report on the growing socio-economic divides besetting Toronto, entitled "The Three Cities within Toronto: Income Polarization among Toronto’s Neighbourhoods, 1970-2005. " The study mapped three distinct cities within the city, an affluent core surrounded by a disadvantaged and disconnected periphery, with a shrinking middle class in between.
A new report, by David Ley and Nicholas Lynch of the Cities Centre, takes a detailed look at Vancouver’s growing class divides and geographic segmentation. Map courtesy of the report, "Divisions and Disparities in Lotus-Land: Socio-Spatial Income Polarization in Greater Vancouver, 1970-2005" [PDF] Vancouver is losing its middle class. Sciences Po ./ la bibliothèque. Articles - Sustainabililty - "Vancouver Green Capital" – the brand. "Vancouver Green Capital" is the City of Vancouver’s business brand for economic development.
It is part of a strategic effort for the City to leverage the once-in-a-lifetime economic development potential of the 2010 Games. The "Vancouver Green Capital" brand is at the heart of the creation of a robust, long-term economic strategy that will guide the City's pursuit of economic opportunities around the world. Vancouver is physically green and historically green.
Vancouver is now defining green for the future – as a business focus for growth. "Green Capital" is most simply defined as “Vancouver’s currency and its economy; our focus and our future.” Vancouver’s "greenness" is overarching. “Capital” signifies commerce and currency; a place of concentrated activity and concentrated leadership.
Green companies are those that understand that their bottom lines include people and planet, as well as profit. Consultation. Mayor of Vancouver » Green Capital. Vancouver is known for being ‘green.’
Consistently ranked as one of the most livable cities in the world, we’ve got forests, beaches and mountains all within minutes of each other. We’re proud of the work we’ve done to protect our natural environment – it’s one of the reasons why Vancouver is such a popular place to live. But we’re not content with the status quo. Across the world, we face serious environmental challenges.
That’s why we’re leading by example and setting the pace. In February 2009, we put together a Greenest City Action Team, composed of some of the best environmental minds in the world. Robertson unveils new green branding campaign for Vancouver. Apparently, I’m allowed to publicize this as of 1:01, so here goes.
This the latest from city hall: Vancouver: “Green Capital.” Get the double meaning? I hope so. I await your scathing comments on how this is just another EcoDensity campaign … or not. Green Branding 101 for Cities. Global Green Cities of the 21st Century. The challenge of developing green cities is local, national and global.
Rapidly growing megacities in emerging economies face particular challenges. A number of cities around the world are leading this process through policies and initiatives designed for their particular environments. Several global indexes have been created to showcase best practices and measure success. (See Metrics below.) Megacities Brand, Stewart. Cities Burdett, Ricky, Henk Ovink and Maarten Hajer, eds. Metrics. Green City Index. Quick Access.
Global Green Cities of the 21st Century. Cities In Competition: Branding The Smart City. Hypothetical smart city Malt. Source: While builders precariously balance off a crane to lovingly secure another one of the 11,000 panels of glass that make up the glistening Shard, London’s tallest and most spectacular high rise, there’s another urban form rattling under our feet.