one planet city

Not quite there yet, but Vancouver - already labelled by some as North America's most livable city - is trying hard to reduce its ecological footprint. When planners say things like "the city has shown that density buys a lot of cool stuff," then you know that they've figured out not only how to make density work, but more crucially, how to increase density without a public backlash.

The "cool stuff" is the public amenities, infrastructure, and mixed use that density brings. [Retired city planning director] Beasley and his team used a powerful discretionary zoning system and flexible density bonuses to persuade developers to pay for parks, child care, cultural facilities, community centers, and social housing, all ingredients necessary to building complete and vibrant neighborhoods.

"We realized that unless we brought a high quality urban design and community development into the exercise, consumers were not going to buy it," Beasley says. New downtown development included town houses for families with children and others who wanted to live close to the ground. The inclusion of town houses at the base of apartment towers became a signature of downtown Vancouver.

Vancouver has figured out that "[i]f you can associate density with something good like a better environment, better ecology, then that sells." But it's not only a sales job. In addition to selectively locating denser developments where they have less impact, they have been adding density in ways that are hardly visible. The city's new planning director sees urban design, expanded choice in housing, and creativity as keys to taking an already successful city to a whole new level.