Vancouver's new planner

"Vancouver, which is beset by high anxiety over homelessness, growth, development and the soaring price of housing, is in a prime position to reset itself, says the city’s new chief planner. “There’s a moment of ripeness to ask the big questions and make some big moves,” said Gil Kelley, who was recruited from San Francisco to head up the city’s beleaguered planning department. “It’s a time to look at where is the city heading in the long term.” He said Vancouver is suffering from a bewildering dilemma that has become common among attractive 21st-century cities: The better it becomes, the worse it is for some residents."



“Vancouver is iconic physically, but it has also been willing to strike out ahead and be a global model,” Mr. Kelley said, explaining that was one of the reasons he was willing to leave San Francisco and come to Vancouver. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to take this position when they first called, but I was seduced by the moment Vancouver’s in.” He praised the big shift the city made in the late 1980s and early 90s as planners helped create a new model of urban living downtown. But, he said, the city needs to have a collective conversation about where to go next – not a comprehensive rezoning and development plan, as some have suggested, but a vision for the future."

from: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/vancouvers-new-chief-planner-says-city-is-ripe-for-change/article32254131/