18 Monday Jun 2018
Posted in Governance & Politics, Housing, Policy & Planning, The Livable Region, Urbanism
Price Tags contributor Tom Durning shares an article from Press Progress that sheds some light on the comments of Brad Wall, former premier of Saskatchewan, about British Columbia’s speculation tax.
Designed to tax vacant properties, the tax will target less than one per cent of the housing market.
So why was Wall in Victoria saying that, “the speculation tax is a message to people outside of B.C. that the province is not open”? Read on >>
17 Sunday Jun 2018
Posted in Events, The Livable Region, Transportation, Urbanism
Tags
On the occasion of Vancouver’s big car-free weekend — Car Free Day events occurred yesterday in the West End and Kitsilano, and the main event takes place today along 20+ blocks of Main Street — perhaps it’s time to roil the waters with a question. Does traffic congestion slow down economies, productivity, or job growth?
As reported by CNU Public Square, researchers at the University of Colorado at Denver and Florida Atlantic University conclude that it doesn’t.
In fact, they suggest there could be such a thing as “good congestion” and “bad congestion,” just like there’s “good cholesterol” and “bad cholesterol.” Read on >>
17 Sunday Jun 2018
Posted in Design & Development, Housing, Policy & Planning, The Livable Region, Urbanism
Tags
Pseudonymous housing wonk YVRYIMBY (Vancouver, Yes In My Back Yard) has created a wonderfully simple yet powerful, data-driven graphical view of Vancouver and its housing crisis.
Consider it a required backgrounder to the premise that land locked up in exclusionary, low-density zoning inflates the cost of land in higher-density zoned areas, due to scarcity. Rezoning more land for higher density should reduce land cost per built square foot and, secondarily, reduce the demolition of existing rental stock.
Needless to say, these ideas attract varying opinion. Sort of like bike lanes did in the bad, primitive olden days. Read on >>
16 Saturday Jun 2018
Michael Alexander, one of Gordon Price’s travel partners on the east Asian urbanist study sojourn, took this photograph last month.
A new mural at 20 West Hastings, next to the Hastings Urban Farm and site of new housing. In many ways, compared to what we’ve seen of Hong Kong and Tokyo, this seems very Vancouver, to the core.
15 Friday Jun 2018
Posted in Design & Development, Housing, Policy & Planning, Urbanism
In the City of Vancouver, council is trying to get as much done as they can before the October 20th election.
That includes rushing two Council reports — the Northeast False Creek (NEFC) rezoning plans for 750-772 Pacific Boulevard (the Plaza of Nations site, or Sub-area B), and the 777 Pacific Boulevard site (1 Robson Street, or Sub-area 10c).
The reports for these two sites can be found here and here. By approving these two reports to go to public hearing this summer, the Vision party dominated council can be assured that at least part of their housing mandate is pressed forward. But at what price? Read on >>
14 Thursday Jun 2018
Posted in Governance & Politics
Tags
It’s hard to keep up with Vancouver’s swirl of entrants, parties, quotas and alliances in the 2018 civic election. So anything that helps to focus and identify front-runners is more than welcome.
We just hope that poll predictions don’t become self-fulfilling, by a de facto elimination process. Read On >>
14 Thursday Jun 2018
Posted in Business & Economy, Events
Tags
Not much of a surprise when people see things differently. Even in Vancouver.
But this is about a global event — it’s about football (aka soccer), and hosting the great, big tournament. The most popular sport in the world, testosterone, and billions of bucks.
It’s FIFA’s 2026 World Cup, which is coming to North America. But not Vancouver. Read On >>
14 Thursday Jun 2018
Posted in Housing
You can tell it’s an election year by the flurry of reports on the City of Vancouver council agenda next week, as the civic leadership tries to tuck in their New Housing Plan, and also plans to refer the first two potential rezonings of the North East False Creek work to public hearing.
Globe and Mail writer and seasoned civic watcher Frances Bula quickly hits the main highlights of the proposed housing plan, which will “allow duplexes automatically as a choice in most of the city’s single-family neighbourhoods, as well as aiming to ensure that two-thirds of a hoped-for 72,000 homes built in the next 10 years are rentals.”
Of course, immediately allowing duplex zoning in single family neighbourhoods will require staff to explain why this change is being prescribed without citizen input, and will require staff resources to explain, process and implement. Read on >>
14 Thursday Jun 2018
Posted in Business & Economy, Housing, The Livable Region
Contributor Ian Robertson writes to suggest that Vancouver’s rental market has, just maybe, jumped the shark.
A “den” just wide enough to slide a twin bed into, for almost $900/month. If we’re being generous, it’s all of 40 square feet. It may even come with access to common areas, like the kitchen and a bathroom.
But hey it’s a room, and it’s downtown in a building that has this sweet rooftop deck!
Except — wait, how do you get this view from Alberni Street. And is that BC Place from 2011? Read on >>
13 Wednesday Jun 2018
Posted in Business & Economy, Motordom, The Livable Region, Whimsy
Tags
At the southeast corner of Oak Street and King Edward Avenue in Vancouver, a Shell gas station looks like any other, with the huge roof over the gas pumps, and bright vibrant colours.
But there’s something different here, evident as you get closer and see the gas station site is subtly fenced in. There appears to be no activity, but there’s a sign. Literally — a large, outdoor advertisement of a young woman sipping a beverage, with the headline: “Open for Snacks. Closed for Gas.”
The question: who in their right mind would use this gas station to get food when there’s a supermarket (and a really good Japanese restaurant) right behind the station?
And this is not a redevelopment at this site — indeed, the whole King Edward Mall site has been identified as “unique” in the City of Vancouver’s third phase of the Cambie Corridor Plan (approved in May), and can be redeveloped as “three higher elements of approximately 12 to 14 storeys … above a low- to lower mid-rise podium”.
So while the car snack department is “business as usual”, the gas station part of the operation is likely just having a tank renovation in advance of the mixed-use development project that will eventually be located on this whole site.
Take a look at the Cambie Corridor planning process, which will provide 32,000 new housing units.