The above image is what my ideal Vancouver would look like in 2050 and you too can shape your own skyline at www.shapevancouver.com. That image above would add about 50,000 more residents to a downtown core that is already 100,000 strong. That population would probably rival some of the world’s most densely populated regions. As it stands right now the West End is the most densely populated neighbourhood in North America.
As you can see I’m a sucker for tall buildings. I believe that we as a society need to embrace higher density living. Vancouver is already touted as a leader in urban planning and its principles of urban planning have been copied by cities all over the world, so much so that San Francisco has a section of town dubbed by citizens as “Vancouvertown” (for more info on Vancouver’s urban planning principles see our post on Vancouverism).
Currently the City of Vancouver is reviewing the existing view cone laws, which restrict the building heights. The Shape Vancouver site is an exercise in which Vancouverites can visually voice their opinions on the future of Vancouver and its viewcones. Personally I think the view cones need to be protected to some extent, however, one 800 foot tower is not going to kill the mountain views either, so…
Moreover, I think its is about time Vancouver starts to think about expanding outside of the downtown core. The Broadway corridor should have a few some 30 floor buildings and continue being a secondary commercial hub for the city of Vancouver. That is why a SkyTrain down Broadway is needed at least to Arbutus. SkyTrain stations along Canada Line, Expo etc… should be surrounded by high density clusters of residential and commercial.
In the new year we will take a comprehensive look at the future of Vancouver and it’s suburbs. So be on the look out for that…
VancityBuzz.com
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