Better! Cities & Towns features a prototype cottage for “Southlands” – the so-far frustrated proposal for what is still known as the Spetifore lands in Tsawwassen. The removal of these lands (map here) from the ALR and the subsequent proposals constitute a development saga unparalleled in the Lower Mainland. The battle even resulted in the removal of planning powers from the GVRD by an annoyed Municipal Affairs minister with the name of Vander Zalm when the regional board refused to allow a rezoning for standard residential subdivision.
However, developer Sean Hodgins’s vision, based on the Duany plan for an agricultural community, struggles on:
A cottage has been built in the Southlands, an “agrarian urbanism” development on a 538-acre tract near Vancouver, British Columbia. The unit is a prototype for pocket neighborhoods — or “cottage courtyards” — clusters of homes gathered around a landscaped common area, to be built in the project, planned in 2008 by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co.
The 1,190 square foot cottage is geared towards more affordable housing “that meets the shrinking family household size and lifestyle needs of both starter families and aging empty-nesters,” according to Smallworks Studios, the builder.
Robert Steuteville, in reviewing Garden Cities, Andres Duany’s book on ‘agrarian urbanism,’ reveals how that eight-day Southlands charrette in 2008 contributed to the development of this still-relevant idea – no doubt leading to more chapters to come.
