Peter Mitham writes in Business In Vancouver about that new player on the scene in Vancouver at the 6-month stage. And it seems that a change in direction is emerging on his wall in the form of a 5-year plan involving a serious look at a new big picture.
The pace of change and development, combined with a generational shift, has created the need for a new consensus to meet the challenges of the future – one that could be equally successful if the city can again harness public trust and confidence. . .
. . . “What is the bigger picture? Where should development go? And how does it tie into other community aspirations around sustainability, affordability and so forth? These don’t all seem connected at this point.” . . .
. . . “Today’s game is a little more difficult, in the sense that the development isn’t concentrated downtown – a lot of it is along the corridors, the transit lines that we’ve built, infill in neighbourhoods.”Thanks to I Chung Chow – BIV. Click for a larger version.
Planners need to work more intensely with residents to ensure connections between what’s happening on the ground and what cities would like to see happen, and how it all fits into the larger scheme of things.
Interesting to note an implied desire for a comprehensive plan of sort.
“My view coming in [is] there’s been an absence of the big-picture planning for a number of years.”
What an annoying puff piece. And a smiley that you can enlarge to boot. Be still my beating heart. How fascinating. Not.
It has been my experience that planners don’t listen and just don’t care what residents want or need in any neighbourhood.
In just 6 months Mr. Kelley has made himself available to and in more public forums than anybody of similar position ever has, at least in the 4 decades that I’ve lived here. These are as much about listening as talking, and I would bet he’s heard quite a bit about Vancouver and neighbourhood issues in this time.
Having said that, I agree that it’s noteworthy that he’s talking about big picture issues, rather than bits and pieces or one-offs. I’d suggest we give the new guy a chance to prove himself.