I’ve been doing Price Tags since 2003. Originally it was an emailed newsletter. Then a pdf file – like this.
But no matter the format, it was always about Vancouver and urbanism, with a dash of commentary.
Price Tags has become an archive about the emergence of post-Expo Vancouver – the time of Vancouverism, and my time as a resident, city councillor and a Price Tags blogger. But for the second time in my life, I feel a generational change coming on.
The first was when I came to Vancouver at in 1978, when the turbulence of America was sweeping Canada into its own version of social change. As a gay man, I experienced all of that, but in a city that was peaceful, prosperous and welcoming to a world of immigrants. In the post-Expo era, Vancouver became a model of good urbanism. (Especially its bikeways, for which I am pleased to take a little credit.)
Coming to the West End in the seventies was a good time to live in this city – especially if you bought a home. Many of my generation have aged well as a result of that good timing, and left a new set of problems, notably affordability, to the next generations.
So if Price Tags is to thrive and be relevant, it has to offer something different while retaining it specialness – a place that when pointing to the future, we bring an historical perspective.
There’s now a half century more history since I came to Vancouver. That’s a half century of change that two generations beyond me have experienced. A half century of people who in that time have made Vancouver a city of colour. A half century of the changes they have initiated.
It’s time for Price Tags to change too – with new faces and new viewpoints. With a new name, a new look and a new logo.
Hence Viewpoint Vancouver.
We’ll keep pointing to the future, and looking back. We’ll also look further afield that just the City of Vancouver – to Metro and the world. We’ll add our perspective to the politics of this place (there’s an election coming up!) and to the post-pandemic world unfolding.
We have more aging to do. More formats to explore. Welcome to the latest.
Thank you SO much for all you do, Gord!! I wish you and everyone else at Price Tags – now Viewpoint Vancouver – the very best! I’ll keep following, and I’ll be visiting Vancouver increasingly often in the early 2020s to document what’s happening in the beautiful Vancouver area, as well as to hopefully help create an increasingly people-friendly and sustainably conscious city and region that people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities are able to enjoy! 🙂
Gordon, first, thank you for Price Tags, always stimulating, well researched and relevant. I could count on PT for news about VCR, housing, traffic, livability, and more – esp how it relates to the North Shore. many a post has been fwded to local gov. thank you also for helping spread the word about forums – Creative Housing Options on the North Shore, for example. Looking forward to the vision that Viewpoint will provide. /LA
Hi Gord. I’m always amazed by how much you do. Thanks for keeping us so well informed and for being so forward looking. VWPT looks brilliant! Cheers!
I feel deeply honored to work with Gordon, Sandy, Colin, and everyone, as Production Manager here at Viewpoint. We have a diversity of perspectives, but share a deep love for this city and high hopes for its future. Shout-outs to wondrous web developer Katie Mills of the North Shore (no relation), and brilliant graphic designer Terry Sunderland for the new logo. So cool to work with superheroes.
A new gig for you. Excellent!
Diversity of perspectives, eh?
My impression over the last few years has been that ONLY bike loving, public transit loving, density loving and high energy cost loving folks read and comment here but NOT folks that prefer to live in a house with three cars in Surrey or Burnaby, folks with kids that need to be shuttled around or folks that fled big cities due to crime, drugs, noise and high prices.
I appreciate Gord’s view and contribution to Vancouver over the decades – I honestly do – but let’s not pretend his is the only view debating.
Diversity is NOT the strength of this blog and certainly not the (often suppressed) comments on it !
Anyone can start their own blog if they feel a viewpoint is not being adequately publicized. Many blogs are the story of the little Red Hen writ digitally. Folks want to piggyback on someone else’s work to promote their own perspective. They claim it’s about diversity of viewpoints, but they really want their viewpoint in front of someone else’s audience. If your content is worth reading, people will beat a path to your blog. If not, then one’s perspective might not be as valuable as one hopes.
I get that my (young, urban) friend. I don’t have the time nor the inclination to start my own blog AND I agree with many views espoused here but not all of them.
As such I enjoy reading it and occasionally commenting on select topics of interest.
So for this blog to become far more widely read and commented on, not just to be a mere echo chamber, it needs a diversity of readers and commenters. Car users have rights and opinions too, as do folks who happen to think that oil will be here to stay or that NetZero by 2050 is a total farce. Only young urban folks, often without kids, can be persuaded that the urban high density green nirvana exists. Most adults know differently and that’s why they flee cities in greater numbers – merely accelerated by the Covid pandemic the last year !
I’m neither young or urban. You are trying to stereotype and it’s rarely a productive endeavour.
Oh yeah? How many comments from Chinese, Iranian or Sikh immigrants are here in this blog? Or from folks in Surrey or N Van that love their 4000 sq ft house with a triple garage – THE ultimate dream of most immigrants ?
Thank you for the great public service you have given to Vancouver. Don’t stop.
Congrats on your growth.
FYI: your new website no longer allows flips to Flipboard.
Welcome Viewpoint Vancouver!
I humbly suggest a post or two on the Ministry for the future Seminar based on the “cli-fi” 🙂 novel by Kim Stanley Robinson:
http://rolandtanglao.com/2021/05/16/p1-kim-stanley-robison-response-to-seminar-for-the-future/
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