"The Digest" A Mix of News and Articles from other sources

June 1, 2013
Why people drive less: reality contradicts fears of increasing auto use
In planning for the redevelopment of our neighbourhood, the oft-cited reasons for rejecting needed development has been worries regarding traffic increases.  Recent figures from the U.S. Transportation Dept. show an overall decline in miles driven, due to a number of factors, including an aging population, fuel costs, traffic congestion amongst other factors.  A recent post from Australia details the way in which the car ownership habits of young adults are different from that of their baby boomer parents.  Amongst a broad list of factors, the study points out that cars are far less of a status symbol for young adults, and significantly that cars are no longer necessary as a means of obtaining sex.
Read more: Why are Australians driving less than they used to? / The Urbanist blog
                    Seeing the back of the car / The Economist, September 2012
 

April 5, 2013
World Health: 5 Questions on How Transport is Related to Health
A recent world Health study describes the connection between health and transportation modes and demonstrates that transit, walking and cycling have demonstrable health benefits to the overall population.  
Given the fact that the majority of diseases are largely preventable, and the serious implications of our health care bill currently rising at 7% per year, the considerations in the World health study have direct relevance to the DNV and how we implement better and more healthy environments.

http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/embarq/136621/world-health-day-5-questions-how-transport-related-health?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Sustainable+Cities+Collective+%28all+posts%29


December 28, 2012
Looking at our water footprint; Sustainable Cities blog post
When looking at "greener' ways of living most of us frame these concerns within the idea of reducing carbon.  One of the overlooked and critical aspects of our consumption is our use of water
Living as we do in the wet of the Pacific Northwest, it is alarming to conceive of us experiencing water shortages, but that prospect is very much within reach if we don't alter soem of our thinking on how we use the 750+ litres per day (!!) of pumped, and purified drinking water each of us collectively uses each day.
Read more: "Taking a closer look at our water footprint"

December 15, 2012
Canada's housing market a victim of demographics: The Globe & Mail, Dec. 10, 2012
Many residents on the North Shore have invested much of their retirement planning in the form of their single-family homes in the believe that their homes represents "a sure thing" guaranteed as the best defence against inflation or stock market uncertainties.  As the article linked below points out there are a number of flaws in this thinking and demographics may drive housing prices down and upend plans built solely around the idea of homes as the bastion of retirement funds.

"Demographic trends built up our housing market, and now they’re going to start pulling it apart.
Prepare yourselves, buyers and sellers. The years ahead for housing will look nothing like the last decade.
A report issued by Pacifica Partners Capital Management in B.C., describes the housing market as we know it today as a product of a wave of buying by baby boomers in their peak earning years. Now, as they start entering retirement, boomers aren’t buying houses any more and the younger generation isn’t large enough to pick up the slack."
Read more:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/mortgages/canadas-housing-market-a-victim-of-demographics/article6185296/
Related stories:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/retirement-rrsps/the-dangers-of-retiring-with-debt/article5541809/


November 18, 2012
The kids don't care about owning cars!
A consistent concern voiced about building other than single-family homes in the DNV is that multiple family projects will create greater traffic problems.  When combined with improved transit the effect is actually the opposite; greater density opens the gates for improved transit due to higher ridership and many others who previously drove begin to take transit as  service improves.
 The Nov. 19 Globe and Mail carried an article on highly successful new projects at Marine & Cambie aimed at young buyers.  Part of the success of the launch was pricing that appealed to the younger buyer.  Currently Vancouver high rises have excess parking capacity of 25% as many owners forego car ownership and not for budgetary reasons.
“All our studies are showing that people under 28 don’t forego owning a car because of the cost of it. They forego owning a car because of the inconvenience of it."


June 17, 2012
Who benefits from a walkable neighbourhood?
Several recent posts from the Sustainable Cities Collective focus on both social and the financial benefits of creating more walkable communities - issues of importance and relevance to our Lower Capilano neighbourhood and to design considerations for the Village Centre:



March 3, 2012
"Vancouver 2050; A city that runs on itself", Patrick Condon, The Tyee March 1, 2012
 What happens when you ask 14 landscape architecture and three planning students to cut the energy use and consequent greenhouse gas production in the city by at least 80 per cent -- by 2050? How is this to be done? Detailed studies show that the most energy efficient form of housing is not the high rise, but actually mid-rise, concrete/wood structures, placed along existing transit and arterial routes.
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/03/01/City-That-Runs-Itself/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=010312 

"Transforming Australian Cities" City of Melbourne City Design
A similar outcome was arrived at in Melbourne, Australia (voted 2011 World's Most Livable City), albeit starting from a different perspective.  Faced with a projected 20% population increase over the next 20 years, this city of 4 million was determined to not expand its footprint by developing at its edges.  With a plan for similar 4-8 storey mid-rise mixed use buildings, Melbourne's planner found they could accommodate the increased population using only 3% of present urban area, along established bus and tram corridors. Melbourne's "Transforming Australian Cities" plan would leave 94% of the suburbs untouched, and performing the function of being the urban "green lung".
 http://www.theage.com.au/national/home-squeeze-on-suburbs-20090814-el8e.html


January 9, 2012
A warning from 1959: "Community Growth - Crisis and Challenge"
An interesting but largely unknown film from 1959 exploring the implications for suburban sprawl, created by the National Association of Home Builders and the Urban Land Institute.  Even at that time there was an awareness of the growing problem of unrestricted suburban sprawl, albeit without knowledge of the incipient global climate changes that emerged only later.

Here is a link to this 1959 production that has elements of relevance for us today...
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/housing/2011/12/warning-urban-sprawl-1959/824/


December 21, 2011
"Millenials Prefer Car 'Access' over 'Ownership'   Cityfix Brasil blog
The “Millennial” generation is quickly adopting car sharing as a mainstream transportation solution, according to results from Zipcar’s second annual study of the personal transportation and car ownership behavior of 18- to 34-year-olds.  Zipcar President Scott Griffin comments,"“Our most forward-looking policy makers are thinking about housing, land use, highways, bridges and gas taxes like it’s 2015 rather than 1971."
Here are some key findings from the study:
  • 55 percent have actively made an effort to drive less, compared to 45 percent in the same 2010 study
  • 78 percent say owning a car is difficult due to high costs of gas and maintenance
  • 53 percent  would participate in a car-sharing service, like Zipcar – mobility and convenience is still important
  • Millennials are the most likely age group to participate in the “sharing economy” (67 percent would participate in media sharing and 49 percent in home/vacation sharing)
  • 40 percent  say they would participate to save more money for retirement or buying a home
Read more: car-access-over-ownership


December 7, 2011
"Living Small in Laneway Houses"  Daniel Wood in BC Business magazine, Dec. 6, 2011
Small (500-700 sq. ft.) laneway houses have become a desired and realistic alternative for many Vancouverites, both young adults and seniors. This detailed article in BC Business online magazine provides a broad look at the planning, economics and community impact of this segment of the housing market. Currently 40-50 applications per month are pouring to Vancouver city hall. 
Read more: http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/profiles-and-spotlights/industries/homes-and-real-estate/living-small-laneway-houses?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=HootSuite&utm_campaign=socialposts
 


November 27, 2011
"Squaring public space with human needs", Lisa Rochon The Globe & Mail, Sat. Nov. 26
In outlining the interplay between human needs and the creation and function of public spaces, Lisa Rochon's article emphasizes the same critical elements for a better community planning concerns described in the recent OCP. Describing the changing thinking that "It is only in the last 20 years that public space has become important again" Rochon projects the many facets of social activity that flourish where the public space is accorded value.
Read more:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/lisa-rochon/squaring-public-space-with-human-needs/article2249425/

November 23, 2011
"Building More Roads Does Not Ease Congestion"
 When new road space is opened, either by building new roads or incentivizing drivers to switch to public transport, the road space vacated is soon occupied by more cars. The provision of more road space does nothing to diminish the underlying demand causing the congestion.  Researchers point to the effective measures to combat congestion is through pricing schemes, found in Milan, London, Stockholm and Signapore.
Read more: http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/embarq/31285/building-more-roads-does-not-ease-congestion?ref=node_other_posts_by%0A

"5 Lessons from the Green Intelligence Forum On Sustainable Cities"
Demand is soaring on many fronts for safe, healthy, livable places, and smarter urbanization is looking less like a trend than an inevitability.  Last week The Atlantic hosted its 4th annual Green Intelligence Forum on sustainable cities, assembling a rich buffet of experts and moderators. The Forum made clear the complexity of the sustainable cities movement but also its necessity, what with millions migrating to urban areas amid scarcer resources.
Read more: http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/node/31751?utm_source=scc_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

November 15, 2011
"Effective Planning Process and Community Engagement: Bringing Voices and Managing Expectations for Viable 21st Century Solutions"

While stakeholder theory originated in (corporate) strategic management, it has been applied to various other areas, such as environmental management, public policy, corporate social responsibility, and more recently, project planning similar to projects coming forward for our community.

In order for the projects to succeed for all parties, including the existing community, it is crucial that DNV Planning be able to carefully engage the right stakeholders, at the right time, in the right way.

This method reinforces a position paper submitted by the CGA executive to DNV Council, for an enhanced stakeholder planning process for our community (see 'Proposal for an Enhanced Community Planning Process" on "That's What We're Talking About" page on this blog site).

Here are links to two relevant articles with useful insights applicable to our Gateway neighbourhood:
  •  http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/node/31367?utm_source=scc_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter
  • http://blog.placespeak.com/uncategorized/bringing-public-consultations-21st-century/ 

October 23, 2011
"The decline and fall of the deadly commute: How to envision cities post-'peak car'? The Globe and Mail, Saturday October 22, 2011
This article in Saturday's October 22,  Globe and Mail (Focus section, page F6) profiles the phenomena of a growing number of urban and suburban dwellers who have opted to change or divest themselves of their cars for daily commuting. 

"Experts say our love affair with the automobile is ending, and that could change much more than how we get around – it presents both an opportunity and an imperative to rethink how we build cities, how governments budget and even the contours of the political landscape.... Finding themselves caught in an uncomfortable tangle of urban sprawl, population growth and plain individual inconvenience, people, one by one, are just quietly opting out."  

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/are-we-reaching-peak-car/article2210139/


October 7, 2011
"Corpus Christi Council voices support for community plan that reduces reliance on cars"  Corpus Christi Caller, Sept 13, 2011
Citing the need for greater livability of their core, Corpus Christi Council endorsed a wide-ranging plan for creation of mixed use redevelopment of streets and shopping areas.
Read more: http://www.caller.com/news/2011/sep/13/city-council-voices-support-for-community-plan/
 

Sept 28, 2011
"Housing a new generation"  The Vancouver Sun Sept. 21
The pressure is on our local and provincial governments to ensure that there is sufficient housing options to ensure appropriate housing for the rapidly expanding wave of seniors.  In this front page story the Vancouver Sun frames the needs and predicament of seniors needing homes that allow them to "age in place" and the challenges of being 'house rich and money poor.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Housing+generation/5434295/story.html

Sept 21, 2011
"Urban/Suburban" HGTV Canada   
A new program on HGTV explores the choices made by consumers as they look for housing that matches their needs and budgets. From the new "Morgan Crossing" in Delta, to Chilliwack's "Garrison Crossing", new developments are mixing and adapting inner city style into new projects, following new urbanist principles.
Read more: http://www.hgtv.ca/urbansuburban/

August 21, 2011
Does this look like a library to you?  Frances Bula, The Globe and Mail
In her article on the changing function of libraries, Frances Bula outlines the ways in which libraries become active centres for community interaction.  The library of the future will perform in a way that extends beyond stacks of books and "Quiet!" notices.  A useful article with great relevance to planning ideas that arose during the recent Community Centres tour sponsored by DNV Planning.
Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/the-library-is-not-just-a-book-warehouse-anymore/article2135999/


August 12, 2011
Healthy Communities Guides  - American Society of Landscape Architects
Working with landscape architects, communities can promote human health and well-being by encouraging the development of environments that offer rich social, economic, and environmental benefits. Healthy, livable communities all improve the welfare and well-being of people by expanding the range of affordable transportation, employment, and housing choices through “Live, Work, Play” developments; incorporating physical activity into components of daily life; preserving and enhancing valuable natural resources; providing access to affordable, nutritious, and locally produced foods distributed for less cost; and creating a unique sense of community and place.
These downloadable free guides provide a framework for sustainable community development.
Read more: http://www.asla.org/livable.aspx

August 7, 2011
The "Not So Big Neighbourhood" Kaid Benfield at Sustainable Cities Collective
The School Street project in Chicago gives upscale home buyers the things they seek in a well-heeled suburb, but in a form that conserves land, promotes walking and transit, and is ultimately far more compatible with sustainability than the McMansions that long dominated that end of the market.  This overview of the design reveals a form of Infill Housing that has parallels to conditions found in our own Gateway community, demographically and geographically.
Read more: http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/kaidbenfield/27913/not-so-big-neighborhood?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Sustainable+Cities+Collective+%28all+posts%29


July 20, 2011
Jane Jacobs on Neighborhoods, Placemaking & Active Living | Sustainable Cities Collective 
Jacobs argued that modernist urban planning rejects the city, because it rejects human beings living in a community characterized by layered complexity and seeming chaos. The modernist planners used deductive reasoning to find principles by which to plan cities. Among these policies the most violent was urban renewal; the most prevalent was and is the separation of uses (i.e. residential, industrial, commercial). These policies, she claimed, destroy communities and innovative economies by creating isolated, unnatural urban spaces.
"In their place Jacobs advocated for 'four generators of diversity', writing on page 151, 'The necessity for these four conditions is the most important point this book has to make. In combination, these conditions create effective economic pools of use.
Read more: http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/kaidbenfield/27449/video-week-jane-jacobs-neighborhoods-placemaking-active-living?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Sustainable+Cities+Collective+%28all+posts%29



July 12, 2011
"Why condo-villes don't work", Shelley White in the Globe and Mail,  July 4, 2011
The best new neighbourhoods combine the four pillars of good planning. These pillars are financial (affordable housing), environmental (natural elements, like trees and parks), social (places where people can work, shop and interact) and cultural (a place with a defined culture, historical preservation or created by the community itself).  Communities require diverse housing options to accommodate singles, couples, families, retirees and low-income students. “The idea is being able to age in place, to go from one stage to another in the same neighbourhood, so you can put down roots,” says Ken Greenberg, an architect, urban planner and author of Walking Home. .
Neighbourhoods also need a mix of housing and retail to create the crucial element of “walkability,” Mr. Greenberg says. It’s a move away from old-school city planning, which tended to separate the different aspects of daily life.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/property-report/why-condo-villes-dont-work/article2086193/


July 8, 2011
Sprawling from Grace, Driven to Madness,
Feature Documentary Film by David Edwards
This well-produced documentary ranges across the topics of oil and energy consumption to urban planning and its effects on social well being to reveal the unintended consequences of suburban sprawl.  Lucid examples illustrate the importance of altering the course of how we develop our nation's cities in order to develop a healthy social environment.
Read more: http://www.sprawlingfromgrace.com/  or 
                  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPS1y81b1Bw

June 30, 2011
Across Europe, Irking Drivers is Urban Policy, The New York Times, June 27, 2011
"There were big fights over whether to close this road or not — but now it is closed, and people got used to it"
ZURICH — While American cities are synchronizing green lights to improve traffic flow and offering apps to help drivers find parking, many European cities are doing the opposite: creating environments openly hostile to cars. The methods vary, but the mission is clear — to make car use expensive and just plain miserable enough to tilt drivers toward more environmentally friendly modes of transportation.

June 24, 2011
"The American suburbs are a Giant Ponzi Scheme" Charles Marohn in 'The Grist' blog
"We often forget that the American pattern of suburban development is an experiment, one that has never been tried anywhere before. We assume it is the natural order because it is what we see all around us. But our own history -- let alone a tour of other parts of the world -- reveals a different reality. Across cultures, over thousands of years, people have traditionally built places scaled to the individual. It is only the last two generations that we have scaled places to the automobile."
Read more: http://www.grist.org/sprawl/2011-06-22-the-american-suburbs-are-a-giant-ponzi-scheme


June 19,2011
Letters to a heretic: An email conversation with climate change skeptic Freeman Dyson
World-renowned physicist Professor Freeman Dyson has been described as a 'force-of-nature intellect'. He's also one of the world's foremost climate change skeptics. In this email exchange, our science editor, Steve Connor, asks the Princeton scholar why he's one of the few true intellectuals to be so dismissive of the global-warming consensus
"...if we wait until we are absolutely certain beyond any doubt whatsover that global temperatures are rising dangerously as a result of carbon dioxide emissions, it will be too late to do anything about it because of the in-built inertia of the climate system."
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/letters-to-a-heretic-an-email-conversation-with-climate-change-sceptic-professor-freeman-dyson-2224912.html

June 9, 2011
Saving our Economy and Starving the Terrorist, Lester Lave of Carnegie Mellon
Internationally respected and shortlisted for the Nobel Prize, Lester Lave died in May.  In this video Lave addresses the true cost of a gallon of gasoline and points out the damaging effect on both personal finances, social well being and the U.S. economy of shipping $500 billion annually to the middle east.
Find out more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2iYuoO6z1M

June 2, 2011
The Next Slum, The Atlantic magazine, March 2008
For 60 years, Americans have pushed steadily into the suburbs, transforming the landscape and (until recently) leaving cities behind. But today the pendulum is swinging back toward urban living, and there are many reasons to believe this swing will continue. As it does, many low-density suburbs and McMansion subdivisions, including some that are lovely and affluent today, may become what inner cities became in the 1960s and ’70s—slums characterized by poverty, crime, and decay.
Read more: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/03/the-next-slum/6653/ 


May 22, 2011
Ted Turner tells it like it is
Marc Gunther blog site
It would be easy to dismiss Ted Turner as a billionaire with a big mouth, a blowhard or even a buffoon.
Wrong, wrong and wrong.
Ted was on display in all his Ted-ness the other day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Cooking for Solutions conference on food and sustainability. He ranted, he raved, he clowned, he ignored questions from interviewer, Juliet Eilperin of The Washington Post. Moderating Ted is about as easy as domesticating a bison. (His herd numbers 50,000.)
Find out more: http://www.marcgunther.com/2011/05/20/ted-turner-telling-it-like-it-is-2/

May 6, 2011
 Creating Walkable communities
Smart Growth BC website
These online downloadable PDF slide shows takes you through the essential aspects of why walkable communities improve general health, decrease obesity and  enhance the broad mental health of residents through opportunities for social interaction.
Find out more: http://www.smartgrowth.bc.ca/Publications/GuidesandToolkits/tabid/159/Default.aspx

May 1, 2011
Hollyburn Mews Infill project goes to Public Hearing 
North Shore News, April 29, 2011


In this latest development of the Hollyburn Mews Infill project, West Vancouver Council came out unanimously in favour of the project."This is housing that's been asked for. . . . We know that it's needed. Really, it's time that we addressed this," Coun. Shannon Walker said at an April 18 council meeting.The project would see floor space ratios (FSR) increased from the current
0.35 to 0.61.
"These alternatives provide aging families like ours the opportunity to continue to live in an environment to which we have become accustomed," said Hiscox, who lives on 16th Street.
"Aging residents and young adults are not well served by the present stock of housing in West Vancouver," Haywood Avenue resident Lynn Broman added.


April 27, 2011
"Seven rules for Sustainable Communities"  Patrick Condon 
at Lynn Valley Community Assoc. AGM,  May 11 7:30PM, Mollie Nye House,  940 Lynn Valley Road
Patrick Condon has become well known for producing alternative models for walkable and complete communities – communities that work with, not against, the natural capabilities of the site, and doing so with the people involved – the citizens and stakeholders of the area. The community design strategies that have emerged from this work have received widespread attention throughout the Canada and the United States and are provoking a fundamental re-examination of how we plan our neighborhoods and, importantly, how we can most effectively and efficiently provide the urban infrastructure necessary to serve them.
Read more: http://lvca.ca/2011/03/annual-general-meeting/

"The End of Suburbia" "We're literally stuck up a cul-de-sac in a cement SUV without a fill-up" 
James Howard Kunstler, documentary         
"...as we enter the 21st century, serious questions are beginning to emerge about the sustainability of this way of life. With brutal honesty and a touch of irony, The End of Suburbia explores the American Way of Life and its prospects as the planet approaches a critical era, as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply. World Oil Peak and the inevitable decline of fossil fuels are upon us now, some scientists and policy makers argue in this documentary.
The consequences of inaction in the face of this global crisis are enormous. What does Oil Peak mean for North America? As energy prices skyrocket in the coming years, how will the populations of suburbia react to the collapse of their dream?"
Find out more:    http://www.endofsuburbia.com/

April 26, 2011 
Resilient Communities:Preparing for the Climate Challenge
June 14 – 15, 2011  Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue  Vancouver BC
Despite international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, our global climate will continue to change significantly over the coming decades and possibly centuries. Warmer temperatures, more frequent extreme precipitation events, continuing sea level rise and reduced summer river flows are examples of what lies ahead for BC. What does this mean for our communities and, importantly, our food supply?
The Resilient Communities forum will explore these issues by bringing together experts, practitioners and decision-makers from BC, Canada, the UK and Australia. Participants will learn about the latest climate change projections for BC and where to find information to guide adaptation decisions. Selected case studies will demonstrate how communities and the agricultural sector are beginning to respond. The forum will provide opportunities for participants to discuss the issues, question the experts and provide input to government and researchers.

Find out more:   www.pics.uvic.ca/resilient_communities.php

April 25, 2011
Home shared Home
Denise Ryan, The Vancouver Sun, April 23
"Vancouver regularly lands in the top spot on international most livable cities list. For people who actually want to buy a home or land anywhere in and around the Lower mainland, Vancouver's high rankings sucks.  Why? [T]he average folks who make the city twinkle, will never be able to own a home here."
Read more:
http://www.vancouversun.com/WEEKEND+EXTRA+Home+shared+home/4662017/story.html

No comments: