Gerald Sutton Brown

Gerald Sutton Brown

Gerald Sutton Brown, Chief Planner 1952-1973, represented the last of the British/London model of development in Vancouver, where development happens organically, incrementally and is resilient, responding quickly to market forces. Because of this, the price of housing remained stable despite rapid growth.

The West End, the Vancouver Special, high-rise residential on the industrial waterfront and the sprinkling of townhouses, mid-rise and high-rise buildings throughout low density areas are part of his legacy.

The TEAM Era

The TEAM Era

TEAM (The Electors Action Movement) was a political organization that won Vancouver City government in 1973. Just prior to the vote, the new NPA Mayoral candidate was caught up in a scandal causing the NPA vote to implode. Although the TEAM vote remained less than was historically required it was enough to elect a Mayor and 8 Councillors.
James Douglas and the Colony of British Columbia

James Douglas and the Colony of British Columbia

James Douglas was part black, married to an aboriginal woman, he spoke the Chinook Jargon trade language and had already successfully opposed the legislature in Victoria which had wanted to remove the local Songhees reserve. He was appointed first Governor of British Columbia and he and Colonial Secretary Lytton established the Colony on two key principles:

  1. First Nations communities would remain permanently in place permanently. This was in opposition to what had happened just south of the 49th parallel where people were moved to distant reservations.
  2. Native people could preempt land privately off of the reserves but this land would also be available to new immigrants.
Brexit, Canada and the American Revolution

Brexit, Canada and the American Revolution

The United States originated in the English Colonies that were established in the 1600s. But in 1707, four nations of England, Wales, Scotland and later Ireland came together in one political union under the symbol of the Constitutional Monarchy. They called this British. It was at its core multicultural and inclusive.
History of British Columbia Cities: Second Wave Urban Reform

History of British Columbia Cities: Second Wave Urban Reform

The Progressive Movement arose in the late 1800s in the US. It was a reaction against the corruption and incompetence that came out of earlier democratic reforms. Science, technology and professionals were revolutionizing life; people were hopeful about applying these to civic government.
Harland Bartholomew

Harland Bartholomew

For 40 years, Vancouver developed without government planning. The Canadian Pacific Railway laid out Vancouver’s streets before the city government existed. The London-based BC Electric Company chose the arterial streets to maximize riders on its streetcars. London was the model, where order came from human interaction not human design. Robert Horne-Payne, founder of BC Electric Company sold it in 1928 then died shortly after. That same year, Harland Bartholomew presented his radical Plan for Vancouver, claiming cities are better designed and organized by planners than by natural processes.
Urban Density in BC

Urban Density in BC

Only cities have the mandate to permit the density needed to reduce house prices and environmental degradation. Vancouver urban planning is beginning to embrace city densification, and it is important to explain and describe density and its benefits.