Many cities have complained about the lack of rental apartments being built. Few have done anything. That’s largely because it’s been seen as beyond the financial ability of cities to start subsidizing something as expensive as housing. But Vancouver is going to give it a try, as I outline in my Globe story here.
Entries from January 2016
Vancouver tries to kickstart rental housing
June 16th, 2009 · 9 Comments
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The smoky Paris cafe is dead: Long live the smoky street
June 13th, 2009 · 14 Comments
The last time I was in Paris five years ago, people were still allowed to smoke in bars and restaurants here. That made for quite an experience (and a lot of clothes-washing to get the smell out) for all of us. But this time, quelle difference. And it’s added even more flavour to the Paris […]
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The phone system that will change your life about to start up: 311
June 13th, 2009 · 7 Comments
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for – Vancouver’s 311 system is supposed to be up and running as of Monday, June 15. That’s the new system that allows you to access all of city all just by dialing 311, where trained operators will be standing by to send you on to the right […]
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A Seattle view on reducing parking: less is more
June 12th, 2009 · 4 Comments
One more take on the issue of parking reduction in cities, here from Seattle. I should note, given my current location, that the parking rates throughout Paris are a flat 2 euros an hour (about $3.25) — not that exorbitant, surprisingly. I believe the rate on Hornby, where I park regularly is $4 an hour. […]
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Letter from Paris: Multiculturalism, homelessness and cookware
June 12th, 2009 · 15 Comments
This is a strange moment for me, but this post brings all of you news that I am going to be writing from France and Italy very temporarily. That means I’ll still be following the usual Vancouver civic dramas, thanks to the wonders of modern and technology and ongoing emails from my spies, but I’ll […]
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Ontario health controversy touches Vancouver city manager
June 8th, 2009 · 25 Comments
For those of you without Penny Ballem on your Google alert, this story just popped up on the Globe’s website.
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Canadian mayors, councillors debate Buying Canadian and more
June 7th, 2009 · 5 Comments
About 2,000 mayors, city councillors, aldermen and wardens (as they’re called in some places in Canada) were up in Whistler this weekend talking about everything from creating green cities to fighting back against American protectionism to getting the actual dollars rolling that the federal government promised for stimulus spending on infrastructure. A lot of the […]
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Down with the car, Part XXXIV: Less parking downtown
June 5th, 2009 · 90 Comments
I’m surprised no one has picked up on this, but amid the raft of reports about closing down streets, rapid-bus lanes and you name it, there’s also this report from crazy busy report-writing crew over in engineering. It recommends reducing the minimum and maximum required parking spaces to be built in for new commercial and […]
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Vancouver Art Gallery might have to bail on False Creek
June 3rd, 2009 · 20 Comments
As I mentioned in my previous post, there are lots of simmering undercurrents in the city’s attempts to plan Northeast False Creek. One of the biggest is what is happening with the Vancouver Art Gallery. If you’ll recall, Premier Gordon Campbell made the strangest announcement of all time last May when he said the gallery […]
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Mayor wants Northeast False Creek to “push the green agenda”
June 3rd, 2009 · 12 Comments
It’s a difficult story to follow but the Saga of Northeast False Creek is a fascinating one and will continue to develop because there are so many interests at play in that area, the big stretch of land that faces the Olympic village across False Creek. There’s a tussle over whether the Vancouver Art Gallery […]
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