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Mayor invited to Paris to talk about new-tech Vancouver

May 14th, 2012 · 29 Comments

Another week, another conference about how to create new cities and improve old ones.

Today, Mayor Gregor Robertson opened the New Cities Foundation conference in Paris, with top-rankedVancouver imaginer Doug Coupland also on board, to talk about the city as a frontier for new-tech solutions that will solve all kinds of urban problems, from conserving energy to making information free.

My story on same is here and the site on a new Coupland invention for the digital-sustainable age of cities is here.

Categories: Uncategorized

  • Silly Season

    “I’ll be telling the Vancouver story about partnership with the private sector to accelerate adoption of new technologies,” Mr. Robertson said on the eve of his departure for the first-ever conference of the foundation.

    Can he give us 10 specific examples of who those companies are, what the potential deals/partnerships/technologies are, how much venture money is coming to the table, long-term support, how many jobs they are looking to create?In other words: hard numbers. Goals.

    Because the nice lady from Vancouver Economic Development sure as hell couldn’t when she made her platitude laden apeech at Gord Price’s “City Conversations’ last week.

    Furthermore, she admitted how hard it was to attract and keep hi-tech/digital top dogs beacause of: Ta da! the housing affordability situation.

    It may be nice to put young, unmarried kids in 250 sq ft. holes, but eventually even geeks want to mate and have little geeks. And many tech people have to leave our little slice of heaven when that happens, as we are not building the kind of housing that will support them in that endeavour.

    You can have all the most wonderful aspirations in the world—but they don’t stand for much if incubated in a petri dish removed from the reality of overall economic conditions.

    Is it possible that the city is looking to create a special “digital zone” along with corporations that will provide housing options to families, who still form the backbone of economic development in urban centres, with their many needs. Sounds like the Mayor is hoping to build a dream on singletons, at this point.

    PS. Is it true that the VED entire analysis division was canned? If so, why?

  • Max

    I was at a green tech conference a year ago. The ‘Mayor’ was promoted on the e-mail blast. Long and short – he gave about a 5 minute ‘speech’ and then left. People, companies were looking for him as they wanted to talk to him – including those persons that traveled up from the US.

    He left so fast it was as if he committed a crime and needed to get away.

    To think that he is ‘representing’ us at a conference of this type truly tickles by funny bone.

    Oh, wait – maybe he can tell all the nice attendees about how well the ‘green technology’ at the Oly Village is working out….

    At least he will have a nice ‘vacation’ at the taxpayers expense. I wonder how many of his hangers on traveled with him?

  • Guest

    He should take a tour of one of the state-of-the-art incineration plants on the Seine while he’s there.

    http://www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/waste-management/largest-french-waste-incinerator-unveiled-in-paris

  • Michelle

    TITLE
    “Mayor invited to Paris to talk about new-tech Vancouver”
    My question:
    “But why? Couldn’t we send a better actor?”
    FYI, Brent the former DofP is at the same conference, invited somehow miraculously.
    Them… both together at the same conference promoting the same thing when they are so far apart in thinking, it doesn’t make any sense, but what it does anymore?

  • Richard

    @Silly Season

    The bigger problem in BC and Canada is that the big money only knows oil and mining and won’t bother investing in high-tech. Yet another problem with the sad oil-only economic plan

  • Agustin

    Can he give us 10 specific examples of who those companies are

    Well, maybe he’ll release his presentation to the public and we’ll be able to see.

    I can’t think of 10 off the top of my head, but I can think of one right now: Modo Car Co-op and electric vehicles.

  • Tom

    Vancouver is not a progressive example. It has a terrible transit system, and the road system is probably the worst of any major city in Canada. They keep building ugly, characterless hi rise condos and densifying the core, but not adding more transit infrastructure. Thanks to short-sighted policies from our politicians, speculation is rampant, and it has become unaffordable for most people to live here. The high costs are also driving out many of the artists and creative types, which is also changing the city.

  • Chris Porter

    I love it. We have Max complaining “At least he will have a nice ‘vacation’ at the taxpayers expense.”
    and “Daniel Fontaine, says he believes that, if mayors are representing their city at a worthwhile event, the city should pay so as to avoid any suggestion of conflict or taking favours.”

    can’t please everyone.

  • Richard

    @Tom

    Granted the transit system needs improving. However, it is the provincial government that needs to step up to the plate and give the region the authority it needs to raise the required funds.

  • Andrew Browne

    @ Tom #7

    “Vancouver is not a progressive example. It has a terrible transit system, and the road system is probably the worst of any major city in Canada.”

    Vancouver does not have a terrible transit system. That is categorically untrue. “Not perfect” does not equal terrible. As for roads, I invite you to drive the highway-commute slog experienced by Torontonians every day and then comment on Vancouver roads.

    We’re a city. There is congestion. Things are not, however, terrible. Take a deep breath.

    “Thanks to short-sighted policies from our politicians, speculation is rampant, and it has become unaffordable for most people to live here.”

    Arguably yes, but these short-sighted policies are very large macroeconomic items (like interest rates) and not really impacted by local politicians.

    “The high costs are also driving out many of the artists and creative types, which is also changing the city.”

    No argument with you on that one.

  • Silly Season

    @Augustin #6

    What governments primarily should be in the “business” of, imho, is creating the conditions where innovation and ingenuity can flourish, and where living conditions are the icing on the cake for talent to come 9or stay) and produce their best work here.

    For instance, our friends in the City of Richmond have cleverly kept some valuable industrial land aside–for the purpose of light industrial use!—where companies are producing top notch hi-tech niche products for the world. One such company employs 300+ people in high paying, high skill careers like engineering and design in that niche manufacturing sector, for their product.

    As the link below says, the line between manufacturing and service is blurring. As long as we keep thinking in old ways about types of business we can encourage here, how we regulate and support new innovations in the light manufacturing/service sector, we will be missing an amazing opportunity to create higher paying jobs that support families who want to remain in Vancouver.

    Here’s the link:

    http://www.economist.com/node/21553017

    Waiting to see how Mayor’s Task Force on Affordability will address the housing component.

  • MB

    Tom 7

    Spend a week in Calgary and you’ll come back with a better appreciation for Vancouver’s achievements with respect to urbanism and transit.

    Then again, spend a week in Barcelona, Paris or Copenhagen, and you’ll see how far Vancouver has to go. Calgary won’t even make the list.

  • Max

    @Silly Season #11:

    Surrey is home to one of the largest North American wind turbine plants.

    Again, not something that is talked about.

  • Agustin

    SS #11

    What governments primarily should be in the “business” of, imho, is creating the conditions where innovation and ingenuity can flourish, and where living conditions are the icing on the cake for talent to come 9or stay) and produce their best work here.

    I largely agree, though I’d say that livability is an ingredient in the cake – not just the icing.

    But really we are talking about Metro Van in this area: people may live in Vancouver but commute to Surrey or Richmond, for instance. Ideally Surrey and Richmond would also increase their livability (which I believe they are).

    Vancouver’s main problem is land costs, as I think we all agree. The trick is to get more productivity from less land, which is why it’s hard to rely on industrial businesses, and we need to turn to the “creative class”, including green tech and high tech.

  • Agustin

    Whoops – that editing didn’t work!

    The quote should end before “I largely agree”.

  • MB

    @ Max 13

    Surrey is home to one of the largest North American wind turbine plants.

    You are of course referring to former Surrey mayor Doug McCallum?

  • Silly Season

    No problem, got it! 😉

    Re: land costs and ‘industrial’ businesses. I am really referencing the new ‘light industry’ use here. Call it “custom manufacturing” or “micro manufacturing”. That includes the full spectrum of the creative classes—it’s not about mass manufacturing cheap crap.

    More productivity from less land is what this model would be about.

    It’s about bringing invention, innovation and light manufacturing to the shop floor by producing high end, high quality, customizeable solutions for the world.

    This isn’t your grandfather’s–or father’s—manufacturing we’re talking about here.

    It’s already happening. Right now, we have companies in the Lower Mainland that are competing with the best in the world, on customized solutions in the light manufacturing sector. But where will they go, if we take away that industrial space?

    That land and the utilization of same means we have the designers, the engineers and some highly skilled shop workers and technicians (people with skills that we can ill afford to lose) producing goods, materials and ideas that are born, bred and shipped from here.

    With respect to your example about Mono Cars, above, while I’m sure it is a good service business, is highly franchiseable and does it’s bit for carbon neutrality, what I’m talking about is a service/manufacturing sector that is “closed loop”—it will concentrate on bringing the the most benefits to Vancouver by creating high quality/high pay jobs in our imnediate area. Better paying jobs means a workforce that can stay, be taxed and stay –and spend–in our area.

    We need our industrial land to not be given over to “industrial parks” which is a just fancy name for office space. We need these places to extend and build on our “institutional memory” about how to build things.

    Otherwise we will go from being “hewers of wood, drawers of water” to “a nation of shopkeepers” , without a nod to building and honing our own talents.

    If one wants to talk about a place being truly sustainable—where we have enough smart diversity in the economic make-up of our own place to survive the vagaries of the world market, build a diversified tax base, build an true “innovator” brand for the city, and not count soley on home building and restaurants for our financial sustenance, then, yes, we must preserve and utilize our industrial lands for their best possible use.

  • Higgins

    Let’s talk Mayor.
    This undeserving individual is the most phony advocate for anything. He knows nothing about most he things he is “renowned” for. But if there is a need to walk the bear to all this self-pumping festivals like the o0ne in Paris the hell with it!
    Like Sullivan waiving the flag in Turin. What good did it do to him or the city in 2010 from that “experience”?
    BTW For some reasons I don’t understand Gregor sits on the Board of Trustees for that New City Foundation. It seems that he is more to his gang than to the city of Vancouver. Amen!

  • Everyman

    Well, judging by Jeff Lee’s recent column, Gregor has little of interest to say, at least anything that’s not a tightly managed script of platitudes.
    http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/05/03/can-we-convince-the-mayors-of-toronto-and-vancouver-to-trade-places/

  • Agustin

    It’s already happening. Right now, we have companies in the Lower Mainland that are competing with the best in the world, on customized solutions in the light manufacturing sector. But where will they go, if we take away that industrial space?

    Yup, makes sense to me. Let’s not lose all our industrial land! We need a healthy mix of land uses – residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, transportational (is that a word?). We would be smart to have some of all of those in our city.

    Are we losing our industrial land?

  • Guest

    The City of Vancouver has lost a lot of light industrial land due to high land values (and condo-ization).

    Think lands around False Creek, Arbutus Lands, Collingwood Village and Burrard Slopes.

    The next threatened area is around Marine Gateway (south of Marine) which will feel intense pressure to residentialize.

    I think the City has recognized the problem though.

  • Mira

    The Mayor was invited to Paris? This Mayor? Robertson? This is a joke right? And he is a guest speaker for cities… ROTFLMAO!

  • westygrrl

    The City hasn’t lost it. The City has chosen to let industrial land go for the purposes of residential densification, and the city’s beautification and (one could argue) morph into Resort City. It was done with intent – hello East FraserLands – not by accident.

    If you are in areas of town where the City does not want to let I2 & M2 zones go, i.e. Marpole, then you are out of luck. The City can stand up for industrial land retention when it wishes to do so. This will be a good thing if/when job-production returns to these areas which are currently sadly underperforming.

    The Marine Gateway site was only rezoned based upon its location at the CanadaLine station. Nothing else south of Marine Drive has been let go to date.

    The key will be determining the Future Economic/Jobs Producing Plan for the remaining Industrial Lands in the city of Vancouver. The City is apparently working in earnest on this, but it has taken much, much too long.

  • Roger Kemble

    There is very little industry in Vancouver. Most of the land we see out of the corner of our eye as we whizz by, and nominally zoned industrial, is mostly warehousing: often with fewer than two or three employed to the hectare, and most of that in the office.

    A huge swath of industrial land on the flats lies virtually dormant for the occasional CPR shunting muster. (We forget Grace McCarthy was honoured for giving away half downtown to Li ka Shing!)

    As for industry, we have none! What we call high tech is web page assembly and computer games: indeed, simple HTML and quite low tech.

    The mining industry has gone to South America and South East Asia.

    Dimension lumber is a thing of the past. We’ve squandred it all!

    The lumber industry resorts to panelized splice and glue. Plywood mills are pulling veneer off logs that should not be harvested.

    Shipping poles off shore, no value added, is now common practice.

    Silviculture is, apparently, a word forest industry personnel are unable to pronounce.

    But we have real estate and so long as some realtors, (probably most), can push 90% of their listing to Main Land China there is little incentive for the Mayor’s Task force and Round Table to take affordability seriously. When all is said and done, they’re, as the saying goes, inboard!”

    So apparently, grandstanding is the order of the day . . .

    Mayor Gregor Robertson opened “ . . . the New Cities Foundation conference in Paris!. And I do not see the French coming out smelling of roses. Just, more cynical smoke and mirrors!

  • Silly Season

    @Augustin #20

    Industrial land supply is a huge issue and a key component of Metro Vancouver’s Regional Growth Strategy.

    In fact, Goal #2 states: Support A Sustainable Economy

    ‘The land base and transportation systems required to nurture a healthy business sector are protected and supported. This includes supporting regional employment and economic growth. Industrial and agricultural land is protected and commerce flourishes in Urban Centres throughout the region’.

    Now, go have a gander at this report from Metro Vancouver on our region’s total industrial land supply:

    ‘Metro Vancouver 2010 Industrial Lands Inventory – November 15, 2011’

    Take a look at Vancouver’s numbers. Not good.

    @Guest.

    I hope that the City is recognizing the problem. But unless a civic strategy that specifically outlines how they intend to use that land into the future is produced, I would say that we will have to keep a careful watch on this subject.

  • Silly Season

    @Roger Kenble #24

    Agree! We suffer from “short-sightedness disease’ in this town.

    Also agree on what constitutes hi-tech here, thus far.

  • Higgins

    Roger Kemble #24

    “Mayor Gregor Robertson opened “ . . . the New Cities Foundation conference in Paris!. And I do not see the French coming out smelling of roses. Just, more cynical smoke and mirrors!”

    Me likes! 🙂
    Smoke and mirrors! BTW did Robertson took days off from being Mayor, sick days, vacation, what? As he was invited there on private business, made to look like he’s doing city business. Perhaps but not THIS city! Phew!

  • rf

    Conversation overheard with French judge at Pacific Coliseum in Feb 2010.

    “We’ll vote for your skaters in the pairs if you get me invited to a Paris urban conference when the weather is good”

  • Raingurl

    Why don’t we get the Mayor a “hotel” room at the Balmoral overlooking the “lovely” future home of Sequel 138 and then we’ll see where HIS priorities lie!