Rather than a single voice from Vancouver, this collection presents recommendable articles about this fascinating city.

My recent visit to Vancouver stunned me. This city seems to have it all: Green space, a nice city centre, a water front, beautiful nature all around and a lovely vibe. Rather than just sharing the opinion of one person about this city, I will give you some recommendations on what to read in order to learn more about Vancouver.

The English Bay: An amazing beach in the middle of the city. Copyright: own picture

In a nutshell, Vancouver is constantly voted one of the most liveable cities in the world. Contributing to this is the fact that the city is not terribly spread out. Rather, there are dense high-rises and many attractive residential buildings close to city centre. The English Bay is of impressive  natural beauty and serves as a meeting point for athlets, mothers, lovers and just about anyone else. In the peninsula of Stanley Park, you can find peace and quiet, whereas Granville Island is a bustling street food and farmer’s market that is definitely worth one (or three) visits.

At the Granville food market. The background shows some of the residential high-rise buildings that characterise Vancouver. Copyright: own picture

Vancouver is trying to be the greenest city in the world, ambitiously. There are, however, many bottom-up-projects and small-scale ideas in place, which in their sum are making a great effort towards this goal. Browse through them here.

A while ago, an impressive project called Upcycled Urbanism took place in city centre in cooperation with Vancouver City Museum. Have a look at how they play with public space and turn a whole street into an interactive, participatory laboratory:

Also, you should have a look at this Planetizen article, which lists 10 lessons to be learnt from Vancouver. These include many ideas on how to bring City Hall and planning processes closer to citizens.

If you are looking for a blog to read before visiting Vancouver, check out This City Life. It promises insights, thoughts and observations on what makes cities a great place to live. There are many articles there with a critical perspective on Vancouver’s popularity as well as humorous pieces like this one: 10 Principles for a Rain-Friendly City.

Lastly, there are some rather specific but fascinating articles by NextCity on urban initiatives in Vancouver:

Vancouver is Making Vibrant Public Spaces out of Back Alleys and

Vancouver to Train Citizens to Map Public Spaces.

Enjoy reading!

Do you like the work that I do? Consider supporting the blog by buying me a tea! I’m so thankful for your support!

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Related Posts

Join the Mailing List

Sign up for monthly newsletters to get notified of new blog articles and other news about participatory planning!