Category: Uncategorized

Effective Urban Densification—A Guide for Professionals and the Housing Industry: A Book Review

My review of Barry John’s latest book has been published in the October issue of Canadian Architect:

“It is a relief to read a book containing genuine fresh thinking on housing—just what the Canadian housing sector desperately needs right now. In Effective Urban Densification: A Guide for Professionals and the Housing Industry, Alberta architect Barry Johns models for one form of new housing—infill—the kind of analysis and new directions that we would do well to undertake to address the delivery of all forms of housing in our country. This is a must-read for developers and architects, but it may be even more eye-opening for homeowners holding a lot of equity, government officials and planners sponsoring new zoning, and neighbours who fret about the loss of their lovely communities.”

Click here to read the full article.

The full October issue can also be found here.

Housing Families at High Density – City of Vancouver Guidelines

Accommodating families with children in high density environments is a key tenet of Vancouverism. Upon their adoption in 1992, these guidelines helped enable the design and construction of residential units with this idea in mind. Read the full document here.

Interview With Councillor Hardwick Regarding “Vancouverism”

I recently sat down for an interview with Vancouver City Councillor Colleen Hardwick. We had a very productive discussion, and covered topics ranging from public consultation in the city to the upcoming elections. Listen to our full conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvcB6KES2Rg

Vision 2030: A New Future for Prince Rupert

Prince Rupert is retooling to take command of its future.  Through the new 2030 Vision, it is entering into one of the best co-governance models in Canada – it is emphasizing First Nations collaboration, community action, and public-private collaboration. Beasley & Associates is proud to be working on this exciting new project. Read the full 2030 plan here:

191206_PRU_VisionReport_web

We were delighted to be part of a hugely successful public meeting with Mayor
Lee Brain and a host of First Nations representatives. Here are some photos of that event:

ECODESIGN FOR CITIES AND SUBURBS, a new free internet course offered on edX by the University of British Columbia

Architects, urban planners, real-estate developers, landscape architects, and anyone else who is interested in the future of cities – especially students in all these disciplines, should check out this free, open course, taught by Larry Beasley, the former planning director of Vancouver, who is a Distinguished Professor of Practice at UBC, and Jonathan Barnett, a noted authority on urban design from the University of Pennsylvania.

The whole mechanism of city planning and urban development, worldwide, is producing a form of urbanization which is not compatible with our environment. Almost everything that is being built is making the problem worse, and climate change and rapid population growth are turning a badly flawed system into something that could literally end in disaster.

Using real examples from around the world, Beasley and Barnett show how integrating planning, urban design and the conservation of natural systems can produce a sustainable built and natural environment, implemented through normal business practices and the kinds of capital programs and regulations already in use in most communities.

The first session of the course will start April 4th. Here is a link to the full course description and the intro video.