Annotated Bibliography


1. City of Vancouver. (2014). Greenest city 2020: A bright green future. Retrieved from http://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/a-bright-green-future.aspx.

The City of Vancouver website is an impressive research tool for analyzing the overall sustainable achievements and future goals for Vancouver. It contains the Greenest City 2020 Action Plan, an impressive document that offers detailed information on an ambitious plan for the city to become the leader in green building and sustainable development.

2. City of Vancouver. (2012). Transportation 2040 Plan: A transportation vision for the City of Vancouver. Vancouver, BC.

Recently adopted in 2012, Vancouver transportation plan is the long range planning document that presents a detailed vision for the future of transportation in the city. The plan is centered around sustainability and increasing transit and active transportation mode share in the interests of fostering a livable city. Other important topics include improving safety and accessibility as well as financing and public input mechanisms.

3. Kothari, M. (2007, October). Report of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context. Retrieved from http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/10session/A.HRC.10.7.Add.3.pdf

The report, prepared by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a human right, examines the state of housing in Canada, focusing specifically on women, homeless, and the Aboriginal population. The Special Rapporteur recognizes the historically successful efforts of the Canadian federal government in providing adequate housing, but also points out current practices that have reversed much of its previous efforts. The Special Rapporteur expresses concern about the rise of homelessness, increasing housing prices, and decrease in public housing in Canada. The report cites factors such as the absence of an official definition of homelessness, the absence of a national housing strategy, and a non-recognition of housing as a separate right. The Special Rapporteur makes many recommendations, among them includes the need to recognize the right to adequate housing, the need to adopt or amend legislation that will protect the right to adequate housing, and to commit to a national long-term housing strategy that will address the issue of homelessness and affordable housing.

4. Marshall, Richard-Editor.  (2001). Waterfronts in Post-Industrial Cities.  London: Spon Press. 

Marshall discusses the connection between the urban center and the waterfront in his chapter on Vancouver and Sydney, Australia.  This case study looks at the shift in focus from urban centers disconnected from the industrial waterfront, to urban centers incorporating a redeveloped waterfront.  Other case studies cover other aspects of waterfront redevelopment in other cities around the world. 

5. Posadzki, A. (2015, January 20). Vancouver has 2nd least affordable housing market in the world. Global News. Retrieved from http://globalnews.ca/news/1783522/vancouver-has-2nd-least-affordable-housing-market-in-the-world/ 
This news article from Global News reports the finding of Vancouver being ranked as having the second least affordable housing market in the world. The article summarizes key results of the study of international housing markets by Demographia, such as its methods and procedure of ranking markets. The article mentions related material from other sources, such as comments from economists of Capital Economics, and previous reports by TD Economics. The article comments on Vancouver’s housing affordability in comparison to other Canadian cities, and mentions current market conditions that will affect Vancouver’s housing market in the future.

6. Punter, J. (2003). The Vancouver achievement: Urban planning and design. Vancouver: UBC Press.

John Punter is a professor urban design at Cardiff University in Wales who spent several years analyzing cities in the western US and Canada in search of best planning practices to apply to his critique of elements of the British planning system. His book presents a broad analysis of the history and contemporary trends of planning and urban design in Vancouver which urbanists around the world are increasingly identifying as a model city for future growth. The book is intended to appeal to academic audiences as well as the public providing lessons on planning practice for all who are interested. Of particular interest  for the Transportations section was Punter's accounts of the genesis of the Vancouver SkTrain.

7. Shane, A. M., & Graedel, T. E. (2000). Urban environmental sustainability metrics: A provisional set. Journal of Environmental Planning & Management, 43(5), 643-663. doi: 10.1080/713676586

This article utilizes Vancouver as a subject in a study with focus on a set of proposed metrics for urban environmental sustainability. Because Vancouver’s rapidly growing population, pose some challenges to its considerable efforts in sustainability and environmental vision, the city provides sufficient data for which the study can apply metrics that emphasize three main components of cities in the quest for sustainable planning options: natural resources, infrastructure, and people.

8. Siemiatycki, M. (2005). The making of a mega project in the neoliberal city. City, 9(1), 67-83. doi:10.1080/13604810500050336

In this article, Matti Siemiatycki presents an in-depth look at public-private transit partnerships in Vancouver. He presents an analysis of Vancouver's public-private partnership behind the Canada Line and the way in which a process intended to increase transparency and competition effectively did the opposite. Moreover, Siemiatycki argues that said projects fell victim to something similar to confirmation bias whereby a plan was put in place and analysis was subsequently carried out to support it. This source was used primarily to inform he transportation section.

9. University of British Columbia, Sheltair Group Inc, & Holland Barrs Planning Group. (2006). Greater Vancouver greenguide. Vancouver, BC: Design Centre for Sustainability.

A user-friendly book that communicates some of the sustainability history in Greater Vancouver, this book provides excellent descriptions, great illustrations, and detailed background on significant sustainable projects in the Vancouver region. The book offers readers a brief introduction of the city’s history highlighting some of its critical sustainability initiatives and milestones.

10. Vancouver's housing and homelessness strategy 2012-2021. (2011, June). Retrieved from http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/Housing-and-Homeless-Strategy-2012-2021pdf.pdf
In the City of Vancouver’s housing strategy document, the City develops its overall direction in regards to housing, specifically relating to affordable housing and homelessness, over the years of 2012-2021. The city expresses its goals of ending street homeless by 2015 and increasing affordable housing choices for all Vancouverites, which would be achieved through increasing the supply of affordable housing, encouraging mixed-income housing in neighborhoods, and providing strong leadership and support partners to enhance housing stability. The city recounts efforts over the past years to address homelessness and housing affordability, and summarizes key learnings from those efforts. The city plans to implement its housing strategy through a series of Action Plans and reports its progress in an annual report to the Council. 
11. Wren, Douglas M.  (1983).  Urban Waterfront Development.  Washington DC: The Urban Land Institute.

This collaborative book from the Urban Land Institute covers information on waterfront projects in the US and Canada until the early 1980s.  The various case studies provide insight into waterfront development issues throughout North America.  The Vancouver case study provides valuable information about the history of planning throughout the early and mid 20th century.

12. Yeang, Ken.  Eco Master Planning.  Sussex, UK: Wiley, 2009.  Print.

In this futuristic look at waterfront development, Yeang presents his potential eco projects for case studies around the world.  The chapter on Vancouver includes housing and retail districts, parks and open space.

13. Fox, D. (2010). Halting Urban Sprawl: Smart Growth In Vancouver and Seattle Boston College International & Comparative Law Review33(1), 43-59.


This academic journal compares examples of high-density development and urban sprawl found in Vancouver and Seattle respectively. This source proved useful in the process of understanding the history of Vancouver's land use planning and how its government decided during the mid-twentieth century to build in the direction of sustainability. The author discusses key points when Vancouver began to have this mindset of avoiding what was mainly accepted and expected of large North American cities in terms of development.


14. City of Vancouver. (2013, September 24). Regional Context Statement Official Development Plan. Retrieved from http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/BYLAWS/odp/rcs.pdf


This plan lays out specific details of how the city intends to practically implement the ideas presented in the Greenest City 2020 Action Plan. It looks at how the overall plan for a greener city will be contextually applied to each region of the city. Although the theory behind what changes ought to be made for improvements in subcategories such as industrial zones, the application of these changes is unique in each individual region.


15. Wlodarczak, D. (2012). Smart growth and urban economic development: connecting economic development and land-use planning using the example of high-tech firms. Environment & Planning A,44(5), 1255-1269. doi:10.1068/a44450


Comparing and contrasting examples of smart-growth planning and low-density development, Wlodarczak points out the strengths and weaknesses of each way of planning. He looks at Yaletown, Vancouver as an example of smart-growth planning and Crestwood, Richmond as the example of low-density development. 


16. Andersson, D.E., & Andersson, A.E., & Mellander C., (2013). Handbook of 

Creative Cities. Williston, VT: Edward Elgar Publishing.  

The authors of this text elaborate on the diverse contributions that influence the practice of creative city planning, which encompasses urban economics, economic geography, social psychology, urban sociology, and urban planning. The book discusses the planning techniques of other cities aside from Vancouver, but offers an informative section on Vancouver’s imaginative and innovative urban planning. 


17. Boddy, T. (2004). New Urbanism: “The Vancouver Model” [Speaking of Places].  Places, 16(2), 14. Retrieved from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/0ns9f0b0


This journal article discusses the key goals of Vancouver’s implementation of New Urbanism. Boddy also touches on the “Vancouverism” phenomenon that sets the city apart from those around the world. The author goes into detail of the regulations Vancouver must abide by in order to accomplish its “green” goal. Vancouver has set the standard for “livability” and it is portrayed through examples in the article. 


18. Berelowitz, L., (2010). Dream City: Vancouver and the Global Imagination. 
Madeira Park, BC: Douglas & McIntyre.

The book illustrates an overview of Vancouver’s emerging urban form. It offers the story behind its buildings, public spaces, and extraordinary landscapes. The author presents a balanced view of the city and his insight into Vancouver is genuine. He also provides an informed opinion of the city and ideas on what the future of Vancouver holds. 

19. City of Vancouver. (2012, September 19). Parks, Gardens, and Beaches. Retrieved from http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/parks-gardens-and-beaches.aspx.

The City of Vancouver website contains a lot of information on various open spaces, such as parks, gardens, and beaches. With Vancouver aiming to be the greenest city in the world by 2020, there is a huge emphasis on creating, expanding, and/or beautifying these open spaces.

20. Kheraj, Sean. (2013). Inventing Stanley Park: An Environmental History. Vancouver: UBC Press.

This thoughtful and well-illustrated book covers the history, background, and growth of Stanley Park, Vancouver’s first and largest urban park, a world-famous tourist attraction which draws several million visitors a year. Other important topics covered are the history of the land on which Stanley Park currently lies, the urban park movement of the 1900s which created many well-known open spaces, the design of and nature in the park, as well as past and potential improvement efforts.

21. The Economic Impact of the 2010 Vancouver, Canada, Winter Olympics on Oregon and the Pacific Northwest: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Trade, Tourism, and Economic Development of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the United States Senate. 109th Congress. 1. (2005, August 5). Retrieved from http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-109shrg28349/pdf/CHRG-109shrg28349.pdf.

Members of the United States Congress met in Oregon in 2005 to examine the impact that the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics would have on the economy and how the nearby states in the Pacific Northwest would be affected since they are located nearby. Planning is important because the Olympics can generate revenue if hosted correctly. Other important factors that were considered were financial costs/revenues, transportation, tourism, and accessibility.


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