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Award

West End Community Plan

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Icons target

Status

ongoing
Icons use case study city info

City

Vancouver

Icons use case study main actors

Main actors

City Government, National Government, Private Sector, Community / Citizen Group, Public Utility

Icons use case study project area

Project area

Inner City

Icons use case study duration

Duration

Ongoing since 2013

The West End Community Plan provides a clear and flexible framework to implement positive change and sustainable development.

The West End area of Vancouver is a livable neighbourhood that is home to a unique mix of people and places. It is a community that features a range of housing, land use, heritage buildings, transportation options and amenities. A growing population, ageing public facilities, an evolving economy and a changing climate provided the impetus for Vancouver City Council to engage with the community and business groups to develop the West End Community Plan.

The West End community planning process took place over 20 months, starting in April 2012, and was completed in four phases. There were a wide range of opportunities for individuals and organizations to become involved, share ideas, and provide feedback throughout the process.

The West End Community Plan was adopted by Vancouver City Council in November 2013. The policy framework in the plan provides clarity on the appropriate character, scale and land uses, identifies areas for growth, revitalisation and change, and identifies a strategy for providing new amenities and renewing or expanding existing public facilities. The policy directions in the plan will be realized through a variety of approaches, initiatives, tools and partnerships with community and business groups.

For further information about the case study, click here.

Sustainable Development Goals

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Award

Guangzhou Award

This project was shortlisted for the 'Guangzhou Award' in 2014 in the following category: Deserving initiative.

Learn more
City
Vancouver, Canada
Size and population development
2011: 2,267,000, 1990: 1,559,000, 2025: 2,765,000, 2010-2015: +1,45% / year
Population composition
the most culturally diverse city in Canada / only 49% of the inhabitants speak English as their first language (25.3 % speak Chinese)
Main functions
industrial centre, transportation hub (seaport)
Main industries / business
forestry, film industry, high tech
Political structure
Mayor and City Council elected every three years.
Administrative structure
Mayor and Vancouver City Council, School Board and Park Board elected for a three-year term
Website
http://https://vancouver.ca/

The West End is a vibrant, diverse, walkable and densely populated community surrounded by parks and beaches as well as Vancouver's downtown and Central business district. Approximately 45,000 residents, 23,000 workers and 1,600 businesses make up the population.

Due to growing demand for new development, Vancouver City Council embarked on preparing a plan to ensure that future growth in the West End is sustainable and would meet the needs of the community . After extensive consultation with community and business groups a set of refined plan directions, including the West End Community Values, was agreed upon.

The key objectives of the West End Community Plan are:
  • Achieve a green, environmentally sustainable urban pattern
  • Support a range of affordable housing options to meet the diverse needs of the community
  • Foster a robust, resilient economy
  • Enhance culture, heritage and creativity in the city
  • Provide and support a range of sustainable transportation options
  • Protect and enhance public open spaces, parks and green linkages
  • Foster resilient, sustainable, safe and healthy communities

The City of Vancouver is the lead agency for the West End Community Plan and will provide the majority of funding as the project rolls out over the next three decades. Implementation will be guided by the Public Benefits Strategy. Targets have been identified for social housing, rental housing, facility renewal and expansion, public spaces, sustainability measures, utilities and heritage and culture priorities. The targets and associated metrics allow monitoring of implementation, tracking overall progress and will recommend adjustments if targets are not met.

Partners include:
  • West End residents
  • Government agencies
  • Business improvement associations
  • Private developers
  • Social housing operators
  • Public and private service providers
  • Local businesses
  • Arts and culture organisation
  • Heritage organisations

As the lead agency, the City of Vancouver has committed to estimated funds of $CAN585 - $CAN630 million over three decades along with a fully costed and defined public benefits strategy providing direction for expenditure.  Moving forward, additional financial contributions will be sourced from other government agencies and business groups.

The West End Community Plan will impact on many levels; new housing, renewed and new public amenities, revitalized commercial opportunities, preservation of heritage buildings and fostering arts and culture.  The plan anticipates growth of 10,00 new residents and 7,000 new jobs over three decades.
To combat some initial resistance by both business groups and the community, Council commissioned a pilot project, Action While Planning to demonstrate the potential of the proposed changes and development. It further established the West End Neighbourhood Champions Network to provide advice on matters of public involvement and to assist with outreach to encourage wide participation in the public engagement process. The group was critical to achieving broad, inclusive and innovative engagement throughout the community.
The innovative planning process demonstrates how a community plan can engage with a wide range of stakeholders in a relatively short time frame. Utilizing communications methods such as social media, 3-D computer modelling and interactive online mapping combined with surveys, meetings and "walk shops" provides many opportunities for the community and business groups to become involved with the process.

A fully defined and costed Public Benefits Strategy provides surety for partners, business groups and community.
Vancouver, Canada, West End Community Plan, Guangzhou Award, 2014

Categories

Americas North America Cultural vibrancy Housing Urban renewal Heritage Employment Citizen engagement Capacity building of stakeholders Framework strategies and plans Monitoring and evaluation (cross-cutting)

External links / documents

Link

City of Vancouver - West End Community ›

Link

West End Community Plan ›

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Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation
Guangzhou, China

Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation

Institution | Urban Award

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Photo gallery

West End Community Plan, Vancouver, Canada
Manhattan Apartments (1908) at Robson street
View of West End along the Vancouver coast and Beach Avenue
View of the West End and English Bay at sunset

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