What We Heard in Phase 2
From September 2020 to June 2021, we engaged with over 10,000 community members and involved over 90 community organizations to gather ideas on how we can achieve the Provisional Goals and develop ideas for the Future We Want
Ideas for the Future
By the end of our first Phase of engagement in Spring 2020 and after a year of listening, we developed 10 Provisional Goals for the city we want to become. These goals reflect where Vancouver is today and where your priorities are for the next 30 years.
For Phase 2, Developing Emerging Directions, we engaged with over 10,000 community members and involved over 90 community organizations to gather ideas on how we can achieve the goals and develop ideas for the Future We Want.
Our Approach
The second phase of engagement involved dialogues with community leaders and connecting with underrepresented and equity-denied communities such as youth, urban Indigenous peoples, people of colour, low-income seniors, single parent families, residents of SROs, those living in poverty and recent immigrants.
We also touched on a number of key policy areas that are currently underway and intertwined with the developed of a land use plan. These include engagement on:
- Complete and connected Neighbourhoods;
- Streamlining Rental housing development to make it easier and faster to build rental housing in commercial zones and areas close to local shopping and daily needs
- Equitable housing and reducing the impacts of displacement and exclusion.
Complete, Connected Neighbourhoods
Centred on the needs of all residents, a complete neighbourhood features a diversity of housing options, shops, services, recreation opportunities, cultural and childcare facilities, linked by lively pathways, parks and plazas, and within close proximity to one another.
Share your ideas and expertise on how to make Vancouver’s neighbourhoods more complete, connected, and culturally vibrant for everyone.
• Ongoing
Self-guided walking tours – explore the different histories, amenities and characteristics of Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant and East Vancouver
Housing
In October 2020, 10 provisional goals were endorsed by City Council to help guide us towards the future we want to become. Goal #5 of the Vancouver Plan is to Develop an Affordable City with Diverse and Secure Housing for every resident that they can afford with 30% or less of their household income.
As part of the second phase of public engagement to develop the Vancouver Plan, we took a focused approach and want to engage more deeply with you on your housing experience and ideas for a more resilient, affordable and healthy housing system.
The Future We Want: Dialogue Series
The Future We Want: The Change We Need, in partnership with Simon Fraser University, was a free, online, interactive dialogue series that brought together new and varied perspectives on how to shape the future we want. Taking part from December 2020 to March 2021, the series covered a range of topics from the lasting effects of the COVI-19 pandemic to the future of Vancouver’s economy.
What We Heard
The conversation and ideas shared throughout Phase 2 identified four themes that, when combined with findings from Phase 1, set the stage for the next round of engagement and conversation:
- The Provisional Goals were generally supported;
- The status quo of City policies is not delivering a desired future;
- Participants want specific proposals for a future Vancouver Plan; and
- Residents and the public shared many specific ideas to advance the Provisional Goals which are being captured in an Ideas Book
Read the full report below or scroll down for a summary of key findings.
At a Glance:
Engagement Touchpoints
Organizations Involved
Events and Meeting
Online Surveys and Mapping
Community Navigators
Participants in SFU Public Dialogue
Self-Led Activities
Children and Youth Engagements
What's Next?
Through two phases of engagement, three ‘big ideas’ or themes are emerging to inform ideas and directions being developed for further community dialogue in Phase 3 and Phase 4 of the Vancouver Plan process.
More equitable Housing and Complete Neighbourhoods
We want our neighbourhoods to have homes that meet everybody’s diverse needs, and which people can afford regardless of their income.
An Economy that Works for All
We want our city and neighbourhoods to have the jobs, amenities and services that support our wellbeing, meet our basic needs, make our communities culturally vibrant and create a thriving, sustainable economy.
Climate Protection and Restored Ecosystems
We want our neighbourhoods to have a flourishing natural environment that everybody can enjoy, and to reduce our use of carbon fuels as we grow into the future.
Phase 3
From October 25 to November 28, 2021, we launched public engagement for Phase 3: Policy and Land Use Ideas. In this phase we built on the three Big Ideas that emerged from prior engagement and shared choices and priorities for how Vancouver could grow into the future.
We reviewed all of the feedback and identified the public’s highest priorities within these Big Ideas.
In April 2022, we will be sharing the draft Vancouver Plan. Based on the feedback and ideas generated from the past three phases of public engagement, and over two years of staff work, the draft plan will present a strategy to move us towards the future we desire.
