Downtown living: for families? : the Vancouver, BC urban livability experience and lessons for other cities

Across North America, downtowns are experiencing revitalization and population growth, as "urban pioneers" are making their homes in city centers. While downtowns are typically thought of as places for empty nesters and young, single professionals, some North American cities are experiencing recent growth in families moving downtown, despite its tradeoffs, and others are working to attract families with children to their downtowns. With an increasing number of families living in central city neighborhoods, cities are presented with unique opportunities and challenges. Initiatives to make cities more family-friendly for residents of all backgrounds and income levels will help attract and retain families downtown, as well as contribute to healthy, thriving cities overall. Using Vancouver, BC as a case study, this thesis explores urban livability in general and with specific reference to Vancouver's family-oriented downtown as one component of livability. Vancouver is consistently ranked as one of the world's most livable cities and has been a pioneer city in embracing family-friendly urban living, beginning its efforts several decades ago, while many other cities have only recently begun to address issues of livability. This thesis investigates how Vancouver has accommodated families living downtown and what elements have contributed to its world-renowned status as a model city. However, the story of this perceived "urban utopia" is not complete without consideration of the dilemmas that have come hand-in-hand with Vancouver's success, such as increasing housing prices that are unaffordable to many. These challenges reveal potential implications for other cities hoping to emulate the "Vancouver Model."

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Loewus, Sabra Elysia

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Langley Keyes.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/45153

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/45153