Good Things Happen Too!
How Canada’s Most Liveable City Stopped a Misguided Freeway

by David Rintoul

About a year ago, Doug Ford had this to say about the proposed Highway 413 during his visit to Caledon. “I can assure you the people of Caledon don’t worry about the people that live downtown, making their ideological comments about building a highway that they’re never going to use. It’s very simple. We’re going to build this highway.” Our premier seems to believe that no metropolitan area can function without freeways like Ontario’s 400 series roads. A region like that just wouldn’t be livable for its residents. Or would it?

Which major Canadian metropolis is consistently ranked among the world’s most livable urban centres? The answer is Vancouver. Over fifty years ago, Vancouver was under a lot of pressure from the “urban renewal” fad sweeping North America at the time. Toronto, Montreal and Seattle had all built downtown freeways to suburban subdivisions.

Mayor Bill Rathie announced plans to build a massive freeway to connect the downtown core to the suburbs, the TransCanada Highway and other arterial thoroughfares. This was in line with the how most cities approached urban renewal in the 60s and 70s. Everyday residents, grassroots organizations, the Vancouver Planning Commission and professors from the University of British Columbia organized in protest against the whole idea. There were demonstrations and heated debates among politicians at all levels of government. Sound familiar? In the end, the protests led to changes at the municipal, provincial and federal levels throughout the Metro Vancouver Regional District. Voters elected new municipal councils with a completely different vision for city planning. A new program called the Neighborhood Improvement Plan arose. Instead of replacing downtown communities with urban sprawl in outlying areas, the new plan was to safeguard existing communities. Over the following decades, urban planning in Metro Vancouver has emphasized what they call their “living first” strategy. Under this approach, municipalities and the province encourage people to live, work and play in the same community. They encouraged public transportation, bike paths and walking to work.

The idea has been so uniquely successful that it has a name. It’s called “Vancouverism.” The underlying principles of Vancouverism are respect for nature, enthusiasm for active neighborhoods and a dynamic, urban way of life. Vancouver’s urban planners have combined tall, slim towers to increase population density separated by low-rise buildings that provide light, fresh air and scenic views. They incorporate walkable streets, parks and other public spaces. Another key value behind Vancouverism is extensive consultation with residents, businesses and experts when crafting development plans. Vancouver also systematically re-evaluates its urban planning direction, instead of condoning unchecked growth and sprawl like Premier Ford. Vancouverism bears a striking resemblance to the Green Party of Ontario’s campaign promise of 15-minute communities in our last provincial election campaign. We’ve been calling for the GTA to focus on building affordable communities within urban boundaries where people can live, work and play in the same neighborhood for decades.

In this municipal election, communities in Dufferin-Caledon have the chance to make changes the way grassroots movements in Vancouver did five decades ago. We can elect local councilors who will put an end to our own misguided freeway proposal – Highway 413.

PLEASE VOTE!

Stefan Wiesen, President D-C Greens