Vancouver is heralded around the world as a model for sustainable development. In Planning on the Edge, nationally and internationally renowned planning scholars, activists, and Indigenous leaders assess whether the city’s reputation is warranted.

While recognizing the many successes of the “Vancouverism” model, the contributors acknowledge that the forces of globalization and speculative property development have increased social inequality and housing insecurity since the 1980s in the city and the region. To determine the city’s prospects for overcoming these problems, they look at city planning from all angles, including planning for the Indigenous population, environmental and disaster planning, housing and migration, and transportation and water management.

By looking at policies at the local, provincial, and federal levels and taking reconciliation with Indigenous peoples into account, Planning on the Edge highlights the kinds of policies and practices needed to reorient Vancouver’s development trajectory along a more environmentally sound and equitable path.

Penny Gurstein is a professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning and the Women and Gender Studies Program at the University of British Columbia.

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