Lessons of Success from False Creek South and Granville Island

The 1970s were an exceptionally fertile policy period with respect to housing and community planning in Canada. Two manifestations are the creation of the unique inner-city neighbourhood of False Creek South in Vancouver, B.C. and Granville Island, an arts and public market precinct that is surrounded by the neighbourhood. This article examines the factors that enabled these innovative planning projects to occur, why replicating them might be challenging, and what new innovations may be emerging

A comparison of Escherichia coli data collected in False Creek by Metro Vancouver and Fraser Riverkeeper

Background: False Creek is a small inlet centered within Vancouver, British Columbia. Its long and narrow shape facilitates the build-up of contaminants and limits dilution of fresh water. The lack of flushing coupled with sources of fecal contamination results in high levels of Escherichia coli particularly in the summer months. High levels of E. coli in recreational water pose a health hazard to the public. Two organizations Metro Vancouver and Fraser Riverkeeper monitored E. coli levels in False Creek over the 2018 summer season. Methods: Data collected by Metro Vancouver and Fraser Riverkeeper over the 2018 summer season was collected and compared. The secondary data was analyzed from July 8, 2018 to September 29, 2018 from thirty-day geometric means. Each organization sampled on a weekly basis in False Creek, Metro Vancouver sampled from twelve locations and Fraser Riverkeeper sampled from seven locations. Both organizations used similar methodologies in the collection of data with both analyzing for microbiological enumerations of most probable number [MPN] of E. coli per 100/mL samples. All sample sites were divided into three locations representative of False Creek: West, Central and East. The data was then analyzed in terms of overall weekly samples by organization, locational weekly samples by organization and locational weekly samples overall. Results: The data was analyzed using an Aspin Welch Unequal Variance T-test to compare the overall weekly E. coli counts between the organization. Where p = 0.000 and power = 1.00. An Equal Variance T-test was used to compare the locational weekly E. coli counts from the West, Central and East regions of each organization. This yielded a p = 0.000 where power = 1.00. A Kruskal Wallis One-Way ANOVA was used to compare the locational weekly E. coli counts from the West, Central and East regions. This found p = 0.000 and power = 1.00. A MANOVA was used as a reiteration to compare the weekly E. coli counts at each location (West, Central and East) when collected by each organization. This confirmed the same p-value and power results from the three previous tests. Conclusions: There is a statistically significant difference between the two organizations. Not only in overall samples but there is a statistically significant difference between the two organizations when E. coli is amalgamated by location. When accounting for location only, the East region obtained statistically higher E. coli counts as the mean E. coli count for West was 90.8, Central was 248 and East was 1040.

Waterfront Public Realm Design: Towards a Sustainable Identity Urban Projects in Vancouver and Portland

<p>The renovation of the waterfronts, such as those in the main public spaces of large cities, started in 1970s. Core industries had found other places to develop far from the city; thereafter key areas fell out of use and into disrepair. As a consequence, a huge number of urban areas became in urgent need of renewal. However, urban design guidelines to regenerate these open spaces have significantly changed since then. The approach towards returning these parts of the city to its inhabitants has evolved from an emphasis on building new housing in the nineties, to considering the broader aspects of sustainability in the early years of the current century and finally to searching for the areas’ identity in more recent years. Therefore, currently this identity is one of the main aspects designers are looking for. At the same time, the sustainability of the waterfront areas may be achieved through the establishment of this place´s sense of identity. In order to do this, we assess three urban actions undertaken in Portland and Vancouver -False Creek North, South Waterfront and Southeast False Creek-. The article suggests that the interplay between urban design, sustainability and identity is becoming the new driver for the design of the waterfronts.</p>