Vancouver Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Cityscape== ===Urban planning=== [[File:Vancouver aerial view.jpg|thumb|upright|Aerial view of [[Downtown Vancouver]]. Urban development in Vancouver is characterized by a large residential population living in the city centre with mixed-use developments.]] {{Main|Vancouverism}} {{As of|2021|post=,}} Vancouver is the most densely populated city in Canada.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=February 9, 2022 |title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities) |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000201 |access-date=August 7, 2022 |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] |archive-date=February 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224145930/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000201 |url-status=live }}</ref> Urban planning in Vancouver is characterized by high-rise residential and mixed-use development in urban centres, as an alternative to [[urban sprawl|sprawl]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Vancouverism |work=Canadian Architect |url=http://www.canadianarchitect.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?aid=1000205807&issue=08012006 |first=Julie |last=Bogdanowicz |date=August 2006 |access-date=June 9, 2011}}{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> As part of the larger [[Metro Vancouver]] region, it is influenced by the policy direction of livability as illustrated in Metro Vancouver's Regional Growth Strategy. Vancouver ranked high on the [[Global Liveability Ranking]] and stood at number 1 on the list for several years until 2011.<ref>{{cite news |title=Vancouver loses its bragging rights as most livable city |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2011/08/30/vancouver_loses_its_bragging_rights_as_most_livable_city.html |last=Fong |first=Petti |newspaper=Toronto Star |date=August 30, 2011 |access-date=April 13, 2023 |archive-date=October 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007133013/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2011/08/30/vancouver_loses_its_bragging_rights_as_most_livable_city.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In recent years, it has dropped, ranking as low as 16 in 2021. {{As of|2022}}, Vancouver was ranked as having the fifth-highest quality of living of any city on Earth.<ref>{{cite news |title=World's Most Livable Cities For 2022 |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canada-dominates-top-10-list-of-world-s-most-livable-cities-for-2022-1.5959453 |last=Marcus |first=Lillit |newspaper=CTV News |date=June 23, 2022 |access-date=April 13, 2023 |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125003709/https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canada-dominates-top-10-list-of-world-s-most-livable-cities-for-2022-1.5959453 |url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''[[Forbes]]'', Vancouver had the fourth-most expensive real estate market in the world in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=Vancouver ranked 4th most-expensive housing market in the world |url=https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-4-most-expensive-housing-market-cbre-2019 |last=Smith |first=Ainsley |newspaper=The Daily Hive |date=April 16, 2019 |access-date=December 23, 2019 |archive-date=December 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223234912/https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-4-most-expensive-housing-market-cbre-2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Vancouver has also been ranked among Canada's most expensive cities to live in. Sales in February 2016 were 56.3 percent higher than the 10-year average for the month.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.rebgv.org/news-statistics/metro-vancouver-home-buyers-set-record-pace-february |title=Metro Vancouver home buyers set a record pace in February |access-date=March 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311082733/http://www.rebgv.org/news-statistics/metro-vancouver-home-buyers-set-record-pace-february |archive-date=March 11, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Tann |last=vom Hove |title=City Mayors: World's most expensive cities (EIU) |work=City Mayors Economics |date=June 17, 2008 |url=http://www.citymayors.com/economics/expensive_cities_eiu.html |access-date=March 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316150554/http://www.citymayors.com/economics/expensive_cities_eiu.html |archive-date=March 16, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Beauchesne |first=Eric |date=June 24, 2006 |title=Toronto pegged as priciest place to live in Canada |work=[[Vancouver Sun]] |url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=245b1dc8-1b43-46cb-bd84-6e78ab8a5afb&k=54140 |access-date=November 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091227122715/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=245b1dc8-1b43-46cb-bd84-6e78ab8a5afb&k=54140 |archive-date=December 27, 2009}}</ref> ''Forbes'' also ranked Vancouver as the tenth-cleanest city in the world in 2007.<ref>{{cite news |last=Malone |first=Robert |date=April 16, 2007 |title=Which Are The World's Cleanest Cities? |work=[[Forbes]] |url=https://www.forbes.com/2007/04/16/worlds-cleanest-cities-biz-logistics-cx_rm_0416cleanest_slide_13.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130200233/http://www.forbes.com/2007/04/16/worlds-cleanest-cities-biz-logistics-cx_rm_0416cleanest_slide_13.html |archive-date=November 30, 2009}}</ref> Vancouver's characteristic approach to urban planning originated in the late 1950s, when city planners began to encourage the building of high-rise residential towers in Vancouver's [[West End, Vancouver|West End]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Some things worked: The best β or worst β planning decisions made in the Lower Mainland |first=Frances |last=Bula |url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=ad56af4e-0f14-4717-9603-5fe5a0713e4c&k=51576 |newspaper=[[Vancouver Sun]] |date=September 6, 2007 |access-date=December 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604123009/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=ad56af4e-0f14-4717-9603-5fe5a0713e4c&k=51576 |archive-date=June 4, 2011}}</ref> subject to strict requirements for setbacks and open space to protect sight lines and preserve green space. The success of these dense but livable neighbourhoods led to the redevelopment of urban industrial sites, such as North False Creek and Coal Harbour, beginning in the mid-1980s. The result is a compact urban core that has gained international recognition for its "high amenity and 'livable' development".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hutton |first=Thomas A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4ky8iSkNycC&dq=West+End+Vancouver+compact+urban+core&pg=PA237 |title=The New Economy of the Inner City: Restructuring, Regeneration and Dislocation in the Twenty-first-century Metropolis |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-77134-4 |access-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-date=October 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018184045/https://books.google.com/books?id=z4ky8iSkNycC&dq=West+End+Vancouver+compact+urban+core&pg=PA237 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2006, the city launched a planning initiative entitled [[EcoDensity]], with the stated goal of exploring ways in which "density, design, and land use can contribute to environmental sustainability, affordability, and livability".<ref>{{cite web |title=Vancouver EcoDensity Initiative |url=http://www.vancouver-ecodensity.ca/content.php?id=48 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513201310/http://www.vancouver-ecodensity.ca/content.php?id=48 |archive-date=May 13, 2009 |publisher=City of Vancouver |access-date=July 3, 2009}}</ref> {{wide image|Vancouver panorama stanleypark.jpg|1000px|Vancouver skyline from [[Stanley Park]]}} ===Architecture=== {{Main|Architecture of Vancouver}} {{Anchor|Culture}} [[File:Robson Square Vancouver 03.JPG|thumb|left|[[Robson Square]] is a [[civic centre]] and public square designed by local architect [[Arthur Erickson]].]] [[File:Waterfront station Vancouver (42914420220).jpg|thumb|left|Waterfront station, Vancouver]] The [[Vancouver Art Gallery]] is housed downtown in the [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] former courthouse built in 1906. The courthouse building was designed by [[Francis Rattenbury]], who also designed the [[British Columbia Parliament Buildings]] and the [[The Empress (hotel)|Empress Hotel]] in Victoria, and the lavishly decorated second Hotel Vancouver.<ref>{{cite web |last=Davis |first=Chuck |title=Rattenbury |url=http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/archives_rattenbury.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103045039/http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/archives_rattenbury.htm |archive-date=January 3, 2007 |access-date=November 23, 2006 |work=The History of Metropolitan Vancouver}}</ref> The 556-room [[Hotel Vancouver]], opened in 1939 and the third by that name, is across the street with its copper roof. The Gothic-style [[Christ Church Cathedral (Vancouver)|Christ Church Cathedral]], across from the hotel, opened in 1894 and was declared a heritage building in 1976. There are several [[modern architecture|modern]] buildings in the downtown area, including the [[Harbour Centre]], the [[Law Courts (Vancouver)|Vancouver Law Courts]] and surrounding plaza known as [[Robson Square]] (designed by [[Arthur Erickson]]) and the [[Vancouver Public Library|Vancouver Library Square]] (designed by [[Moshe Safdie]] and [[DA Architects + Planners|DA Architects]]), reminiscent of the [[Colosseum]] in Rome, and the recently completed [[Woodward's Building|Woodward's building]] Redevelopment (designed by [[Gregory Henriquez|Henriquez Partners Architects]]). The original [[BC Hydro]] headquarters building (designed by [[Ronald Thom|Ron Thom]] and Ned Pratt) at Nelson and Burrard Streets is a [[modernism|modernist]] high-rise, now converted into the Electra condominium.<ref>[http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/heritage/casestudies/970Burr.htm The Electra], at vancouver.ca {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050123162421/http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/heritage/casestudies/970Burr.htm |date=January 23, 2005}}</ref> Also notable is the "concrete waffle" of the [[MacMillan Bloedel]] building on the north-east corner of the Georgia and Thurlow intersection. [[File:Living Shangri-La from One Wall Centre.jpg|thumb|upright|Completed in 2008, [[Living Shangri-La]] is the [[List of tallest buildings in Vancouver|tallest building in Vancouver]].]] A prominent addition to the city's landscape is the giant tent-frame [[Canada Place]] (designed by [[Zeidler Partnership Architects|Zeidler Roberts Partnership]] Partnership, MCMP & [[DA Architects + Planners|DA Architects]]), the former Canada Pavilion from the [[Expo 86|1986 World Exposition]], which includes part of the [[Vancouver Convention Centre|Convention Centre]], the [[Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel|Pan-Pacific Hotel]], and a cruise ship terminal. Two modern buildings that define the southern skyline away from the downtown area are [[Vancouver City Hall|City Hall]] and the Centennial Pavilion of [[Vancouver General Hospital]], both designed by [[Fred Townley|Townley]] and Matheson in 1936 and 1958, respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://memorybc.ca/townley-matheson-and-partners;isaar |title=Townley, Matheson and Partners |publisher=Archives Association of British Columbia |year=2009 |access-date=November 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728104509/http://memorybc.ca/townley-matheson-and-partners%3Bisaar |archive-date=July 28, 2011}}</ref><ref name="kalman">{{cite book |last=Kalman |first=Harold |title=Exploring Vancouver: Ten Tours of the City and its Buildings |publisher=[[University of British Columbia Press]] |year=1974 |isbn=978-0-7748-0028-0 |location=Vancouver}}</ref>{{Citation page|pages=160-161}} A collection of [[Edwardian architecture|Edwardian buildings]] in the city's old downtown core were, in their day, the tallest commercial buildings in the [[British Empire]]. These were, in succession, the Carter-Cotton Building (former home of ''[[The Province]]'' newspaper), the [[Dominion Building]] (1907) and the [[Sun Tower]] (1911), the former two at Cambie and [[Hastings Street (Vancouver)|Hastings Streets]] and the latter at Beatty and Pender Streets. The Sun Tower's [[cupola]] was finally exceeded as the Empire's tallest commercial building by the elaborate [[Art Deco]] [[Marine Building]] in the 1920s.<ref name="kalman" />{{Citation page|pages=22, 24, 78}} The Marine Building is known for its elaborate ceramic tile facings and brass-gilt doors and elevators, which make it a favourite location for movie shoots.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archiseek.com/2009/1930-marine-building-vancouver-british-columbia/ |title=Marine Building |work=Archiseek |access-date=November 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429045540/http://archiseek.com/2009/1930-marine-building-vancouver-british-columbia/ |archive-date=April 29, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Topping the [[list of tallest buildings in Vancouver]] is [[Living Shangri-La]], the tallest building in BC at {{cvt|201|m}}<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=176375 |title=Living Shangri-La |publisher=[[Emporis Buildings]] |access-date=November 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224224609/http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=176375 |archive-date=December 24, 2010}}</ref> and 62 storeys. The second-tallest building in Vancouver is the [[Paradox Hotel Vancouver]] at {{cvt|188|m}}, followed by the Private Residences at [[Hotel Georgia]], at {{cvt|156|m}}. The fourth-tallest is [[One Wall Centre]] at {{cvt|150|m}}<ref name="EMP">{{cite web |url=http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/sk/li/?id=100997&bt=2&ht=3&sro=1 |title=Vancouver High-rise buildings (in ft) |publisher=Emporis Buildings |access-date=February 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930012745/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/sk/li/?id=100997&bt=2&ht=3&sro=1 |archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref> and 48 storeys, followed closely by the [[Shaw Tower (Vancouver)|Shaw Tower]] at {{cvt|149|m}}.<ref name="EMP" />{{clear}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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