From April 9 11 you'll be hearing a lot about how cities work, don't work, could work and should work. Vancouver will the the host of the Urban Land Institute's international Spring Meeting, and it will be covered closely by the local news media. This is a gathering of real estate, development and urban design professionals who look to create liveable, exciting, caring cities through innovation.
It's the first time this meeting has ever been held outside the US. Vancouver was chosen in large part because of its many urban experimentseverything from False Creek to bike lanes to density initiatives to "Vancouverism," high-rise condos built on townhouse podiums.
Here's how they explain us to their members:
Conference attendees will be able to get to know our area through a variety of tours of Lower Mainland urban spaces, including Univer-City at SFU, Canada Line developments, Surrey Centre, Gastown and the Downtown East Side, and downtown luxury condos. (Most of the tours are at the same time, so attendees will only get a little slice of life here. Conversation afterward will be somewhat like the parable of the blind men trying to describe an elephant.)
Around 3,000 ULI members will attend the conference. They come 30,000 members from 75 member countries and 125 member communities, including ULI BC, which is hosting the Spring Meeting.
These are the people that build the places where we live, work and play… and get from one to the other. Some fascinating ideas and case studies should emerge when they’re getting together.
