Local area planning is an approach to city planning which has developed in Vancouver over the past five years, and a major unit in the administrative structure of the Vancouver City Planning Department. This thesis is concerned with the purposes of this approach as they have evolved, particularly with the interplay between the purposes actually served and the structure of the civic bureaucracy, and with the choices made by planners among conflicting demands. The methodology used has two elements, an historical analysis based chiefly on contemporary documents, and a sociological analysis of the role relationships of planners working in Area Planning based on interview data. The conclusions suggest that the original purposes for doing Area Planning are no longer being served by the existing organizational structure, and that there is an opportunity and a need for restructuring of the organization and restatement of the purposes if the objectives of Area Planning are to be attained. The Area Planning Division of the City Planning Department was established in 1974, in response to the public demand for participation in the planning process among other reasons. It has grown rapidly, to become the largest division in the Planning Department. A 1973 report suggested three basic reasons for introducing this new approach to planning in Vancouver. Planning is more effective if a strong centralized planning effort is coordinated with neighbourhood oriented planning at the local level. Local area planning brings the planning process closer to the people. Local area planning promotes planning with citizens on a cooperative basis, rather than confrontation responses to plans and proposals. The planner is seen as the central figure in the process. In addition to responding to policy directives and the informal support and guidance of others in the same situation, the position taken by a planner is shaped by compromises among the conflicting expectations and demands placed on the person in this position by those in a variety of related roles. Guidance, or the lack of it, through policy directives is researched through study of documents. The literature is also the basis for specifying three different models of the structure of the work situation in which the local area planner is the central element. These models identify by organizational position and interest the significant others in the planner's environment, but they do not indicate how the planner chooses among the inconsistent expectations and demands made by those involved in these role relationships. To develop the models further interviews were conducted with all of the planners in the Area Planning Division, their superiors to whom they are administratively responsible, representatives of other civic departments who are in frequent contact with Area Planning, some aldermen, and some citizens active in local area planning programmes in their own neighbourhoods. It is clear from the data that the rapid expansion of the Area Planning Division has not corresponded to a parallel expansion of area planning services. The major factor contributing to an increase in staff size is administration of two federal programs, NIP (Neighbourhood Improvement Program) and RRAP (Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program). RRAP is clearly an implementation program rather than planning, and NIP differs in significant ways from the local area planning ideal. The second major factor in the growth of the Area Planning Division is the development of an "in-house" group of planners working within City Hall using a planning approach which has little in common with the Area Planning concept. The growth of the division and diffusion of its activities seem to have negated the spirit which characterized the intent and early implementation of Area Planning. In addition to the loss of its initial motivation, Area Planning is now at a critical point in time because of the cancellation of future NIP programs and changes in the RRAP approach by the federal government. A restructuring or replacement of the Area Planning Division will be required to establish again a local planning approach as a part of more effective and democratic governance of the city. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

An evaluation of the effectiveness of design guidelines in the City of Vancouver was undertaken. Three neighborhoods were studied where design guidelines have been applied. The guidelines for each neighborhood were studied and summarized and then site visits were made to evaluate the implementation of the guidelines. Evaluation of the guidelines took the form of a comparison of the objectives of the guidelines with the actual conditions in the neighborhoods. Factors that influenced the success or failure of the guidelines were identified and summarized. General comments regarding the implementation of design guidelines in the city of Vancouver were outlined in the concluding chapter.

An evaluation of the effectiveness of design guidelines in the City of Vancouver was undertaken. Three neighborhoods were studied where design guidelines have been applied. The guidelines for each neighborhood were studied and summarized and then site visits were made to evaluate the implementation of the guidelines. Evaluation of the guidelines took the form of a comparison of the objectives of the guidelines with the actual conditions in the neighborhoods. Factors that influenced the success or failure of the guidelines were identified and summarized. General comments regarding the implementation of design guidelines in the city of Vancouver were outlined in the concluding chapter. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The new town of Kitimat was built in an undeveloped area on the north-west coast of British Columbia in response to the need for a site for an aluminum smelter, an operation which was located there because of its need for the abundant hydro power which was available in the region. The town was planned under the direction of Clarence S. Stein, who as the author of the Radburn principle, embodied this concept extensively in its physical plan. It is now more than a decade since the first part of Kitimat townsite was occupied in 1954, and sufficient time has thus elapsed to give some indication of how effective certain aspects of its planning have been. This study attempts to determine whether the planning principles used in Kitimat have been successful and why, as well as to determine whether the planners succeeded in achieving what they set out to do. There were several methods used in the evaluation - a study of the available literature on Kitimat; numerous personal interviews; a questionnaire type survey of the community; and the personal experience of the author's three years of residence in the community. The questionnaire type of survey entailed the distribution of 230 questionnaires to residents of the community. These questionnaires included a total of 28 questions to determine the attitude toward various aspects of the community. Two questions asked what the residents most liked and most disliked about Kitimat and another asked what suggestions they had for its future development. The results of the study indicate that the basic objectives that the planners initially put forth for the development of the town have been reasonably well achieved. These objectives include firstly, the industrial success of the plant and the importance of a contented work force, and secondly, the importance of family needs as a basis for the Kitimat Master Plan. The study goes on to analyse various aspects of the physical planning. It puts considerable emphasis on the results of the attitude survey on the assumption that an important factor in the degree of success of a community is the attitude of its residents toward it. Consideration is given to the effects of the curtailment of the 1957 construction program, and the importance is shown for a staging of development in new towns which allows a good relationship of all areas and uses to each other at all stages of development. Basically it can be said that the planners of Kitimat achieved much of what they attempted to do through the physical planning concepts which were applied in Kitimat. Certain aspects of the development have presented problems or have been limited in their degree of success, notably the design and quality of housing, the orientation of some of the housing, and the minor walkway system. However the main elements of the physical planning of the community, including those related to the Radburn principle, have proven quite successful. These include the application of the neighbourhood unit idea, the inclusion of a neighbourhood commercial centre within a neighbourhood, the separation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic as demonstrated by the arterial walkway system and interior park areas, the separation of vehicular traffic by its function, and the exclusion of through vehicular traffic from the neighbourhoods. With the reservations outlined above, the hypothesis is considered to be valid, namely "THAT THE PHYSICAL PLANNING CONCEPTS USED IN KITIMAT HAVE GENERALLY BEEN SUCCESSFUL." / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

A new set of urban design requirements is proposed to replace the current urban design guidelines for the B. C. Place site in Vancouver, B. C. The site is 90.6 hectares of open area, contiguous to the downtown, it is the subject of extensive planning activities. The site has been chosen because it is free of most of the typical impediments that constrain urban planning in more congested areas of the city. Accordingly, a new way of expressing urban space is appropriate. To be valid urban design requirements must be conceived with a purpose in mind. The purpose, here, is the essential element of urban design, a shared vision of urban space. It must define, within a broad public consensus, a set of urban design requirements communicating, over an extended time period, a consistent vision of urban space. Six urban design requirements are set out to implement a shared vision of urban space. They have been reduced to a minimum to provide as much freedom of expression to the design professions as possible. They are under six headings: Interim Land Use, Site Development, Physical Form and Design, Environment, Occupancy, and Movement. Pivotal in the composition of the urban design requirements is an instrument called the Orthodox Surface Modulator, augmented by a Check List of architectural design elements. Together they become a metaphoric framework of reference, a part of the creative process within the development control system. The Orthodox Surface Modulator, as it is applied, describes the volumetric forms of building envelopes and the public urban spaces between buildings. It describes buildings and spaces to enhance public amenity. It may, under specific environmental circumstances, mitigate undesirable site conditions by describing building envelopes as buffer buildings, shielding passive urban space from noise and distractions. Urban Space is discussed. A Shared Vision of Urban Space, how it is evolved by public discourse, and a proposed Theory of Urban Space is explained. A critique of current urban development on Burrard Street, Vancouver, between Georgia Street and the waterfront explains why the present urban design guidelines, transfer of development rights and bonusing, have failed to produce the intended urban spatial amenity. Urban design requirements are not a new phenomenon. Only since the early 1970s have they taken on their present complex form in the City of Vancouver. A brief historic outline traces the antecedents of the proposed urban design requirements, placing them in context from early Greek attempts to rationalize optical distortion to the present day. The proposed application of the six urban design requirements and the Surface Modulator would be mandatory. The manner in which the elements of the Check List are integrated into the matrix of the Surface Modulator is proposed to be discretionary. The complete set of urban design requirements are intended to be used in a negotiating procedure common in planning practice. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The Corporation of the District of Burnaby, B.C., in recognition of its growing complexity and the expanding goals of its citizenry, adopted the Burnaby Zoning By-law #4742 in June of 1965. In section 7.3(i) it specifies that Preliminary Planning Approval (PPA) must be received from the Director of Planning before the issuance of a Building Permit. PPA is intended to ensure that the preliminary design drawings meet all of the provisions of the Zoning By-law, reflect Council policies and observe other relevant municipal by-laws. The system in Burnaby appears to be effective in obtaining a signed commitment from the developer agreeing to execute the project in accordance with the approved PPA drawings. It is after this point that the present system appears to break down— 76% of projects constructed 1974 -1976 were not completed exactly according to the approved design drawings. Most of the variance occurs in finishes, details and landscaping as opposed to siting, bulk and use regulations, and is such that the environmental criteria which could have been met by the faithful execution of the approved plans, is not being met. This reduces environmental standards below that which is being approved on the PPA drawings. The purpose of this study is: (1) to show why compliance is necessary/desirable; (2) to understand the problem and suggest possible remedies. The findings confirm that PPA compliance is desirable for the following reasons: the short term achievement of each of 48 community objectives is directly dependent upon compliance to the PPA drawings; one change in any of nine compliance categories can adversely affect the short term achievement of many objectives; compliance is not advantageous to only one group to the exclusion of all others, rather it is mutually beneficial to at least three major groups (the Municipality, the general public and developers) in eight compliance categories and to two groups in the ninth; compliance can offer a number of advantages to the Municipality, the general public and developers' and no major disadvantages have been found to indicate that compliance should not be encouraged. The findings also confirm that compliance is critical for the achievement of many community objectives. It has been found that 38 of the 48 objectives discussed cannot be achieved by alternative devices independently of the PPA process. The examination of the present development control system from PPA application to completion shows that variation from the approved drawings can occur because of bureaucratic errors, unfamiliarity with the PPA drawings, ignorance of proper amendment procedures, blatant disregard for the drawings and peculiar site conditions. It was then found that the current: system can be adapted to deal with the first three potential sources of non-compliance; but the system is currently incapable of effectively dealing with blatant disregard for the drawings or peculiar site conditions, nor can it easily adapt. These observations resulted in several recommendations. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

To explore the thesis that the landscapes of cities reflect the ideological underpinnings of the social groups dominant during the periods of significant urban growth a detailed investigation was undertaken within the City of Vancouver. The correspondence between the ideology and institutions of a dominant business elite and the landscapes created in the period between 1900 and 1940 provide the major evidence. The diffusion of an American reform ideology into Eastern Canada and later into the City of Vancouver is described. Two major manifestations of this ideology are documented. The first, articulated in the non-partisan, at-large election, and city manager movements was concerned with the need to ensure efficiency and honesty in urban government. The second concerned the need to institute urban planning as a means to facilitate efficient economic and urban growth. The principal reform advocates in Vancouver were members of the city's business elite. Operating from within the institutional framework of the Vancouver Board of Trade they lobbied the City and Provincial Governments throughout the period 1918-1925 for the enactment of planning legislation. Success was achieved when the Provincial Legislature passed the Town Planning Act in December 1925. In turn the Vancouver City Council created the Vancouver Town Planning Commission. The majority of Commissioners were businessmen who held the reform view of planning as the facilitator of efficient growth. A planning expert, Harland Bartholomew, was hired in 1926 to provide the Commission with the desired blueprint for development. Holding similar views on planning to those of the commissioner his 1929 Plan provided a structured development plan of considerable detail which was the primary determinant of Vancouver's evolving urban structure until the late 1960's. This influence was expressed primarily through the operation of the zoning by-laws which specified legally-permitted land uses throughout the city. Vancouver's urban structure, in reflecting the ideology of reform underpinning both the actions of the Town Planning Commission and the nature of the Bartholomew Plan, supports the general thesis of the dissertation. Parallels between the civic expression of reform and National expressions of reform are drawn as are some implications of the study's findings for geographical research and our understanding of present urban planning. The analyses presented are based upon a wide range of archival and secondary materials. Important among these were City and Municipal Council minute books, the minutes and correspondence of the Vancouver Town Planning Commission, the minutes of the Vancouver Board of Trade and its Committees, personal papers, city and biographical directories, maps, newspapers and magazines and government and planning commission reports. The account of the American origins of urban reform is derived largely from secondary sources. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Using the community of Pemberton, BC, as a case study, this thesis explores the impacts of rapid growth and growth management on social conditions and long-term social well-being in small towns. In recent years, rapid growth in Pemberton has had a significant impact on social and economic conditions in the community. Yet with little attention in the literature to small town growth management, or to the relationship between growth management and social sustainability, the community has little guidance in planning for sustainable change. Employing both primary and secondary research methods (including key informant interviews, a review of the relevant literature, and analyses of related reports, government publications, and survey results), this analysis is intended to contribute to the general body of knowledge about rural growth management planning, and to the community's efforts to sensitively and sustainably manage its growth. In so doing, the study first establishes the theoretical context by considering the history and dimensions of growth management, and by exploring the concept of social sustainability and its relationship to growth management planning. Subsequently, in examining a number of areas of social and economic change in Pemberton (the economic base, the balance of residential and economic growth, housing affordability, town character, and community amenities), this study explores the impacts of growth on equity, social capital, and quality of life in the community, and offers the following lessons for sustainable growth management in other small towns. First, it demonstrates the ways in which growth can impact local social conditions, and the opportunities and constraints it presents for the preservation of social sustainability in the future. Furthermore, it illustrates the importance of considering the regional context in the design of growth management policies and incorporating an informed public into planning processes. Most importantly, this analysis reveals the ways in which a comprehensive and proactive growth management strategy which embodies community values and priorities can improve the likelihood that a community's long-term social well-being is preserved in the face of change.

The purpose of this thesis is to attempt to validate the pre-supposed hypothesis, that 'The application of Perry's neighbourhood unit theory and its scheme in Vancouver is successful in its physical aspect and is not successful in its social aspect'. The study program includes the following eight steps: 1. Reviewing the historical aspect of Perry's theory. 2. Describing Perry's theory and its scheme and defining its goal. 3. Summarizing the ramifications of its application. 4. Examining the main criticisms of Perry's theory. 5. Analyzing and evaluating Perry's theory in detail. 6. Surveying the Renfrew Heights area in Vancouver, B.C. 7. Inducting and interpreting the survey findings. 8. From the findings, evaluating the hypothesis. Through this program, the first five steps have helped the writer to have a deeper understanding of Perry's theory. From the final three steps it is concluded that the hypothesis is valid. From the whole study it is concluded that Perry's neighbourhood unit theory and its scheme are still useful. The basis for this conclusion is not because of the goal of Perry's theory, but because the theory provides maximum possible facilities in a residential area with its self-contained character. Finally it is concluded that the successful application of a theory is critical, and the failure of its application does not reduce the value of the theory. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Using the community of Pemberton, BC, as a case study, this thesis explores the impacts of rapid growth and growth management on social conditions and long-term social well-being in small towns. In recent years, rapid growth in Pemberton has had a significant impact on social and economic conditions in the community. Yet with little attention in the literature to small town growth management, or to the relationship between growth management and social sustainability, the community has little guidance in planning for sustainable change. Employing both primary and secondary research methods (including key informant interviews, a review of the relevant literature, and analyses of related reports, government publications, and survey results), this analysis is intended to contribute to the general body of knowledge about rural growth management planning, and to the community's efforts to sensitively and sustainably manage its growth. In so doing, the study first establishes the theoretical context by considering the history and dimensions of growth management, and by exploring the concept of social sustainability and its relationship to growth management planning. Subsequently, in examining a number of areas of social and economic change in Pemberton (the economic base, the balance of residential and economic growth, housing affordability, town character, and community amenities), this study explores the impacts of growth on equity, social capital, and quality of life in the community, and offers the following lessons for sustainable growth management in other small towns. First, it demonstrates the ways in which growth can impact local social conditions, and the opportunities and constraints it presents for the preservation of social sustainability in the future. Furthermore, it illustrates the importance of considering the regional context in the design of growth management policies and incorporating an informed public into planning processes. Most importantly, this analysis reveals the ways in which a comprehensive and proactive growth management strategy which embodies community values and priorities can improve the likelihood that a community's long-term social well-being is preserved in the face of change. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate