Although the region has acquired expertise in the physical dimensions of rapid transit
implementation, that expertise has not translated into a better understanding of social
impacts on communities which host this regional amenity. The Broadway Station area is
such a community. Although the City of Vancouver is responsible for planning the
Broadway Station area community, many provincial decisions have had far-reaching
consequences and do not correspond with municipal policy for the community. The
province has introduced region-serving programs and facilities into the community
despite municipal policy that the Broadway Station area would not serve a regional role.
As a consequence, the community is becoming increasingly unlivable. There is a de facto
policy vacuum. Moreover, there is a lack of coordination and an absence of protocols for
managing and sharing data. There is little, if any, coordination of senior government
actions, and the actions of various levels of government and their agencies have resulted
in the Broadway Station Area failing to achieve the goal of community livability, for the
resident community.
The City of Vancouver, within which the case study station resides, has so far been
unable to respond to the challenge that the station poses. The degree to which the station
area is becoming dysfunctional is not known to the city. Consequently, the thesis question
"Is the Broadway Station Area worse off than before SkyTrain" posed a significant
challenge. In addition to a review of the case study planning process, which was
conducted by the thesis researcher in the latter half of 1996, this thesis adds interviews
with professional planners and a limited empirical study to answer the thesis question.
By looking at a limited number of key census indicators, and cross comparing that with
other data sources, the thesis found that the community's perception has merit, although a
great deal more data must be compiled. To better understand what works in the Canadian
context of transit-oriented planning, we need to support ongoing qualitative community
planning with the empirical work that would assist in monitoring the effect of policies
and program implementation and can address the dynamism of this regional transit node.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/9659 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Hurmuses, April Dea |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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