On July 29, 2011, the Metro Vancouver regional authority adopted a strategy to promote a greener, cleaner, neater, sweeter future for the region’s 2.1 million inhabitants.  (Abbotsford and its population of 123,864 is part of Metro for the purposes of regional parks, but not part of this plan.)

The unanimous adoption of the Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy, replacing the “Livable Region” strategy of the mid-1990s, was a big achievement for Metro, with its 22 diverse municipalities. The plan, predictably, is inoffensive in its intentions, and  it has generated little controversy, outside of a procedural wrangle among municipalities over the review formula.

There have been some critics, even passionate critics.  A Vancouver group set up a well-stocked site called MetroVanWatch, although by the time it appeared the municipalities were already in the process of approving the plan.  This site is persuasive in arguing that the Metro authority effectively excluded the general public from influencing the plan after a round of public meetings in 2010.   Continue reading →