The Fraseropolis.com “Urban Villages” index

March 21, 2012 By in Fraseropolis reports, Urban Villages Project Tags: , 2 Comments

This post marks the online launch of our “Urban Villages” project.

Fraseropolis, a notional two-county region on British Columbia’s Pacific coast,  is unique in Western Canada in the number of historic towns and villages that have been absorbed into the urban fabric.  Mission City, Maple Ridge, Chilliwack,  Cloverdale and others pre-date 1900.  A very few — Fort Langley, White Rock — have blossomed as regional tourist destinations.  Most struggle on as secondary shopping areas overshadowed by nearby malls. Continue reading →

Aesthetic Maple Ridge

March 14, 2012 By in Maple Ridge Tags: , 5 Comments

My neighbour Claus Andrup and I recently published a little book about our home town in Metro Vancouver, if “published” is the correct term.

Our purpose with the book is simply to take a walk through Maple Ridge. “The central area, while significantly improved since 2009, is still vastly under-developed.  Outside the central area, neighbourhoods have been created, and are being created, without nearby commercial services or aesthetic focus.  And while there is something called an Official Community Plan, there is a lack of civic cohesion or consensus around what direction we should take.” Continue reading →

Metro Vancouver’s economic growth has bypassed the City

March 9, 2012 By in Metro Vancouver, Planning and Development Tags: , 3 Comments

The City of Vancouver is undoubtedly the business, cultural and touristic heart of the Greater Vancouver region. However, its dominance as an employment centre is slipping steadily.

This is not news. The figures below date from 2006.  But judging by online conversations – relating to the function of the new Port Mann Bridge, for example – there are still  people who believe that all traffic on regional roads is bound for the City. The fact is, however, that increasing numbers of City dwellers  travel to suburban municipalities. To take the extreme case, job growth in the South-of-Fraser subregion has been nine times as rapid as job growth in the City over the past generation. Put another way, the City was home to half the jobs in the region in 1981; by 2006, the figure had dropped to 31 per cent. Continue reading →

How much is your public library worth to you?

March 5, 2012 By in Housing, Real Estate and Property Taxes, Urban Life and Local Government Tags: , , 1 Comment

In a 2004 opinion survey by the Fraser Valley Regional Library, 88.4 per cent of 2,000 respondents judged their local library to be “a vital part of the community.”

The Government of B.C. reports annually on library costs and library use.  The latest report shows that about 45 per cent of Metro Vancouver/ Fraser Valley are library cardholders. This number does not measure active users, but it testifies to widespread  good intentions.

In 2010, local governments in Fraseropolis spent an average of $41 per resident on public library operations, or a total of $106.6 million.  Local government contributed more than 85 per cent of library revenues; fines, provincial grants and private donations made up most of the rest. Continue reading →