A Masterplanned Community Comes to Life
While the sea and mountains are geographical features that stand out on their own, there are many other elements of Vancouver that contribute to it consistently topping lists of the world’s most livable cities. For one, Vancouver continues to put a concerted effort into city planning. We’ve witnessed that unchecked, organic growth in the age of the automobile leads to urban sprawl, freeways and big box stores with big bland parking lots. In response, the City of Vancouver drafted an Official Community Plan for each neighbourhood that was a strong candidate for increasing densification and creating a walkable, liveable community. One such neighbourhood was Southeast False Creek.
Southeast False Creek was originally established in the late 1800s as a shipping and industrial hub. Situated on the waterfront, railway lines and trucking routes were built to move both raw and finished materials to their final destinations. As the city of Vancouver was built out, these lands — situated close to the central business district and on prime waterfront land — became too valuable for industrial use.
As a result, a world-class masterplanned neighbourhood was designed that aspired to the highest levels of social equity, livability, ecological health and economic prosperity. It would be a mixed-use community, with an emphasis on residential development, built out to the maximum possible density while meeting livability and sustainability objectives. Plus, with its waterfront location, Southeast False Creek would provide the missing link in our world-renowned seawall pathway system.
The public realm is possibly one of the largest achievements of this masterplan community. Open spaces, parks, streets and pathways connect the entire site and link complementary neighborhoods. Extra-wide sidewalks intersect with paving-stone pathways through landscaped courtyards. The new community centre and dog parks unite neighbours. Public art surprises and delights at almost every turn; it seems almost everyone has an opinion about Myfanwy MacLeod’s Big Birds in the central courtyard. That’s the beauty of public art — stimulating conversations between friends and strangers alike. As a cherry on top, the seawall is now connected from Coal Harbour to Kitsilano. That’s over 22 km of connected, waterfront pathway that accommodates walking, cycling and rollerblading!
The residential construction in and around Southeast False Creek continues, with a projected completion in 2020. One of the final pieces of the puzzle — Quebec Street — is beginning to take shape. Soon, the street will be home to bike lanes, pedestrian intersections, extra-wide sidewalks, landscaped front courtyards, public art and pathway connectivity. The artist’s rendering above shows the future vision of Quebec Street, looking north towards the mountains. Southeast False Creek has gone from being a maligned “ghost town” after the Olympics to becoming a culturally rich, vibrant and sought-after neighbourhood, brimming with life, amenities, and world-class real estate opportunities.
