… Vancouver has confronted this debate about its future character directly when Mayor Sam Sullivan launched the “EcoDensity” initiative in mid-2006. The city engaged a young chief city planner, Brent Toderian to
champion the debate about “EcoDensity” and to develop an EcoDensity Charter that the community and the city could use to drive a better ecological footprint.
The city of Vancouver has unanimously approved the EcoDensity Charter. The Urban Taskforce is bringing Brent Toderian to Sydney to explain the EcoDensity method that Vancouver has now adopted so that Sydney might learn from the Vancouver approach. The timing is good as the draft Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney is on exhibition and the planning reforms for NSW state that communities need to be more involved in strategic planning.
In January 2013 over 2,000 high density housing units were approved in NSW while
detached houses were only 1,400. Clearly there is a shift to higher density living in our state and particularly in Sydney. The “EcoDensity” campaign and charter in Vancouver needs to also occur in Sydney
and this publication begins that debate. …
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