Ep. 626: How to improve Vancouver
Guest: Rebecca Bligh (Vote Vancouver mayoral candidate)
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit Global Liveability Index, Vancouver ranks 9th in North America. It’s a significant drop from the number one spot we held from 2004 through 2010.
What happened? Why did we drop?
While there is much to celebrate, it’s clear we have challenges and they’re increasing.
Our livability and affordability are substantial issues, Vancouver today is widely recognized as the least affordable major city to live in Canada. According to Chapman University Demographia, Vancouver is “Impossibly Unaffordable.”
Our open-drug experiment is a huge issue as well. It has devastated the downtown and Downtown Eastside streets to the point where we’ve been rebranded as a city of zombies.
Economic growth was rooted in the belief that people would keep coming here and staying. Not anymore – immigration policy has reduced the number of immigrants and outflow migration means Vancouver's population shrank by more than 8,000 people.
And then there is an expanding workforce on the city’s payroll, up by roughly 25% over the past 10 years – a pace that soared past population growth, with the city’s operating budget expanding from 1.2 billion to nearly 2.4 billion dollars.
And transportation is snarling Vancouver. Just try to get anywhere. According to the TomTom Traffic index, Vancouver ranks as the most congested city nationwide and the 4th most congested in North America.
These and others are the issues Vancouver’s next mayor will need to contend with.
Over the next five weeks, Conversations That Matter will sit down with the five public opinion poll leaders (according to Research Co.) who want the mayor’s job, to discuss how they will address these issues and what the City will look like after their term in office.
This week, we sit down with Rebecca Bligh of Vote Vancouver.
Want to learn more about our guests?
Check out their episodes on our partnered program!
