Michael Geller, an adjunct professor at the SFU Centre for Sustainable Community Development, gave a rousing lecture entitled “12 Great Ideas for Vancouver from Around the World” to an eager audience on the night of Wednesday, April 1 at Harbour Centre.

Geller, a renowned Vancouver architect whose work includes helping with the planning and development of SFU’s own UniverCity, drew on his professional experience as well as his travels to over 55 countries to give concrete suggestions about how Vancouver could become a more livable city. Here is a small sampling of Geller’s “12 Great Ideas.”

“Making Vancouver a friendlier city”

Geller cited a study by the Vancouver Foundation which found that Vancouver residents feel isolated and that the city is unfriendly.

He noted that, while we have events like the Celebration of Light and the Dîner en Blanc, we need more community events that bring people together. Moreover, Geller stressed the need for new condo developments to include communal spaces to make them friendlier and encourage community.

“Becoming a more pedestrian-oriented city” 

Geller pointed out that Vancouver’s Granville Mall is a poorly designed pedestrian zone. He cited examples of major European cities that have vibrant pedestrian zones and suggested that Vancouver should follow suit. He stated that the experience of these zones could be enhanced with more plantlife and better paving.

“Promoting transportation options”

Vancouver has made great strides in promoting cycling over the past decade, noted Geller, but we still have some ways to go. For comparison, Amsterdam has underground parking garages for bicycles. He suggested the possibility of a tram system. To fund transit, he said, we could look to road pricing, as is done in Chile.

“Becoming a better planned city”

Geller believes in the maxim that “form follows function,” but he acknowledged that, in Vancouver, “form follows finance.” He argued that Vancouver needs to have a better process for planning.

Rather than asking for applications for rezoning, he said that the city should have a development plan that pre-zones each area. He noted the need for consistency of scale and a multiplicity of housing options in such a development plan.

“Becoming healthier and safer”

Geller suggested that, along with environmental impact assessments, the city should also conduct health impact assessments. He noted that the CBC science program The Nature of Things selected UniverCity as a case study in how communities can reduce obesity.

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Geller only alluded to the transit referendum in his presentation, but he talked to The Peak after to clarify his views. “I agree with all the people who say it was a mistake to even have it,” he said. “But, having done it, I feel it’s better to vote yes and start to get some of these infrastructural improvements than to try and make a point by voting no.” He noted that the vote to approve the U-Pass at SFU itself only passed by a “narrow” margin.

Once Geller concluded, the floor opened to questions from the audience. Over a dozen audience members took the opportunity to voice their own suggestions for improving Vancouver. Despite having opposing views on how to achieve a more liveable city, participants engaged in a lively and impassioned debate on the topic.

The level of engagement at the event surprised Geller. “Too often we have very heated community meetings to oppose a particular project. We rarely have conservations about the broader things,” he commented.

“I was shocked, to be honest, by how many people came forward and wanted to talk about [their] ideas.”