learning from vancouver: gentle density

7/30/2019 Learning from Vancouver: Gentle Density

1/19

r a r c h

Lar from Vacouvr:

Gentle density


2/19

2 Lar from Vacouvr: gentLe density

r a r c h

43 Sal Sr

Frmas Bay

PO Box 90 366

Auklad

+64 (0)9 309 9442

www.ishmus.o.z

cOntentS

i Prfa

1 Wha a Auklad lar from Vaouvr?

2 eo-Dsiy Approahs

2.1 Ivisibl Dsiy

2.2 Hidd Dsiy

2.3 Gl Dsiy

3 OpportuniesforAuckland


3/19


W a ihmu ar arch for p of urba vlopm ha u

Aucklands seng and character. We suspect the answers might be found by

studying our own urban history more closely, and also amongst our new world

cousins in places such as Australia and Canada.

Vancouver interests us, partly because of sta connecons, but also because it

appears to have successfully accommodated higher density while retaining the

landscape and urban character Vancouverites cherish.

In 2011 we hosted Gordon Price, director of the City Program at Simon

Fraser University and long me Vancouver City Councillor. Gordon ran some

workshops with our clients and engaged with Aucklands planning issues by

recounng some of the experiences of Vancouvers innovave urban planning

strategies, in parcular for transportaon and residenal intensicaon.

The following year we went on a week-long research trip to Vancouver to go

and see for ourselves the eects of these strategies. We took some clients withus, and carried quesons for others. What we found suprised us. Vancouver

had more in common with Auckland than we had imagined. We thank our

many hosts in Vancouver for giving their me generously:

Bryn Davidson, Principal of Lanefab

Gordon Price, Director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University

Jake Fry, President of Smallworks

Joe Sto, Director, Campus and Community Planning, University of Brish

Columba

Michael Geller, President of The Geller Group

Patrick Condon, Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Brish

Columba

Rod Chadwick, Principle Director of AVJ

This short report shares with Aucka Couc what density done well lookslike and briey illustrates some of the innovave techniques that are being

used to increase residenal density across the city.

Gavin Lister & David Irwin

March 2013


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Wha ca Auckla lar from Vacouvr?

thr ar may rasos why Vaouvr maks a goodlaboratorytostudyurbandevelopmenthistory,policy,polics

ad hiqus ha ar dirly rlva o Auklad.

Firstlythetwociesareproductsofasimilarageof

colonialisaon;botharemajorportsandassuchretained

strongestoBritain.Emigrantswerearactedtothenew

worldbytheprospectofabeerlife,andsoonestablished

thrivingcies.

Vancouversurbandevelopmentpaernfollowssomeofthe

sam drivrs as Auklad. Havig largly b urbaisd i

theageofthestreetcar(tram),low-riseresidenalsuburbsare

sprad hily ad vly ou f rom h mai busiss disri

ad por. Howvr, o asp of urba dvlopm whih

Vancouvermissedoutwastheeraoftheurbanmotorway;

schemesweredrawnupbutneverbuilt.Thishaslethe

Vioria sruur of h iy largly ia.

VancouverandAucklandarePacicciesfoundedonthetrade

rous ha hav od hm hroughou hir hisory.

Vaouvr was a impora sopovr for lirs ravllig

betweenBritainandNewZealand,thisregularconnecon

bw h olois abld h fr xhag of goods,

peopleandideas.Since1902BrishColumbiahasbeenlinked

withNewZealandbythePacictelegraphcable.

BrishPosessionscirca1900

Withthearrivaloftheelectricstreetcarpeoplecouldgetaroundvemes

fasr ha bfor, ad h iy sprad ou o whr h lad was hap.

BrianviaCanadabytheAllRedRoute,1930s.


5/19


OverthecourseofthetwenethcenturyVancouverfacedsimilarurbanissuestoAuckland,butitgrewfaster.Inaddion

o growig ou, i also grw up, sussfully doublig is

density,whilesllretainingthecityscharacterandqualityof

lif. th rapid pa of urba dvlopm i h iy ovr h

las hiry yars has rasformd h skyli of h dowow

pisula, bu his dvlopm has b arfully orolld

by plaig zos ad ruls ha hav dlivrd a ds iy

ha is livabl. Vaouvrs mropolia ara has arly wi

thepopulaondensitypersquarekilometreasAucklands.

Vaouvr has ahivd muh of his dsiy iras si

h 1960s hrough sussiv poliis ha hav orolld

urbangrowthandexpansioninfavourofconsolidaonand

reinvestmentwithintheexisngcity.Vancouveritesareproud

of how hir iy has dvlopd. th ral iy has bom

acasestudyforpodium/towerresidenaldevelopment,

intensicaonalongskytraincorridors,cooperaveplanning

models,priorisaonofwalkingandcyclinginfrastructure,

innovaveapproachestocommuniyparcipaonand

strategicapproachtointensicaon.IntheseareasVancouver

hasbeenattheforefrontofinternaonalurbandesign

pracce.

Wha is lss kow wll kow, howvr, is h iys approah

toincreasingdensityinthesuburbs,itsGreenCityaspiraonsandhowitplanstotacklehousingaordabilityissues.These

approaches,looslycalledEcoDensity,arethesubjectofthis

rpor.

d do Wll

Vaouvr dsiy map.

VAN=2.4mpopulaon|5,250/km2

(AKL=1.4mpopulaon|2,900/km2 )

Vaouvr has o b afraid o allow all buildigs o h warfro.

Butonesizedoesnottall;Vancouversdensicaonisbeingcarefully

dsigd, ighbourhood by ighbourhood, ad si by si.

Podium/towerdevelopmentrulescontrolseparaontoallowlightinto

all aparms. Primr blok owhouss wih rail uis blow brig

h sal dow ad aima h sr.

Rapidtransportcorridorssupportandencourageresidenaland

mploym dsiy ad o h rgioal rs.


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Vaouvr has show sussiv ladrship o ra hplaig framwork for a livabl iy of ighbourhoods ad

compact,mixed-use,walkablecommuniesandhasembraced

dsiy as a powrful opporuiy o improv viromal

sustainabilityalongwithaordabilityandlivability.

However,Vancouverhasextensiveheritagesuburbs,similar

i ag o Auklads ir suburbs, whr hags o harar

ar srogly rsisd. I ordr o dal wih rsisa o h

D-word, h ciy of Vaouvrs Plaig Dparm

dvlopd hr kids of dsiy ha would b apabl

toresidentsofexisngcommunies.Theseapproacheswere

mbddd i h eoDsiy charr of 2008.

ivb d

Whenasecondarysuiteisaddedwithinanexisnghouse,

almostnochangeatallisseenfromthestreet.Addional

rentalunitswithinahousearepopularmortgagehelpersand

contributetoaordablerentalsinestablishedareas.

H d

Whenalanecoageisbuiltbehindanexisnghouse,itcan

barly s from h sr. La houss rquir o w

infrastructureandarerapidlybeingretroedintoestablished

suburbs. Mor omprhsiv dvlopm builds w houss

ad laway houss ovr wo or mor los.

G d

Largerthantheindividualhouse,gentledevelopment

mightafewextraoorsabovetheretailfrontagesalonga

ommrial sr or irodu rowhouss (owhouss) io a

ighbourhood.

Eco-Density Concepts

th Vaouvr eoDsiy charr: how density,

design and land use will contribute to environmental

sustainability, aordability and liveability.Proposedpre-fabricatedrooopaddionaddstwo

levelsofresidenalaccommodaontoanexisng

buildig.

Threestoryrowhousesrelatetothecharacterofthe

exisngneighbourhood.


7/19


ivbl d

Thisapproachtsmorehouseholdsintotheexisngbuildigs of h ighbourhood. ths migh b

suis wihi suis, sodary suis wihi

aparms ad podium rowhouss, or a ral ui

i h basm of a family hous.

Whil caada has a hriag of basms ad

Aucklanddoesnot,theprincipleofincorporang

secondaryunitsasmortgagehelpersisdirectly

appliabl o our housig sok.


8/19


H d

Lanewaycoagesaresecondaryunitsonthesametleasthemainhouse.Tuckedbehindthehouse,

butfullyaccessiblefromthelane,theydonotaect

theheritageresidenalstreetscapeandmakeuse

ofunderulisedspacetoprovidehousingforaging

family mmbrs, adul hildr, argivrs, ad

homowrs wishig o dowsiz.

Mad possibl by zoig hags i h eoDsiy

charter,over1,500lanewayhouseshavebeen

approvd si 2009. Spialis dsig/build

ompais - Smallworks, Lafab - hav

rspodd o mark dmad.


9/19


H d

th suss of laway housig ows a lo o h

xsiv work of srvi las buil bw h

backsofproperesinVictorianmes.Originallyused

fordeliveries,storageandgaragingtheyoerready

mad ass o rar los.

Auklad dos hav laways, howvr h

priipl is appliabl - sodary, small houss,

i omplmary syl, load uobrusivly o

a sigl lo, as a morgag hlpr or hom for a

relave.Seconsoflanewaycouldbecreatedin

Aucklandbyaggregang2or3cornersites.

Vaouvr couils Laway Hous dsig guid

illusras h ruls ad dsig priipls for a

omplyig ui. High, sbaks ad parkig

drmi h si layou ou, whil ass o

suligh, urig widows oo h la, ad

rspodig o h vraular of h mai hous

inuencethearchitecturaldesign


10/19


H d

Aohr hiqu o ahiv hidd dsiyistheaggregaonandredevelopmentof

mulplelots.Forexample2houseson2lots

a b rplad wih 3 houss o h sr

ad 3 laway houss a h rar, all of

whih appars i-kpig wih h sal ad

harar of h ighbourhood.

High qualiy fro yard ad srsaps

provid a layrig of priva - smi-priva

- publi spa ad rspod o iy dsig

guids as wll as h ass of h mark.


11/19


Athigherdensiestradionaldomescarchitectureisusedasacomfortertomerge

developmentsintoexisngneighbourhoods.

Theserowhousesarearculatedtoreadas

spra houss, ah wih is ow fro ga,

yard ad vradah.

H d

th ar ak wih h dails hlps as highr

densityhousingintoexisngsuburbswhile

maiaiig qualiy of lif. I his xampl hr

isgoodstreetfronttransion(public-private

spaces),arculaonanddepthoffacadesand

treatmentofcorners,referencetotradional

vernaculararchitecture,transionfromlarger

buildigs o ighbourig smallr houss, oudoor

spa igrad io h hous ad high iligs.


12/19


gl d

Gl dsiy is grally argd a srs wih

goodtransportconnecons.Inthisexampleitstake

theformofmulpleapartmentsretro-edinan

oldwarehouse,bringingaresidenalpopulaontoa

formrly ru-dow iy frig pri.

Inthisexampleafewextraoorsofapartmentshave

b addd abov a rusd warhous buildig.

Retailandoceunitsfrontthestreettogivebusiness

opportuniesandhelpcreateavibrantmixed-use

ighbourhood.


13/19


gl d

Theintroduconofrowhousesintoa

neighbourhoodcansignicantlyincreasedensity

withoutdramacallyalteringtheresidenal

character.Again,theaenontoarchitecturaland

landscapedetailcreatesahighqualityresidenal

virom.

corr sis a mak us of h doubl froag

o brig vhils oo h dvlopm, i his as

oeringbasementcarparkingundernewrowhouses.


14/19


gl d

Mulpleunitsaredesignedwithprivacyand

indivudualityexpressedthroughthearculaonof

roof, ris, balois ad rras. I his orr

lo dvlopm vhil ass o basm ar

parkig has b brough io h si bw a

w four sory blok ad a w wo sory hous ha

transionsthescaledowntotheexisnghouseson

h sr.

Good urba dsig priipls ar applid o his

aparms-ovr-rail dvlopm. thr is variy

andarculaoninthefacades,goodaccesstonatural

ligh, bas-middl-op massig, xprssd orrs,

lgibl spra ris o rail uis ad aparms

ad ass o oudoor spa.


15/19


Opportunies for Auckland

OpportuniestobeexploredinthenewUnitaryPlan:

Allow for sigl houss o b spli io h mai hous ad a

secondaryunitmortgagehelper.Developdesigncontrolsfor

privay, ois, ass, oudoor spa .

Allow for sodary uis o b buil o fro or rar los,

onsametleasexisnghouse.Developdesigncontrolsfor

privay, ois, ass, oudoor spa, sbaks .

eourag high qualiy omprhsiv dvlopm of

aggrgad los, spially whr orr los allow laway

ass. Dvlop dsig orols for privay, ois, ass,

oudoor spa, sbaks, laway, srsap .

laway

gentledensitylotaggregaoninvisibledensitymortgagehelper hiddendensitymortgagehelper


16/19


gl d o Ara Lo

this as sudy from Vaouvr has a approah

o si dsig ha w hik is vry appropria for

Auklad. copually similar o diagram () o h

previouspage,theaggregaonandredevelopmentof

wo los rmovd wo dwlligs ad rplad hm

wih hr owhouss ad hr laway houss.

eah hous has is ow smi-priva yard spa ad a

roof rra ad baloy igrad io h buildig.

th gards ar wll dsigd wih a layrig o

iras hir prpual dph ad ra a qualiy

srsap.


17/19


gl d o Ara Lo

A h rar smallr, bu omplmary, laway

houss fro o h la ad do o ompromis h

privay of h largr houss a h fro. Garagig is

igrad io h hous, wih a high volum abov

wih mzzai livig.

th dvlopm irass dsiy by four

dwellingswhilstretainingthescaleoftheresidenal

neighbourhood.Thechoiceofhousingisdiversied,

wih h smallr laway houss big mor

aordablethanthemainhousesandmorelikelyto

beoeredforrent.


18/19


Housing Aordability

Whileitisdenatelyhavinganimpactondensityand

irasig h divrsiy of supply, hr is muh dba i

Vaouvr abou whhr h eoDsiy charr is aually

makingmuchdierencetohousingaordability.

Inlate2012theMayoralTaskForceonHousingAordability

(setuptoexaminethebarrierstoaordability)publishedtheir

ndings;BoldIdeasTowardsanAordableCity.Thereismuch

for Auklad o lar from Vaouvrs xpri.

Thefourtaskforcerecommendaonsare:

1: Increase supply and diversity of aordable housing

Densityincreasesinappropriatelocaonscreateimportant

opportuniestoenhancehousingaordabilityanddiversity.

th ciy should alra plaig programs ha iras

densityinlargedevelopmentsandtransitorientedlocaons,

andthosethatincreasehousingdiversityinresidenal

neighbourhoods,includingthecreaveuseofunderulised

cityland,suchasstreets.Improvinghousingaordability

ad divrsiy should b a primary fous of hs plaig

iniaves.

2: Enhance the Citys and the communitys capacity to

deliver aordable rental housing and social housing

CreateanewCity-ownedentytodeliveraordable

ral ad soial housig by usig ciy lads. Mobilis

thecommunitytosupportaordablehousingthrough

communitylandtrustsandalternavenancing

modls.

3: Protect exisng social and aordable rental and

explore opportunies to renew and expand the stock

Protectexisngnon-prot,socialandco-operave

housingthatmaybeunderthreatandconnuetoprotecttheaordablemarketrentalstockusingthe

ommuiy plaig pross o fous o sragis o

rpair, rw ad xpad h sok ighbourhood by

ighbourhood.

4: Streamline and create more certainty and clarity

in the regulatory process, and improve public

engagement

Enhancecertainty,eciencyandtransparencyof

approvalprocessesandclarifyregulaonsinorderto

reducedevelopmentcostsandenhanceaordability.


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learning from vancouver: gentle density

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