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When False Creek South was proposed in the early 1970s, critics said the plan for a cluster of socially-mixed stacked townhouses on former industrial land would lead to a crime-infested slum, inhospitable to families.

Hardly. If you stroll there today through the leafy paths between low-rises and townhouses, it doesn’t feel anything like a slum. And, as a remarkably poised 12-year-old told City of Vancouver councillors this week, it’s one of the city’s most “awesome” areas for kids.

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In response, the mayor said he wants to attract more people — especially kids — to False Creek South, which, like many Vancouver neighbourhoods, has seen a drop in the number of families with kids.

Council voted unanimously this week to approve terms of reference for a planning process for the area along the south shore between the Burrard and Cambie bridges, most of which is city-owned. This sets in motion, after years of neighbourhood engagement, the city’s planning efforts for the next phase of a great Vancouver neighbourhood,one that grew out of controversy into an icon of livability.