Article content

While Vancouverites have come to expect the weather and housing affordability to dominate conversations, this was particularly true last week.

While we experienced one of the wettest Octobers, housing was top of mind as global experts gathered for Re:Address, a city-organized summit on housing and city building.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Opinion: Vancouver should make better use of land through zoning Back to video

In an October 27th opinion column “Vancouver housing reset on track, but city can’t go it alone,” Mayor Gregor Robertson noted the city is half way through a 10-year housing and homelessness strategy.

While he listed numerous accomplishments, he acknowledged it is time for a dramatic re-set to ease affordability and ensure housing options are meeting residents’ needs. The conference was intended to produce actionable ideas.

Throughout the conference it became very clear that Vancouver is not alone. New York, San Francisco, Sydney, and London are just a few cities grappling with homelessness and severe housing affordability. However, rather than take comfort, we can learn useful lessons from these cities.