Vancouver Housing:
Myth vs. Fact
Vancouver needs more housing. But some of the claims used to justify recent housing policies deserve a closer look.
More housing should make Vancouver more livable — not less.
The Villages Plan and multiplex policy will bring affordable housing to Vancouver residents.
Allowing more housing is not the same thing as requiring affordable housing.
Under the Villages Plan, most new apartment and townhouse options were not subject to inclusionary affordable-housing requirements.
Those requirements applied only in specific west-side areas where the City determined they were financially viable.
Even there, qualifying developments could often provide a cash-in-lieu payment instead of delivering affordable homes on site.
The Villages Plan was broadly vetted by Vancouver residents and developed with representative community input.
The City’s own engagement report says the results were not statistically representative of Vancouver.
The City held seven open houses attended by approximately 383 people.
It also received 1,970 survey responses. However, the survey was self-selected, meaning residents chose whether to participate rather than being randomly selected to represent Vancouver’s population.
The City itself cautioned that the results were not statistically representative of the broader population.
Vancouver’s housing crisis is simply a shortage of housing supply — so building more market housing will make homes affordable.
More supply can help, but supply alone does not guarantee affordability.
Thousands of completed homes remain available across the Vancouver region while home ownership remains out of reach for many local households.
A housing market can contain available homes and still have a severe shortage of homes that ordinary residents can actually afford.
When a mature tree is removed for redevelopment, the City requires it to be replaced with an equivalent tree.
A replacement tree is not the equivalent of the mature tree that was removed.
Minimum trunk diameter for many replacement trees.
A mature tree may have taken decades to develop its canopy and environmental benefits.
Mature trees provide shade, cooling, rainwater absorption, wildlife habitat, carbon storage and protection from extreme heat.
A newly planted tree may eventually provide many of those benefits, but it cannot replace them on the day the mature tree is removed.
The future of Vancouver will be decided this October.
Vancouver residents will have the opportunity to choose the direction our city takes for the next generation.
The debate is not about whether Vancouver should grow. It is about how we grow — ensuring new housing is paired with affordability, livability, green space, and thoughtful planning.