Committed and “Won Over” Parents in Vancouver’s Dense Family-Oriented Urbanism

Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings As North American cities revitalize, policies generally assume high density will attract the childless, overlooking the needs of families with children. Here I examine the case of Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada), where since 1989 policies have explicitly supported parents in central densifying areas. Between 1996 and 2016, the city overall had a slight decline in children under 15. In contrast, the Downtown peninsula experienced a 171% increase for this age group, which is double the percentage increase for total neighborhood residents. In this research I ask how Vancouver parents perceive their central high-density neighborhoods in terms of childrearing. Through interviews and focus groups with parents from 39 families and 5 weeks of environmental and participant observation, I find that many consider amenity-rich, dense, diverse neighborhoods ideal. Some are committed to city living. Others are “won over” by the policy-provided amenities and well-programmed public realm. Limitations include potential biases in the sample and issues of policy transferability to other North American cities. I provide U.S. examples modeled after Vancouver’s policies to support the feasibility of policy translation. Takeaway for practice Other North American cities can promote dense family-oriented urbanism. Amenities achieved through policies concerning building design, community centers, parks, protected cycling, and pedestrian infrastructure directly contributed to the “won over” parents’ decisions to stay. By focusing on parents, planners can shift the downtown revitalization narrative toward family-oriented densification. Planners must consider the needs of diverse parents to avoid a class- and age-segregated city. Cities today have a fragile opportunity to build dense and diverse in both land use and types of residents. Central areas can be reconceived as ideal places for people of all ages, incomes, and life stages.