Visual protection architecture
Introduction
Vancouverism (in English: Vancouverism) is a term that designates an urban and architectural phenomenon in the city of Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada). It is characterized by a large inner-city residential population living in mixed-use developments, typically residential high-rises over a commercial podium, a significant reliance on public transportation, the creation and maintenance of green spaces, and the protection of sight lines.[1][2][3][4][5][6].
The architect Bing Thom described Vancouverism in this way:[7].
An important aspect to mention is that Vancouverism is an ideal that was developed in Vancouver, but is not present in all areas of the city. Additionally, although some outlying areas of Greater Vancouver, such as Surrey, have adopted some aspects of these ideals, they did not originate outside the city of Vancouver.
Vancouver has repeatedly been ranked as one of the cities with the highest quality of life in the world.[9] An article by the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association analyzed Vancouver's approach to new development and protected views and asked whether San Francisco (California) should follow a similar direction. However, Vancouver's planning process has also received criticism for its unpredictability, lengthy approval process, lack of transparency, lack of citizen participation, the repetitiveness of the built forms it produces and the risk that the process involves corruption.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16].
Origin
Vancouverism developed partly as a result of the city's geographic context. Nestled between the sea, the mountains and the US border, the Greater Vancouver Regional District partnered with area municipalities to encourage controlled development. The early recognition that British Columbia's agricultural land would be absorbed by the city's urban expansion led to the creation in the 1970s of the "Agricultural Land Reserve", which helped contain and intensify urbanization in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.[1]
Some attribute to architect Arthur Erickson the development in the mid-1950s of the concept that would become Vancouverism, in a never-realized project called "Project 56."[17] Many of its principles were incorporated in the development of the West End neighborhood. In the 1980s, the city's Planning Department, under the direction of Ray Spaxman, began to expand on these principles, many of which were put into practice in the development of the former 1986 World's Fair grounds "Vancouver International Exhibition (1986)") in False Creek and Yaletown.