Georgia Strait Alliance releases Vancouver waterfront report

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      The Georgia Strait Alliance has released a State of the Waterfront report that examines Vancouver's 63 kilometres of shorelines.

      The report by the nonprofit marine-conservation group came about after several years of engaging city stakeholders in determining how best to formulate a detailed waterfront plan for the future as pressures on the coastal interface—from pollution, urbanization, rising sea levels, and population growth—grow along with the city.

      Tourism, business, and environmental interests were key aspects of the study, which came about after the Georgia Strait Alliance (GSA) instituted the Waterfront Initiative in 2013.

      The report, according to the GSA, shows the results of five areas of focus determined by the initiative stakeholders: "working, living, access to nature, ecosystems, and transportation".

      In a March 22 release, GSA executive director Christianne Wilhelmson said: "“There is a lack of focused discussion about how Vancouver’s waterfront in its entirety is evolving and that’s concerning when you consider the increasing impacts of urbanization and climate change.

      “Our objective with the Waterfront Initiative, modelled on New York City’s Waterfront Alliance, has been to connect waterfront stakeholders, government and industry to facilitate conversations and solutions that will allow the City of Vancouver to address the management and maintenance of our entire waterfront in a comprehensive way.”

      Some report highlights featured in the release include:

      • Fifteen percent of Vancouver's waterfront lands—which range from Burrard Inlet's saltwater shores to the Fraser River's freshwater banks—that were formerly zoned industrial were rezoned for residential or mixed uses between 1990 and 2016.
      • Between 2006 and 2016, average waterfront rents increased 27 percent compared to a citywide 17-percent increase, raising questions about equitable access.
      • About 30 percent of the shoreline area is considered "natural", meaning human-modified shore but not heavily so, which led the report's authors to wonder whether or not plans are in place to protect that remaining natural space.
      • The population living in shoreline areas potentially floodable by climate change leading to sea-level rise increased 67 percent between 2006 and 2016, with the biggest jumps taking place along False Creek and the Fraser River.

      The release also noted that Vancouver's waterfront is home to 1,200 species of plants and animals, "including 125 classified as at-risk within the larger Salish Sea".

      The full State of the Waterfront report can be viewed here.

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