to get people out of cars and bring them
closer together. Proximity is an important
part of the Green City concept; increased
accessibility to commercial enterprises
and workplaces will help the entire city go
green.
IMPEDIMENTS TO
INNOVATIVE PLANNING
Vancouver is expected to grow by two mil-
lion people in the next 30 years and accord-
ing to Lang, a singular approach to con-
struction will not be able to accommodate
this immense growth. The focus needs to
shift away from the interest of developers,
who are centred on short-term goals, to
people and design.
Innovation is the key to a perpetually thriv-
ing city; it is also something that is not
readily embraced. “We build our cities
with models that are typically very re-
petitive,” Lang said. Instead of repetition,
Lang’s firm would like to introduce adapt-
ability, choice and a shift away from a buy-
er-investor focus in the real estate market
to visibility, affordability and quality.
In Lang’s line of work, the biggest chal-
lenge he faces every day is regulation,
“The innovation and drive to renew our city is not sufficient, but I think that is
changing.”
SEPTEMBER 2016
H
business elite canada
9
