The Intersection of Town Centre Planning and Politics: Alternative Development in an Inner Suburban Municipality in the Metro Vancouver Region by David Pereira B.A., Simon Fraser University, 2006 A.A., Capilano College, 2003 PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF URBAN STUDIES in the Urban Studies Program Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © David Pereira 2011 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2011 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for Fair Dealing. Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. APPROVAL Name: David Pereira Degree: Master of Urban Studies Title of Thesis: The intersection of Town Centre planning and politics: Alternative development in an inner suburban municipality in the Metro Vancouver Region Examining Committee: Chair: Anthony Perl Director, Urban Studies Program Professor, Urban Studies Program and Department of Political Science Simon Fraser University ___________________________________________ Meg Holden Senior Supervisor Associate Professor, Urban Studies Program and Department of Geography Simon Fraser University ___________________________________________ Peter V. Hall Supervisor Associate Professor, Urban Studies Program Simon Fraser University ___________________________________________ Allen Seager External Examiner Associate Professor, Department of History Simon Fraser University Date Defended/Approved: 2011 November 4________________ ii Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. 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Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Last revision: Spring 09 STATEMENT OF ETHICS APPROVAL The author, whose name appears on the title page of this work, has obtained, for the research described in this work, either: (a) Human research ethics approval from the Simon Fraser University Office of Research Ethics, or (b) Advance approval of the animal care protocol from the University Animal Care Committee of Simon Fraser University; or has conducted the research (c) as a co-investigator, collaborator or research assistant in a research project approved in advance, or (d) as a member of a course approved in advance for minimal risk human research, by the Office of Research Ethics. A copy of the approval letter has been filed at the Theses Office of the University Library at the time of submission of this thesis or project. The original application for approval and letter of approval are filed with the relevant offices. Inquiries may be directed to those authorities. Simon Fraser University Library Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada Last update: Spring 2010 ABSTRACT Regional Town Centres (RTCs) are a central metropolitan growth management mechanism used to address liveability concerns and help plan for the future in the Metro Vancouver region. Intended to decentralize the magnetic pull of a traditional downtown, these high density suburban nodes are meant to refocus urban amenities in designated built up islands of urbanity in order to decrease the distance residents travel to employment, services, shopping and recreation. Nearly half a century since implementation, the City of Burnaby has demonstrated strong potential to realize the Town Centres concept with the continued development of the Metrotown RTC as well as the municipal Town Centres of Lougheed, Edmonds, and Brentwood. This paper examines the evolution of these centres through a local planning policy and political context. Despite various challenges, the policies produced in the late 1960s persevere today, presenting an alternative evolution to the dominant model of suburbia. Keywords: Metropolitan growth management; Regional Town Centres; Metrotowns; Suburban nodes, Transit-oriented development; Urban planning and governance. iii DEDICATION To Mom. Since the very beginning of this journey, you have made countless sacrifices to make sure that I had the best start in life. Even though you never quite understood what I was doing, your love and unbridled support is all the understanding I ever needed. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to thank the staff and leadership at Burnaby City Hall – without your passion and legacy, this project would fail to exist. I would also like to recognize the financial support of the Doug Drummond Fellowship as well as the Urban Studies Fellowship. In addition, thank you to the Urban Studies Program for granting me this opportunity to pursue academic excellence. And to my Supervisor, Meg, for giving me just the right amount of push when I needed it, my Assistant Supervisor Peter Hall for sharing my passion with local politics, and my External Examiner Al Seager for providing your local expertise. To my friends and family, who have given me unwavering support and the courage to follow my dreams. To my brothers who have pushed me to rethink the world around me and my father for his patience and understanding. To my cousins who have given me incredible emotional support, and my extended brothers who have always been there despite my absence during countless hours researching and writing. And of course thank you to Alyssa for letting me use her room as my personal study. To Dave Myles, who offered me a critical eye over conversation and drink. Last but not least, to my partner Tiffany – thank you for your support, encouragement, and positive criticism. My sincerest apologies to those who I have forgotten to mention here. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval ........................................................................................................................................... ii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... iii Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. viii List of Tables .................................................................................................................................... xi 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Setting the Context ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Managing Growth.................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Town Centres as a Feature of Growth Management .............................................................. 4 2: Literature review ................................................................................................................ 7 2.1 Urban Dispersion ..................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Approaches to Urban Intensification ...................................................................................