Is more density the salvation of Vancouver neighbourhoods? Jonathan Baker takes on Michael Goldberg

(Updated) We are grateful to Jonathan Baker (left) former city alderman and currently one of the city’s top municipal lawyers, for taking the time to write “The Joy of Density,” an alternative view to Michael Goldberg’s (right) opinion, “Density can save Vancouver’s neighbourhoods.”

Goldberg’s impressive credentials as professor and dean emeritus of UBC’s Sauder School of Business, plus the free access to the public mind via mainstream media like the Vancouver Sun, may convince the average reader that what he writes is authoritative and the final word on the topic. (Incidentally, people who read Prof. Goldberg in the Vancouver Sun probably would not happen to know his many other credentials, including Chairman of the Board of the Surrey City Development Corporation.)

Thankfully, someone is willing to provide an alternative viewpoint. Please click the links below, read, think it out for yourself, and get involved in our city’s current debate about the future of YOUR neighbourhood.

• “Density can save Vancouver’s neighbourhoods,” by Michael Goldberg (August 15, 2013, Vancouver Sun). Excerpt:  Current outcries against height and density at Broadway and Commercial Drive and Broadway and Main Street are badly misplaced, failing to understand the benefits and economics of height and density to preserve, not destroy, surrounding neighbourhoods. The fearmongering associated with public discussions of densification is unfortunate and not borne out by the reality of densification in Vancouver and elsewhere in Metro Vancouver.
• “The Joy of Density,” by Jonathan Baker (August 18, 2013, blog). Excerpt 1: In his elegy to density Prof. Emeritus Michael Goldberg, instructs that salvation lies in adding more people to neighborhoods. Excerpt 2: That is not what the fight is about. The fight is about the rule of law. Current zoning already allows for tremendous increases in density in a form that has been acceptable in Vancouver and to which developers are already entitled as a matter of right. 

People who have read Prof. Goldberg’s other pronouncements may get the impression that he is a champion of the construction industry, as he calls for deregulation and supply-side economics to fight Vancouver’s affordability crunch through dramatic increases in housing supply, by dismantling zoning guidelines on height, setback, and view corridor rules.

In the process, he seems to ignore critical facts and factors. For example, like the Mayor’s Task Force on Housing Affordability, Goldberg misses the competition for housing between working-class Vancouverites and the global speculators, and the issue of empty condos and empty homes owned by offshore investors and speculators.

Our society has a serious problem if students, voters, public servants, the media, and consultants, fail to take a balanced view of things. And it’s even more serious if even elected officials and policymakers have imbalanced view when developing policies and making decisions on behalf of the public. Are they listening too much to just one side of the story?

We need this to be a much more complex and nuanced discussion than density, yes or no. Neighbourhoods deserve the right to have a say in how much density gets added, how fast, where, and how things are decided. A growing number of people are waking up to realize that this type of respect from City Hall for neighbourhoods today is, unfortunately, low.

Baker has taken on Goldberg in the past too, as you can see below.

1. The opinion: Vancouver’s high housing prices threaten growth: Reasons of region’s expensive market obvious (2-Sep-2010, Michael Goldberg, Vancouver Sun). Click to read (note that the original article is no longer on the newspaper’s website, but someone else offers it at the link shown).  Excerpt: Supply is severely restricted by low densities over most of Vancouver compared with other cities our size. Height, setback and view corridor rules further limit supply. Add to this lengthy and costly approval processes and the result is a significant continuing restriction in supply, which, faced with growing demand, means rising prices.
2. The response: The argument against increasing density (11-Sept-2010, Jonathan Baker, Vancouver Sun). Click to read on Canada.com. Excerpt: Business professor Michael Goldberg’s argument is one more example of why they say economists know the price of everything and the value of nothing. 

Thank you to Prof. Goldberg, and Mr. Baker, for providing food for thought!

We also urge the public to be actively engaged with mainstream media. Vancouver Sun, The Province, Vancouver Courier, CBC, CKNW, 24-Hours, Metro, News 1130, and more. Are they providing balanced coverage of opinion and news? If you don’t think so, go to the top and express your opinion. Find out who owns each of these media and express your views to the owners. Find out names of editors and editorial boards, and write to them. Tell reporters what you think too. Our society gives them the privilege of access to the public mind and public opinion. They have an obligation to do things right. See Morals and the Media in the CityHallWatch reference page on Codes of Conduct.