City Primer — Part 5: Why Municipal Politics Feels So Broken
Part five of a six-part series exploring how municipal government works in Vancouver: what cities do, how decisions are made, where municipal powers come from, and why local government often feels both intimate and difficult to navigate.
By Erick VillagomezA public hearing runs late into the evening. Dozens of residents take turns speaking. Some support the proposal. Others oppose it. City staff present reports and technical analysis. Councillors ask questions. Eventually, after hours of discussion, a vote is taken. The next morning, participants often leave with very different impressions of what happened. Some feel democracy worked exactly as intended. Others believe the outcome was predetermined. Some feel heard. Others feel ignored... Read more
