Features
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City Primer — Part 6: Why Civic Literacy Matters
Most people do not spend much time thinking about municipal government. They think about finding housing, getting to work, walking their children to...
By Erick Villagomez -
City Primer — Part 5: Why Municipal Politics Feels So Broken
A public hearing runs late into the evening. Dozens of residents take turns speaking. Some support the proposal. Others oppose it. City staff present...
By Erick Villagomez -
City Primer — Part 4: Why Cities Are Always Short of Money
Many residents assume cities operate financially in roughly the same way as provincial or federal governments. They don’t. Municipal governments are...
By Erick Villagomez -
City Primer — Part 3: Why Housing Dominates Municipal Politics
It’s possible to attend a Vancouver City Council meeting and come away with the impression that municipal government exists almost entirely to debate...
By Erick Villagomez -
City Primer — Part 2 – How Cities Actually Make Decisions
Many residents encounter municipal government for the first time when a controversial proposal appears in their neighbourhood. A rezoning sign goes up on...
By Erick Villagomez -
City Primer — Part 1 – What Is Municipal Government?
EDITOR’S NOTE: Vancouver is in the midst of profound urban change. Housing costs, population growth, transportation investments, climate adaptation...
By Erick Villagomez -
New Over Old, but not Forgotten in Mexico City
In July 2026, I had the opportunity to visit Mexico City for the first time. The metro area of nearly 25 million people has a fascinating history that...
By Andrew Cuthbert -
Minority Rules, Revisited: Who Actually Votes with Whom?
Last April, shortly after Vancouver’s by-election, I turned the result into a game. It was admittedly a geeky one. Going into the by-election, ABC...
By Erick Villagomez -
From Bleecker St. to Bedford Ave.
One of my urban detective sessions: browsing through well-known New York City neighbourhoods famous for having changed, like Williamsburg and Greenwich...
By Yuval Fogelson -
What Makes a Village?
I recently found myself wandering Commercial Drive, reading between its pulsing cafés and restaurants. An empty storefront. Another. A familiar music...
By Erick Villagomez -
Book Review: An Even Better Way to Zone
Author: Donald Elliott (Island Press, 2025) When I first reviewed Donald Elliott’s A Better Way to Zone almost fifteen years ago, I began with a...
By Erick Villagomez -
Stop Calling them Villages
The headline image is a composite image showing the former Neighbourhood Centres (gold), which received broad community support as part of implementing...
By scothein