{"id":415,"date":"2011-07-04T11:55:16","date_gmt":"2011-07-04T18:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingvancouver.ca\/?p=415"},"modified":"2013-01-21T07:10:53","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T15:10:53","slug":"school-troubles-in-a-booming-metropolis-part-2-intergenerational-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/vancouver\/2011\/07\/04\/school-troubles-in-a-booming-metropolis-part-2-intergenerational-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"School Troubles in a Booming Metropolis \u2013 Part 2: Intergenerational Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"
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False Creek North was Vancouver\u2019s first high-rise downtown neighbourhood to intentionally include families with young children. Photo courtesy of Dani0010.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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[Editors Note:<\/strong> this is a revised version of\u00a0 a four-piece series originally published on Planning Pool<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0 You can read the first part here<\/a>.] <\/em><\/p>\n

To serve a community sustainably, elementary schools require relatively stable populations of children within their catchment areas. Seniors\u2019 centres require relatively stable populations of seniors. Similar principles apply to other types of social infrastructure that represent significant community investment, such as childcare centres, recreation centres,\u00a0and health care facilities.<\/p>\n

Jane Jacobs\u2019s prescription for economically vibrant districts was diversity of habitat<\/a> for businesses. A mix of type, quality and age of buildings allows enterprises of all sizes and stages to thrive.\u00a0Neighbourhood planning that follows the related principle of providing habitat for a diversity of households could allow both urban and suburban neighbourhoods to foster more stable and resilient intergenerational communities that are able to make efficient use of social infrastructure over multiple generations.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, in many core cities, insufficient affordable and suitable housing for families provides a push for young families to leave urban neighbourhoods for the suburbs.<\/p>\n

The pull of suburban environments is the other side of the coin. 55% of Canadians live in a house<\/a>, and many believe that young children have the best outcomes when raised in a single-family house with a private yard. Cultural attachment to the single-family home fuels markets for sprawling suburban and exurban developments.<\/p>\n

However, in Metro Vancouver and other growing regions with limited land availability for greenfield development, the market is unable to provide much new single-family housing. Accordingly, expectations about what kinds of housing and neighbourhoods are appropriate for kids are slowly changing among both families and planners. Cities are starting to plan for higher-density communities that include young children.<\/p>\n

In Vancouver, the False Creek North<\/a> megaproject was developed\u00a0in the 1990s as the city\u2019s first high-rise downtown neighbourhood to intentionally include families with young children. A quarter of housing units were required to be \u201cfamily suitable\u201d: located no higher than the eighth storey and of a minimum size.<\/a><\/p>\n

While a 2007 post-occupancy survey<\/a> found False Creek North to be a well-functioning intergenerational and intercultural neighbourhood, it also found lessons for future projects. For instance, units lack sufficient storage space, and buildings\u2019 outdoor common areas are too formal, disallowing active uses.<\/p>\n

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Child-friendly, transit-oriented development in Vauban, Germany. Photo courtesy of Payton Chung.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Perhaps the most innovative examples of child-friendly urban and suburban housing projects come from Europe, where transit-oriented developments (TODs) are specifically designed to appeal to families with children. In a great Planning Magazine\u00a0article<\/a> (unfortunately gated for exclusive viewing by members of the American Planning Association),\u00a0Robert Cervero and Cathleen Sullivan describe three features of child-friendly TODs such as Amsterdam\u2019s GWL-Terrein project<\/a> or Freiburg\u2019s\u00a0Rieselfeld<\/a>:<\/p>\n