He lives in the city. He walks his dog everywhere here. He’s looking forward on helping Vancouver achieve its affordable-housing goals. He starts his job Aug. 27.
Vancouver’s new general manager of planning and development: A quick introduction to the man in the hot seat, Brian Jackson
July 30th, 2012 · 6 Comments
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6 responses so far ↓
1 Frank Ducote // Jul 31, 2012 at 3:13 pm
Hey, Frances – I think Brian’s had enough of an introduction to us by now, so can we just move on until he actually starts the job? Just a thought.
2 Lewis N. Villegas // Jul 31, 2012 at 5:48 pm
Well, if we’re not going to talk about the man, then maybe we can talk about Irvine, the ‘downtown’ to Newport Beach, and not too far from San Clemente, hometown to Richard Nixon.
Irvine International, also known as Orange County Airport, is now called John Wayne (SNA). You just can’t get more American than the “The Duke”. Nothing pleased me more than walking into the lobby and bumping into a larger-than-life polychrome statue of the actor, stars and bars flying just behind.
The brand of urbanism in Irvine is totally auto-oriented. If you want to walk, then drive to the beach, park, and do your thing against the sound of that wonderful roaring surf. Just don’t expect to get anywhere on foot in the manicured streets of Irvine.
The places I visited were all air-conditioned and hermetically sealed.
The tradition of the Spanish Missions with thick adobe walls as thermal sinks, tall roofs, courtyards, fountains and arcades providing passive cooling is nowhere to be seen—except perhaps in the architecture of the Jack-in-the-Box and the In-and-Out Burger.
Orange County once renown for being the richest zip code in the U.S. has fallen behind some now, but there is a surreal sense of this is something completely different about the place.
3 Lewis N. Villegas // Aug 1, 2012 at 11:28 am
Which is not to say that we should dislike everything U.S. Just like in Canada there are many things to like, and many things to recover in America:
Despite its outer trappings, Irvine follows lock-step the American downtown, suburb, and strip model.
Ours is a quest for a new paradigm as I argue here:
http://lewisnvillegas.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/architecture-for-the-rest-of-us/
4 Bill Lee // Aug 3, 2012 at 4:03 pm
And Fabula tweets the arrival of Toronto’s planner.
Toronto Star quick profile here
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/cityhallpolitics/article/1234709–jennifer-keesmaat-appointed-toronto-s-new-chief-planner
“Toronto’s new chief planner is an advocate of density and walkable communities who made her name as a private-sector consultant and who has publicly criticized Mayor Rob Ford.
The city’s previous three chief planners each spent more than 22 years in municipal government before they were appointed to the post. Jennifer Keesmaat, whose appointment was announced Tuesday, is a principal at Dialog, a Toronto-based integrated design firm.
“Those who know me know this was the farthest thing from my mind,” Keesmaat, who starts on Sept. 10, said in a brief interview. “It’s not something that I’ve ever even really contemplated. I’ve been in private consulting my whole career, and it’s something that, quite frankly, I’ve absolutely loved. But I was recruited, and the seed was planted, and I started to think about how much I care about and love this city, and one thing led to another, and here I am.”
The city had been searching since the fall for a replacement for Gary Wright, who retired in March. Several candidates turned down the opportunity to pursue the job, at least two of them in part because they did not want to work under Ford. ” [ more ]
5 InsiderDoug // Aug 3, 2012 at 10:21 pm
Nothing all that impressive here in this interview.
6 InsiderDoug // Aug 3, 2012 at 10:22 pm
Word in CityHall is that Brian is a good friend to developers in Richmond, as his first few interviews seem to show. Those developer-boys must be doing back-flips right now! No more Director of Planning in Vancouver, just a GM of Development.
Feels to many like something has died.
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