City of dreams

摘要

Vancouver in British Columbia is one of the most desirable places on Earth. This year it came second in the annual quality of life survey conducted by consultancy Mercer. Last year it came joint first. It's a great place to live, but it would be even better without the cars. The people of Vancouver own more vehicles per head than just about anyone else in the world, and they refuse to abandon them, despite growing levels of smog and congestion. In 1999, the city's authorities came up with a plan to tackle the problem. They proposed an annual tax of $75 per vehicle to fund the buses and light rail, and maybe even discourage a few people from buying new cars. But it soon became clear that imposing the levy would be political suicide, and by last year the tax was history. Public transport was forced to slash services, fares rose dramatically and so did property taxes. No one is happy with the outcome. But it might have been avoided, says Christina DeMarco, a senior planner for the Greater Vancouver Regional District, if people understood better the consequences of their decisions. What they needed, she says, was a way of looking into the future. And that's exactly what geographer John Robinson is now offering them.