President and CEO, International Centre for Sustainable Cities
What book is on your bedside table?
An advance copy of City Making in Paradise by Mike Harcourt & Ken Cameron, with Sean Rossiter (Douglas & McIntyre).
Page-turner or doorstop?
Page-turner for anyone interested in what made Vancouver the most livable city in the world.
Describe the book in one sentence.
It describes the “nine decisions that saved Vancouver” as told by the guys who were in the thick of it.
If you designed a poster for the book, what would it look like?
A great photo of Vancouver with the mountains in the background, the skyline, a beach, trees, and bicyclists in the foreground. No cars and no freeway!
List three new words you learned from reading it.
None—the book is written in plain English. As a relative newcomer to the Lower Mainland, I did learn the names of visionary people I hadn’t known about before: Tom McDonald, Jim Wilson, Walter Hardwick, and Harry Lash, to name a few.
To whom would you recommend this book?
Everyone who is interested in great cities and the decision-making process that builds them. It should be mandatory reading for elected officials and administrators in the Lower Mainland and the provincial government.
How often did you find yourself re-reading a paragraph because it was so delicious?
Often I re-read whole chapters!…Harcourt’s description of the fight to save Strathcona is a wonderful tribute to Shirley Chan and Darlene Marzari—full of affection, piss and vinegar. The stories of the Agricultural Land Reserve and the GVTA (TransLink) highlight how unique they are and what we are at risk of losing.
— compiled by Erica Gehrke
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