More Inconvenient Truths For Urban Areas Addicted To Population Growth

So say a number of people who have attended recent Metro Vancouver forums. The meetings are being held to get citizens' comments on the population projection and the potential consequences of it..

Most provinces and cities in Canada would find this figure incomprehensible because the entire population within their boundaries has never reached that figure or not exceeded it by much. So to add another 800,000 to an existing population of 2.2 million, already crowded into a small area, seems unbelievable.

Metro-Vancouver has an area of 1111 square miles. For those who want some perspective on this issue, Canada's smallest province, P.E.I., the most densely populated province in the country, has an area of 2184 square miles and a population of 135,000. So Metro Vancouver has one half of P.E.I.'s area but 17 times its population. If the 800,000 population increase occurs, Metro Vancouver will have over 22 times the current P.E.I. population by 2031.

Many of the people who attend the meetings that Metro Vancouver officials chair are "citizens" in the true sense of the word. They make suggestions and genuinely contribute to the process. They present ways to reduce traffic congestion, to have more people use public transportation, to have more people recycle, to create zero waste, etc. They want to do their share to help the larger community and they are to be commended.

However, many believe that continued population growth is inevitable and that municipalities are powerless to control population growth. Many do not think of the possibility of stabilizing or reducing the area's population.

As a result, many of the things they suggest are "management" or "accommodation" techniques. They do not ask the crucial question, "Is population growth inevitable?" In contrast, some Metro Vancouver planners are very straightforward about population growth figures.