Vancouver’s suburbs are not sprawling. They’re growing up

The fearful spectre of sprawl was raised in response to my Aug. 14 column, “Canada’s suburbs are looking better all the time.”

My suggestions that the ongoing rise of suburbs may include some positives were dismissed by some, especially Vancouver residents, as promoting sprawl, increasing vehicular emissions and threatening government climate targets.

But like it or not — and many don’t, — urban growth these days is happening faster in the suburbs than in city cores. And, despite the anxiety of some Vancouverites and some environmentalists, it’s not necessarily the sign of Armageddon.

The city of Vancouver now contains just 22 per cent of the population of the greater metropolis. Indeed, while Metro Vancouver is the third largest urban region in Canada based on population, the city of