The intersection of Town Centre planning and politics: Alternative development in an inner suburban municipality in the Metro Vancouver region

Regional Town Centres (RTCs) are a central metropolitan growth management mechanism used to address liveability concerns and help plan for the future in the Metro Vancouver region. Intended to decentralize the magnetic pull of a traditional downtown, these high density suburban nodes are meant to refocus urban amenities in designated built up islands of urbanity in order to decrease the distance residents travel to employment, services, shopping and recreation. Nearly half a century since implementation, the City of Burnaby has demonstrated strong potential to realize the Town Centres concept with the continued development of the Metrotown RTC as well as the municipal Town Centres of Lougheed, Edmonds, and Brentwood. This paper examines the evolution of these centres through a local planning policy and political context. Despite various challenges, the policies produced in the late 1960s persevere today, presenting an alternative evolution to the dominant model of suburbia.