The urban politics of Vancouver's "greenest city" agenda

This study is about entrepreneurial urban strategies to reconcile environmental and economic objectives in cities pursuing “green” economic development. It looks at Vancouver's goal to become the "greenest city in the world" from the aspiration’s origin in the 2008 civic election to the adoption of the Greenest City Action Plan in July 2011. Using content analysis and interviews with key participants I identify an economistic and entrepreneurial ethos in the project’s discourse and proposals, and a selective and contradictory response to the ecological crisis. I gather evidence that an urban regime is forming to reconcile the project’s contradictory economic and environmental objectives, while promoting Vancouver as a “green” destination for investment and residents in a neoliberalizing global economy. This study adds to our understanding of entrepreneurial urban responses to the ecological crisis and of strategies to reconcile conflict between the economy and environment in urban politics.