Permission to be loud: Struggling with urban development contradictions in the Vancouver Music Strategy

The Vancouver Music Strategy seeks to prescribe a framework for supporting the local music ecosystem. A top priority is to increase the accessibility and affordability of publicly and privately owned spaces for those historically underrepresented in the city's commercial music industry. The strategy also focuses on how music complements tech- and innovation-focused redevelopment projects in neighbourhoods with affordable rehearsal, studio and performance spaces. This research was guided by the question, how does the Vancouver Music Strategy seek to reconcile the apparent contradictions of urban economic development and spatial justice that are embedded within it? Findings highlight a persistent disconnection between broader development goals and residents experiencing the disappearance of the city's musical backbone. Urban economic development and spatial justice are not sufficiently reconciled, despite a righteous appeal to social equity and planned City-sanctioned spaces. For many, a sense of belonging, socio-economic diversity, and the sound of Vancouver is at stake.