About this Event
For decades, Metro Vancouver's neighbourhoods were planned with considerable community consultation. In recent years this has changed due to provincial and muncipal directives addressing housing affordability and the need for faster approval procedures.
In this talk, Michael Geller will present his ideas on how we can create more livable, affordable neighbourhoods. Following his talk, former Vancouver co-directors of planning Ann McAfee and Larry Beasley will respond with their perspectives on what planning changes may be required in the future.
Presented by SFU's City Program.
Michael Geller FCIP, RPP, MLAI, Ret Architect AIBC
Michael Geller is a well-known planner, real estate consultant, and property developer with a longstanding interest in innovative affordable housing and mixed-use development. A retired architect, and former official with CMHC, he also serves on the adjunct faculty of Simon Fraser University.
Michael is principal of The Geller Group which provides strategic planning, real estate development, and urban design services to clients in the private, public, and institutional sectors. Notable projects include Bayshore in Coal Harbour, UniverCity at SFU, the Steveston Waterfront, and Deering Island in Vancouver’s Southlands neighbourhood.
Michael has also undertaken the development of numerous innovative condominium projects on his own, or in partnership with others. These include several westside Vancouver apartments and smaller multiplex projects in West Vancouver.
Recently, Michael has been paying close attention to new municipal planning policies and provincial legislation, including Bills 44, 45 and 47, which are all having considerable impact on communities around the region.
In addition to his work as a consultant and developer, Michael is a past president of the Urban Development Institute and a frequent media commentator and public speaker on urban planning, housing, and development issues. He has been honoured as a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Planners and was recently named one of the 20 most influential people in BC real estate.
Larry Beasley, CM, FCIP, RPP
Larry Beasley is a senior Canadian city planner, urban designer, teacher, and author.
He is the Founding Principal of Beasley and Associates, an international planning and development consultancy. For many years, he was the Co-Chief Planner for the City of Vancouver (with Dr. Ann McAfee) and he has just retired as the ‘Distinguished Practice’ Professor of Planning at UBC.
Working in cities around the world, he has completed game-changing assignments in Abu Dhabi, Moscow, Dallas, Scandinavia, Australia, and across Canada.
He has authored three popular books – “Vancouverism”, “Ecodesign for Cities and Suburbs”, and “Planning the Future of Abu Dhabi: A Canadian-Emirati Collaboration for Sustainable Urbanism”.
Larry Beasley has degrees from SFU and UBC and has received several Honourary Doctorates (SFU, Dalhousie) as well as the Kevin Lynch Prize from MIT and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
He is a Member of the Order of Canada.
Dr. Ann McAfee, FCIP, MLAI, 50-year career includes planning, research, teaching, international mentoring, serving on Canadian housing committees, and over 300 publications and presentations.
During Ann’s 32 years with the City of Vancouver, she was the City’s first Housing Planner. As Co-Director of Planning and Director of City Plans, she guided CityPlan, city-wide sustainability, economic, transportation, financing growth, and neighbourhood plans.
In 2006, Ann established City Choices Consulting. Example projects included: advising Shanghai, Melbourne and Auckland plans, public process support to Stockholm and Gothenburg, and assisting local governance programs in Ukraine, Philippines, and Ethiopia. Ann has served as Canadian representative on the American Planning Association Sustaining Places Task Force and World Bank China Program. From 2020-2025 Ann served on Canada’s National Housing Council.
Dr. McAfee is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Planners and has been recognized by a variety of organizations including the International Honorary Land Economics Society (Lambda Alpha) for her contributions to affordable housing, strategic planning, and innovative public processes. She is co-recipient of the Kevin Lynch MIT award for distinguished planning practice. Ann graduated from UBC in 1975 with an Interdisciplinary Doctorate in City Planning and Urban Land Economics. At 85 she continues, as an Adjunct Professor at UBC SCARP, to teach a course on Strategic Planning.
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Note: for purposes of documentation this event may be photographed, audio recorded and/or filmed. By attending this event, you consent to potentially being in such recordings of media as part of the audience and for its release, publication, exhibition or reproduction.
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SFU Vancouver at Harbour Centre, Room 1900, Vancouver, Canada
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