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LIVABLE REGION STRATEGIC PLAN FOR METRO VANCOUVER: “Ken Cameron believes that knowing the historical context would help today’s decision makers understand what brought the region to the current tipping point,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC

Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. Stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective (REPRODUCED BELOW), and the Story Behind the Story.

The edition published on February 10, 2026 featured Ken Cameron, a regional planning thought leader in British Columbia. The Partnership purpose in sharing his story is to put a legacy resource on the record about 75 years of planning in the Metro Vancouver region. This edition complements that published in October 2024 and titled Understand why the Livable Region Strategic Plan matters. It also featured reflections by Ken Cameron.

 

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

“Ken Cameron is a treasure trove of lived experience. During his local government career he guided two landmark plans across the finish line. The first was Metro’s Livable Region Strategic Plan. Exactly thirty years ago in February 1996, the plan was blessed by the Province. Second across the finish line was the region’s first Liquid Waste Management Plan in 2001,” stated Kim Stephens, Partnership Executive Director and Waterbucket News Editor.

 

For the Imagining Canada in 2100 project, Ken Cameron looked back 75 years in order to look ahead 75 years

“Ken Cameron is giving back. He is putting the story behind the story of regional planning on the record. He is passing on knowledge through op-eds, conference presentations, and university lectures.”

 

“Out of the Ashes” is how Ken Cameron frames Metro Vancouver’s Livable Region Strategic Plan

“I interviewed Ken Cameron the week after his lecture at UBC about 75 Years of Planning in the Vancouver Region. Coincidentally, a week later Metro mayors called a news conference to urge the provincial government to repeal its ill-conceived housing legislation.”

“The issues today are no different than they were in the  past. They are just more complex and more urgent. Ken Cameron hopes that decision makers would choose to build on past learnings. The housing legislation is draconian. What will come  out of the ashes this time?”

Metro Vancouver Planning Principles

“In the three decades since the creation of the Livable Region Strategic Plan, the focus and content of regional planning have evolved in response to change,” wrote Ken Cameron in Metro Vancouver Planning Principles.

 

To Learn More:

Waterbucket eNews stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective and Context for Busy Reader, and the Story Behind the Story. To read the complete 3-part storyline, download a PDF  copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: When provincial bolts out of the blue impact local autonomy.

 

DOWNLOAD A COPY:  https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/02/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Ken-Cameron_provincial-bolts-from-blue_2026.pdf