CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PERIOD FROM 1997 THRU 2005: The beauty of the Growth Strategies Act, which has not been realized, is that it allows all the various agencies to plug into the process in their own interests. This is the only real way to get anybody to cooperate, stated Ken Cameron, co-architect of Metro Vancouver’s Livable Region Strategic Plan in the 1990s“
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, and the Story Behind the Story.
The edition published on October 28, 2025 featured the third installment of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver. Part C covers the period 1997 through 2005. It tells the story of what led up to publication of Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia in 2002, and the impact of what followed in the wake of publication.
Ninety-eight pages long, Part C is a sweeping narrative weaves quotable quote to bring to life an era. It is included as an attachment to of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Leaps of faith and calculated risks – convening for action in Metro Vancouver.
Why Metro Vancouver’s Livable Region Strategic Plan still matters
“In 1990, the Metro Vancouver region initiated a growth strategy embodying many Smart Growth principles. The Plan had four pillars: a Green Zone, complete communities, a compact region, and increased transportation choice,” explains Ken Cameron, co-architect of Metro Vancouver’s Livable Region Strategic Plan in the 1990s.
“When I was manager of policy and planning, I would tell my staff that we have been put in charge of the planning for the life support system for this region. We cannot own it but we can leave it to our children. To build a better place, we need people who understand the state of mind that lay behind the success of the Livable Region Strategic Plan.”
Planning influencers in Metro Vancouver history
“In 2023, a group of us had meetings with Metro Vancouver planning staff to pass on our knowledge and experience. Our message was, use the strengths of the unique regional planning system you have.”
“We did this in the interest of providing current and future Metro planning staff with some personal background on the people and, in some cases, organizations, that influenced the preparation and adoption of the Livable Region Strategic Plan in 1996 and the subsequent evolution of the planning function.”
Published in the Autumn 2023 issue of Plan Canada, the article is titled The Livable Region Smart Growth Plan that Shaped Metro Vancouver’s Sustainable Future. The co-authors are Ken Cameron, Susan Haid, Hugh Kellas, Christina DeMarco, Nancy Knight and Richard White.
“As part of this knowledge transfer process with current regional planning staff, we cited the views of elected leaders and municipal planners who were planning influencers. This group included two former premiers, Mike Harcourt and Gordon Campbell, and two former Metro Vancouver Board chairs, Greg Halsey-Brandt and George Puil.”
It is about the life support system for the region
“When Johnny Carline took over as CAO in 1996, he restructured regional functions into three divisions: Policy and Planning; Engineering and Construction; Operations and Maintenance,” Ken Cameron continues.
“That is how I came to have responsibility as manager of policy and planning for plans for liquid waste management including the requirement that the municipalities develop Integrated Stormwater Management Plans under the Liquid Waste Management Plan. There were other plans for water supply, watershed management, solid waste management and air quality management.”
Sustainability as the focus for the region
“Johnny Carline’s next epiphany occurred when we were at a Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference about sustainable development. He got religion, as they say.
“He discovered sustainability as the focus for government for managing not only the environment but also the social and economic future. Johnny Carline got it.”
“This approach really was a major transformation. It had a big impact on water resource management. Concepts such as stormwater as a resource were embedded in the regional plans. The approach made the connection between the planning function of local government and water resource management,” concludes Ken Cameron.
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: Leaps of faith and calculated risks – convening for action in Metro Vancouver.
DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/10/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Leaps-of-Faith-and-Calculated-Risks-Part-C_2025.pdf