High-density parenting : design, policy, and family-oriented urbanism

Abstract

Much recent academic and popular writing declares a North American urban renaissance and portrays new urbanites as the childless. Luxury buildings full of studio and one-bedroom units appear downtown, targeting young professionals and empty nesters. Missing from this discussion are middle-class parents choosing the city. Vancouver, BC stands as a critical case. In 1989 the city adopted explicit policies that target parents in dense central areas. These policies provide building and neighborhood amenities for families with children. The purpose of this single-case study dissertation is to understand both how these policies came to be, and the experiences of parents who choose these neighborhoods.

Two primary questions emerge: 1) How and why did Vancouver come to promote and build high-density family-oriented housing and neighborhoods in and around downtown? And 2) How do parents perceive these areas today as serving their childrearing needs? In other words, what are Vancouver's most important lessons for North American family-oriented urbanism at high densities? I answer these questions through environmental and participant observation, archive and document analysis, along with semi-structured interviews of Vancouver parents, policymakers, and other urban actors. This research contributes to the field in two primary ways. First, it reveals a high-density childrearing ideal from the experiences of middle-class urban parents. Parents identify socioeconomic diversity and densely mixed-use neighborhoods as beneficial to childrearing. Building upon the work of Jacobs, Lynch and others, I call this beneficial quality the Educative Potential of the Dense, Diverse, Transparent City.

This can support progressive urban policy as it reframes infill density -- including affordable housing -- as advantageous to middle-class families. Second, this research identifies two constructs of urban parents: committed and 'won over'. Committed urbanest parents define their identity as urban and anti-suburban. In contrast, 'won over' urbanist parents came to downtown as childless young professionals and assumed they would move out as they started families. Yet they stayed, in large part due to the amenities provided by Vancouver's policies. This suggests policy can influence parents' locational choices. Planners must consider the needs of diverse parents to avoid a class and age segregated city.