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For Release
October 24, 2005

Vancouver Joins The United Nations Network of Urban Observatories

-Vancouver is the First City in the Developed World to Join this Global Network -

Vancouver, British Columbia – Simon Fraser University's Urban Studies Program celebrated the establishment of Vancouver's first urban observatory today with the Focusing ouR View workshop. The Regional Vancouver Urban Observatory (RVu) is the first local observatory in a global network of United Nations observatories to be established in the developed world.

The Regional Vancouver Urban Observatory was established through a $162,000 investment from Western Economic Diversification Canada.

"The Government of Canada is proud to invest in this initiative as part of our commitment to building sustainable communities across Canada," said the Honourable Stephen Owen, Minister of Western Economic Diversification and Minister of State (Sport). "In anticipation of the 2006 World Urban Forum, the Regional Vancouver Urban Observatory will demonstrate how Vancouver is moving towards becoming a leading sustainable city, that enhances and integrates the economic, social and ecological well-being of current and future generations," said Minister Owen.

The Regional Vancouver Urban Observatory is a member of the global network of urban observatories organized by UN-Habitat in response to an urgent need to improve the worldwide base of knowledge about urban areas. RVu's premise is that better information about the city will build stronger urban institutions and policies, particularly when that information is tied to citizen's highest aspirations and deepest values. The Observatory will therefore monitor a common set of regional indicators that are of concern to Vancouver residents. These indicators will make the decision-making process more democratic on issues that matter to the future of the Vancouver region.

"This region faces critical challenges in the coming years and an important opportunity to make our commitment to global sustainable development and poverty reduction felt in cities around the world," said Dr. Meg Holden, Project Director for The Regional Vancouver Urban Observatory. "There is an urgent need to build capacity across our region's diverse perspectives. A focused dialogue about how to turn our values and priorities for a sustainable region into specific indicators can help keep us accountable to one another."

The Focusing ouR View workshop is the first step in exploring and developing new ways for tracking change in the Greater Vancouver region. This workshop and dialogue will bring together 100 to 150 individuals to develop a set of indicators to track sustainability in the region. These indicators will be presented to the public and the international community at the United Nations' World Urban Forum in June 2006. These indicators will also become the focus of the Observatory's monitoring activities.

The conference is part of "Living the Global City: Citizenship, Culture and Well-being" – - an eight-month series combining lectures, panel discussions and community events that will explore the rapid urbanization of our globe in preparation for 2006 World Urban Forum.

Western Economic Diversification Canada is the federal department mandated to support economic diversification in communities across Western Canada through activities that advance Sustainable Communities, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Federal funding for this project was provided for in Budget 2005.

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