Tower of Babble

When Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan delivered his first “state of the city address” earlier this year, he picked just the right politically correct lingo with which to do it. Inevitably, given the green tinge of the times, he employed the magic word – “sustainable” – in his public pronouncement. Vancouver, he stated, was to become a world leader in environmental practices and sustainable transportation. This was one of his five goals for a better Vancouver. It was moment of déjà vu; in June 2006, when the embattled Sullivan wanted to pump up his much-touted “EcoDensity” charter (he actually took out a copyright on the term), he described it as, you guessed it, an important “sustainable development” initiative: “Through more sustainable planning, we can reduce the associated costs of housing, ­thereby improving affordability.” more...