Category: Uncategorized

Hi Habitat family members, Can anyone fill in the missing names? And please let me know if any of these names are wrong! The image is property of the City of Vancouver Archives and I can’t publish the original. Please don’t reproduce! Thank you… I am only publishing this marked up version for research purposes.… read more Habitat crew photo – wood delivery day

“Land, because of its unique nature and the crucial role it plays in human settlements, cannot be treated as an ordinary asset, controlled by individuals and subject to the pressures and inefficiencies of the market. Private land ownership is also a principal instrument of accumulation and concentration of wealth and therefore contributes to social injustice;… read more Statement on land – Vancouver Action Plan 1976

Human Settlements: Crisis and Opportunity, 1974 – book cover showing Vancouver Barbara Ward is the under-celebrated economist whose work with the UN drove the formation of UN Habitat and provided the basis for its founding document, The Vancouver Declaration. In preparation for Habitat ’76 (or the UN Habitat Conference on Human Settlements as it was… read more UN Economist Barbara Ward writing in 1974 on Vancouver, cities and income inequality

“ONU [UN] GO HOME!” Graffiti near the botanical gardens in Medellín, far from the WUF7 site Guardian Cities, section in the Guardian on urban issues, ran an op ed today by a rep from from the Rockefeller Foundation. It was a glowing encomium to Medellín, host city for UN Habitat WUF7. Given the odd soft-pedalling… read more Assessment of UN Habitat’s World Urban Forum 7

I didn’t realize that First World* cities would get their own day. I suppose if they didn’t require the spotlight too I might not have ended up here. I’m at the UN Habitat World Urban Forum in Medellín, Colombia, April 5-12. After all, Vancouver—the site of Habitat I, the very first UN Habitat conference ever… read more At UN Habitat’s World Urban Forum 7 in Medellín, Colombia 2014

Please join us this Thursday, October 24 at 1 pm at 1290 Cartwright Street on Granville Island for the unveiling of a plaque commemorating Alan Clapp and his contribution to the idea and inception of Granville Island. 1290 Cartwright was Alan’s office for over 20 years. From the Deluxe Productions statement on the unveiling: “Alan… read more Unveiling of plaque commemorating Alan Clapp and his role in the inception of Granville Island

Alan Clapp (Feb 10, 1930 – April 9, 2013) In a city famous for its historical amnesia it can be hard to identify anyone as a legend, but if any person is a Vancouver legend, it is Alan Clapp. One of a kind, often controversial, Al undeniably improved the landscape and culture of the city… read more In memory of Habitat Forum’s Al Clapp, February 10, 1930 – April 9, 2013

The UN Habitat Conference on Human Settlements, and its Habitat Forum at Jericho Beach, helped to establish the idea that housing is a human right and that cities and regions must protect access to secure shelter. It’s a cruel irony that 83 year-old Al Clapp and his wife Geraldine are facing eviction from their Victoria… read more Al Clapp, head of Habitat Forum, faces eviction

I’m sifting through a fantastic box of Habitat Forum archival material. It was located by Don Stewart at the amazing McLeod’s Books in Vancouver. In particular there’s a scrapbook of news clippings that is pretty entertaining, not to mention revealing of the politics of Vancouver in 1975-76. It’s typical of Habitat materials that people have… read more Habitat Forum gateway

I still have mine. Do you? Please bring any Habitat mementos you may have to either of this year’s walking tours of the site at Jericho Beach. Details: Walking Tour: April 14, 2012, Saturday at 12:45 pm. By donation. Walking tour of Habitat site! Part of the Artists Walking Home series. Please join us! Please pre-register… read more Habitat dollar coin – “Vancouver dollar”

Jericho Beach Wharf, where so many dignitaries and Vancouverites gathered during Habitat Forum in 1976, is being demolished this week by the Vancouver Parks Board. Once the wharf is gone, the beach will undergo ecological restoration. Despite the merits of removing the creosote-soaked wharf, it still seems a sad event, especially in 2011 which is… read more Jericho Beach wharf demolition

UN Habitat was formed in 1978 after its founding conference in Vancouver in 1976. It seems worthwhile to reprint its history and mandate here. From the UN Habitat website: In 1978, when Habitat was established, after a meeting in Vancouver known as Habitat I, urbanisation and its impacts were less significant on the agenda of… read more History of UN Habitat