The Vancouver Urban Forum, Wed. June 6

The Vancouver Urban Forum will take place on Wednesday, June 6 from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM at the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre. About 300 delegates are expected including some from cities across Canada as well as from Albania, Australia, Bangladesh, Colombia, etc. Attendees will experience a daylong program of short presentations that will inform, provoke and entertain and will be connected to the theme "achieving urban densification" and a coming "fourth wave of urban reform."

Prof. James Lightbody of the University of Alberta will set the stage by describing the first three waves of urban reform in Canada and why we might be on the verge of a fourth wave.

California city planner Dan Zack will give an abridged version of his "Delightful Density" presentation that is wowing residents groups in that state.

Brent Toderian, Vancouver Director of Planning from 2006 to 2012, will present on "Density Done Well."

Prof. Edward Glaeser of Harvard will recommend what Vancouver needs to do to achieve affordable housing and how density relates to economic prosperity.

Gil Penalosa, former municipal leader of Bogotá, will emphasize how greater density can lead to more walkable and bikable communities.

Alan Broadbent, founder of the Maytree Foundation and the Caledon Institute and author of Urban Nation will describe why he believes cities need a new deal and comment on the electoral underrepresentation of urban areas.

Matthew Soules will describe why he believes declining worldwide deaths by conflict is related to increasing urbanization and why we may be headed to a "Pax Metropolitana."

Barb Justason of Justason Market Intelligence will share her research on citizen attitudes toward density.

Prof. Max Cameron, Director of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, will recommend changes to the structure of municipal government and the Public Hearing process.

Prof. Bill Rees, creator of the Ecological Footprint Analysis, will present his thoughts on density and growth.

Architecture critic and urbanist, Trevor Boddy, will discuss the emerging role of cities as generators of viral ideas, giving examples of Vancouver as "Memecity."

Aldyen Donnelly, President of Greenhouse Emissions Management Consortium, will evaluate what is more effective at reducing energy use -- gasoline taxes or density.

Andrew Ramlo of Urban Futures will focus on Canada's third great demographic wave and how this might change the way we develop our cities.

Three Mayors from areas in Asia that are at risk from climate change will weigh in on the sprawl versus density debate.

Opinion leaders will weigh in on their thoughts on the presentations:

Gordon Price, Director of SFUs City Program; Leslie Van Duzer, Director of the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture; Penny Gurstein, Director of the UBC School of Community and Regional Planning.

Interaction with the audience will be provided through social media like Texting and Twitter via our well staffed Twitter Table or what we call our Twable which will give our audience the ability to provide feedback and comments and ask questions.

The audience will also be treated to a brief musical interlude of quotes and factoids.

This description is not complete and is subject to change.

The Vancouver Urban Forum concept was developed by Sam Sullivan, the founder of the Global Civic Policy Society and Center for Fourth Wave Urban Reform. He is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of British Columbia and has received the nation's highest award for community service, the Order of Canada. He created the EcoDensity Initiative when he was Mayor of the City of Vancouver.