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You might want to check out the Vancouver Development Cost Levies. They go toward the cost of the infrastructure you mention and are not small. Levies like this exist in most jurisdictions.

Vancouver PNE by any chance?

Got it on the first swing.

Its *is* currently legal; within surprisingly well documented limits:
http://vancouver.ca/streets-tr...

Although I'm sure its exceeded, and I'm not sure how well enforced even the published limits are.

Well, based on looking at the VPD web site, I would guess that it's Patrol District 4.

http://vancouver.ca/police/organization/operations/patrol-districts/district-four/index.html

Police districts don't necessarily match up to city districts. It allows the police to divide things up in ways that make sense for law enforcement without getting so much into the politics of general districts.

Not so far as I can see - here (PDF) is the bylaw, and it's pretty short.

Here's how the #1 most livable city in the world does it:

http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/parking/paybyphone.htm

City of Vancouver data is open now, at: http://data.vancouver.ca/ Still can't find a goddam list of all the buildings in Vancouver. How hard is that? Statistics Canada are still dinosaurs. They charge for access to data we paid them to collect.

Actually, It's about Open Data, Open Standards, and Open Source.

Yes, during the meeting there was talk about the proprietary video format used to stream/archive council and committee meetings, but that was a small component of the whole. It served as a good example of what the issue around standards is about. One of the council members asked if that was why her friend with a Mac couldn't watch the meetings. Suddenly you could see the light bulbs turning on and the non-geeks understood the implications. Sure, vlc would have worked, but that's not the point.

Oh, and yes I was there and was one of the people who presented.

No, really! I want to see the meat of this decision and perhaps some analysis.

I haven't taken a swim over to Groklaw yet, so maybe Pamela's already busted this out, but if this were covered over there they'd have 1) a link to the full text of the decision and 2) a legal analysis of what the wording meant, mostly importantly: how good we've got it or how bad we can be screwed.

First, the full text is available on the City of Vancouver website here. It's Matter #5, "Open Data, Open Standards and Open Source", and the motion is available as a PDF.

Next, let's take a look at the text of this motion:

Open and accessible data: The City of Vancouver will freely share with citizens, businesses and other jurisdictions the greatest amount of data possible while respecting privacy and security concerns.

I like the idea, but unfortunately "the greatest amount of data possible" is a very general statement. Given the fact that it is qualified with "respecting...security concerns," what is to prevent future government from classifying nearly all data as being relevant to security concerns? Without stating a metric directly in the document, the well-intentioned councilors have left this document without any teeth.

Open standards: The City of Vancouver will move as quickly as possible to adopt prevailing open standards for data, documents, maps and other formats of media.

But what open standards, and perhaps more importantly, whose definition of open standards will be used?

Open source software: The City of Vancouver, when replacing existing software or considering new applications, will place open source software on an equal footing with commercial systems during procurement cycles.

"Commercial software" is not the antithesis of "open source software". There are plenty of people who sell open source software and/or services for open source software products. I believe someone in a previous post suggested that perhaps a better way for this section to be phrased would be to consider the license of the software as a part of the procurement decision; if it's an open license, then that gives more power to the citizens, allowing them to distribute the software amongst themselves, etc...

The process of government and laws is an iterative one. I'm very pleased that Vancouver has taken this step, and although I have some questions about how this law will be implemented, I wish them the best of luck and hope that they are successful in implementing open standards in their city. If the motion as written is not specific enough to ensure that truly open formats and protocols are used, then I hope that the city council will reconvene to author more specific language.

No, really! I want to see the meat of this decision and perhaps some analysis.

I haven't taken a swim over to Groklaw yet, so maybe Pamela's already busted this out, but if this were covered over there they'd have 1) a link to the full text of the decision and 2) a legal analysis of what the wording meant, mostly importantly: how good we've got it or how bad we can be screwed.

First, the full text is available on the City of Vancouver website here. It's Matter #5, "Open Data, Open Standards and Open Source", and the motion is available as a PDF.

Next, let's take a look at the text of this motion:

Open and accessible data: The City of Vancouver will freely share with citizens, businesses and other jurisdictions the greatest amount of data possible while respecting privacy and security concerns.

I like the idea, but unfortunately "the greatest amount of data possible" is a very general statement. Given the fact that it is qualified with "respecting...security concerns," what is to prevent future government from classifying nearly all data as being relevant to security concerns? Without stating a metric directly in the document, the well-intentioned councilors have left this document without any teeth.

Open standards: The City of Vancouver will move as quickly as possible to adopt prevailing open standards for data, documents, maps and other formats of media.

But what open standards, and perhaps more importantly, whose definition of open standards will be used?

Open source software: The City of Vancouver, when replacing existing software or considering new applications, will place open source software on an equal footing with commercial systems during procurement cycles.

"Commercial software" is not the antithesis of "open source software". There are plenty of people who sell open source software and/or services for open source software products. I believe someone in a previous post suggested that perhaps a better way for this section to be phrased would be to consider the license of the software as a part of the procurement decision; if it's an open license, then that gives more power to the citizens, allowing them to distribute the software amongst themselves, etc...

The process of government and laws is an iterative one. I'm very pleased that Vancouver has taken this step, and although I have some questions about how this law will be implemented, I wish them the best of luck and hope that they are successful in implementing open standards in their city. If the motion as written is not specific enough to ensure that truly open formats and protocols are used, then I hope that the city council will reconvene to author more specific language.

Pride goeth...

"Gastown is the historic centre of Vancouver. But after the 1920s, Gastown became a quiet backwater of deteriorating buildings. It wasn't until the 1960s that the public began to appreciate Gastown's distinctive architecture and role in the city's history, and undertook to revitalize the area.

Posted - 6/10/2007 1:01:27 AM: Having recently spent some time in London UK, coming back to Vancouver was a shocker. "Yes the air was cleaner and the people laid back here but woah, Vancouver felt like a rural back water."

Ocean Cement is one of the last tenants of its kind here; its lease on Granville Island expired in 1999. The occasional tugboat still makes its way in and out of False Creek with a load of sand for the city works yard, but otherwise this sheltered backwater is the playground of kayakers and canoeists...

Expo 86 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"It remains to date the biggest event in British Columbia history and is viewed by many as the transition of Vancouver from a sleepy provincial backwater to...

Vancouver Courier.com 'SOUL FOOD FOR FESTIVE SEASON'
Whether it's music, theatre or ballet, the city has no shortage of festive entertainment to temporarily ward off the winter blahs and infuse the soul with Christmas spirit. So bah, humbug to all the Eastern Canadian culture snobs who think Vancouver is a backwater."