The final aspect of the R-C vision that I wanted to explore was its overall success to date. Over the last few weeks, I have been investigating the various highlights that were identified by the community and by City Council. Meetings were held to incorporate residents' and business owners' ideas into the vision and create a community people felt was livable and safe. So, this week I am attempting to answer the difficult question of was this whole endeavor successful...

First I would like to point out that it is quite a difficult question to answer. Success means different things to different groups. Residents may feel success is beatifying parks and making streets safer, businesses may feel success is attract more workers and consumers to the area and City Council may feel that lowering crime rates and increasing housing developments is a measure of success.

One thing I found lacking was any sort of Program Evaluation. After speaking with several groups involved in the vision, the closest thing I could find was satisfaction surveys that had been mailed out to area residents to complete and send back in. I was a little surprised considering all the hard work that has already been invested in this project. An effective program evaluation would improve delivery mechanisms to be more efficient and less costly and verify that the vision is doing what you they think it is doing. It can also produce data or verify results promoting services, produce valid comparisons between programs to decide which should be retained and also examine and describe effective programs for duplication elsewhere.

From the information I could access, it would seem that many endeavors have been undertaken to meet the needs of the community as it continues to grow and evolve. The ideas and concerns of residents are heard and slowly initiatives like the community policing centre and road improvements are continuing to grow. You can see a complete schedule of all the projects being undertaken by the R-C Vision and their prospective completion dates and current states at

http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/commsvcs/planning/cityplan/Visions/rc/actionplan.htm

Overall, I believe the Vision projects being carried out around the Lower Mainland, such as the R-C Community Vision are positive. This type of initiative will foster a positive relationship between City Council and communities. It also gives individuals a sense they have a say in the development of their communities. Keeping residents up to date on decisions that are made and getting their feedback is also essential to ensure that everyone's voice is heard.

The initiatives I have seen being undertaken in my community have been really interesting to follow. This project has opened my eyes to what is going on around me and now when I walk through the area I live in, I am more cognisant of changes, both good and bad. This type of community involvement in development planning is non-existent where I am from in Ontario. It is refreshing to live somewhere that I can be part a part of developing.