Peter Waldkirch is a lawyer and housing advocate in Vancouver, BC.
The new BC Conservative government has been talking about repealing much of the previous government’s housing legislation, including Bill 44 (requiring municipalities to legalize multiplexes) and the provincial housing target system. This would be a huge mistake! I was on the Mike Smyth show this morning to talk about why…
I was on the Mike Smyth show yesterday (October 13, 2026), with Rob Fai filling in for Mike. I was happy to have the chance to talk about why I’ve been disappointed at how political parties are failing us on housing in both elections going on right now, and why…
This isn’t an easy election for pro-housing voters, and this post wasn’t easy for me to write. (Jump straight to the summary.) We’ve seen downward pressure on prices and rents recently, which is good…but this is mostly driven by two temporary factors: increased rental housing supply from a wave of…
Vancouver’s Villages Plan would legalize low-rise apartments (4 floor strata, 6 floor rental) across 17 “villages” across Vancouver. The plan has its flaws, but it’s a meaningful step in the right direction: legalizing low-rise, small-lot apartments on quiet, off-arterial streets, and fostering walkable mixed-use neighbourhoods. That’s why I spoke to…
The public hearing for Vancouver’s Villages Plan (the creation of 17 new low-rise, mixed-use apartment areas) started this week, and I was asked to come on to BC Today to talk about it. The plan is a good thing overall and is definitely a real step in the right direction,…
I was on the Mike Smyth Show (with Robin Gill hosting today) to talk about whether Vancouver is building too much rental housing. Yes, rents are finally coming down, but like I say in this clip, we’re still a long ways from digging ourselves out of the deep hole we’ve…
There’s a proposal for a 79 storey building downtown. It’s a mix of condos, rentals, hotel, and commercial space and is part of a 4-tower project across two sites, including a 38-storey social housing apartment that would transferred to the City. I was on the Mike Smyth show today to…
As they say, I have some personal news: Yep, I’m seeking a nomination to run for Vancouver Council with OneCity Vancouver. My campaign website (where you can sign up to OneCity to support me!) is here. Housing and urbanism advocacy has become a large part of my life over the…
tl;dr click here to get instructions on how to support the Olympic Village elementary school! Write in by February 12! One of the big problems in Vancouver is that maintaining the status quo is so deeply embedded in our institutions that it’s incredibly difficult to actually do anything: building housing,…
William Azaroff (along with Amanda Burrows) is seeking OneCity’s nomination as their mayoral candidate in the next election. William just came out with a policy proposal to make it easier to build childcare in Vancouver: “We will make childcare a permitted use by right in every residential and commercial zone…
