Building Community – Recently Published
About
Harris Consulting Inc. was established by Gordon Harris, FCIP in 1988. The firm has been providing urban planning, market-based economic analysis and strategic real estate development advice to government, institutional, and corporate clients across Canada and internationally.
Gordon Harris is an urban planner and from 2007 to 2020 was President and CEO of SFU Community Trust is leading the development of UniverCity, the award-winning sustainable urban community on the Burnaby Mountain endowment lands of Simon Fraser University in Metro Vancouver.
Services & Approach
Urban Development Strategies
Social Closure/Transition Planning
Community Master Plans
Community Growth Strategies
Planning for an Aging Population
Real Estate Market Analysis
Institutional Planning & Development
General Real Estate Advice
Building community at any scale must start with the exploration of how all the pieces will fit together. Harris Consulting begins with an understanding of the underlying market dynamics and other external influences that will help shape a project and determine its potential viability, feasibility, and suitability.
We bring expertise in community engagement and organizational change and capacity to projects, with the understanding that that good processes lead to better outcomes. Working with clients to manage change and build capacity helps ensure successful implementation.
Harris Consulting is determined that every project for every client must build equity and the best way to do so is by creating urban features and connections that enhance livability, optimize longevity and sustainability, and focus on resilience. In other words, we help build communities that work in the real world.
Typical projects range in scope and scale from development strategies for small urban infill sites and neighbourhoods to large master-planned communities. Our land demand assessments, market positioning, and land allocation strategies are all rooted in an in-depth understanding of prevailing and anticipated market conditions and influences.
Our approach places profitable sustainability at the forefront, ensuring that the work we do on behalf of all our clients will create value while meeting the challenge of enhancing the livability, longevity and resilience of the built environment.
We provide our services to a wide range of organizations involved in the planning, development, and use of urban land in Canada and abroad including land owners and developers, all levels of government, foundations, institutions, and non-governmental agencies.
Representative Projects
UniverCity – From 2007 to 2020 Gordon Harris, Principal of Harris Consulting, led the planning and development of UniverCity, the award-winning sustainable community on Burnaby Mountain in Metro Vancouver. This low-carbon community is being developed on lands owned by Simon Fraser University and is creating endowment wealth for teaching and research at SFU. UniverCity is demonstrating global leadership in profitable sustainability through livable, affordable, and sustainable urban development.
Grosvenor Ambleside – Harris Consulting provided market-based guidance for the retail mix planning for Grosvenor Ambleside, a mixed-use urban waterfront project developed by Grosvenor Americas. This project combines 98 terraced homes, local-serving retail and community facilities with a major public art installation by internationally renowned artist Douglas Coupland. The project will be a catalyst in revitalizing the century-old Ambleside Visage along Marine Drive in West Vancouver.
City to the Lake – as part of an ambitious and ongoing urban renewal initiative in downtown Canberra, Harris Consulting teamed with Beasley & Associates in 2016 to deliver an intensive program of workshops, master classes, and public presentations on city building, community development, and public engagement (video link). This work shared the experiences of Vancouver and UniverCity to help the Australian Capital Territory government advance a master plan that will ultimately bring significant renewal and new population to the heart of Australia’s capital city.
Toronto Office Coalition – in partnership with the Canadian Urban Institute, Harris Consulting co-produced “Business Competitiveness in the GTA: Why Toronto is Losing Ground.” This major research study looked at the impact of property tax inequities between Toronto and surrounding suburban jurisdictions and explored the implications for regional development patterns.
Blatchford– Harris Consulting provided strategic development advice to a multi-disciplinary team led by Perkins+Will Canada that produced the multiple-award winning Blatchford master plan for a world-leading sustainable community in downtown Edmonton, Alberta. Blatchford is the 200 hectare former Edmonton Municipal Airport site that will ultimately accommodate 30,000 residents in a transit-oriented sustainable community on the north edge of the city’s downtown urban core.
Australian National University – as part of an international team led by Civitas Urban Design and Planning, Harris Consulting participated in the creation of a comprehensive urban design framework for the Union Court/University Avenue precinct at the Australian National University in Canberra. The urban design framework introduces a wide mix of urban uses including retail, office space, residential, and public open space in an academic setting to more fully integrate this campus entrance with the Canberra city core.
Canada Line – during construction of the Canada Line, the 19 kilometre rapid transit line linking downtown Vancouver with the Vancouver International Airport, Harris Consulting developed an extensive Business Liaison Program to assist businesses in downtown Vancouver, along the Cambie Street corridor, and in Richmond during the intensive construction activity through each of these major retail precincts. The program resulted in a reduction of construction impacts on nearby businesses and positioned them for greater performance following the opening of the line just before the 2010 Olympic Games.
Powell Street / Port Lands Industrial Study – in collaboration with CitySpaces Consulting, Harris Consulting undertook a comprehensive analysis of the extent and role of Vancouver’s port-related industrial lands. The study’s conclusions and strategic directions, based on an investigation of global port cities’ industrial strategies and policies, gave the City of Vancouver specific direction in protecting the valuable industrial portland assets and strategies for providing opportunities for industrial land expansion.
Representative Studies, Reports & Media
UniverCity: A Complete Sustainable Community On Burnaby Mountain
Business Competitiveness in the GTA: Why Toronto is Losing Ground
Powell Street / Port Lands and Powell Street / Clark Drive Industrial Areas Study
Downtown Calgary Retail Core Enhancement Strategy
Downtown Prince George Economic Development Strategy
Opinion: No Need to Be Frightened by Higher Densities in Neighbourhoods
Metro Vancouver Malls Reach for the Sky
First Nations, Municipalities, Universities Emerging Players in Metro Vancouver Land Development
How Aging Boomers Will Disrupt Canada’s Demographic ‘crisis’
Opinion: SFU Showed Way for Affordable Housing
Expensive, Inconvenient Suburbs Need to Change
Echo Logis – France TV (Monday’s Vancouver Sun op-ed piece)
Opinion: Welcoming a Million People to Metro Vancouver?
Opinion: Don’t Sell Assets to Pay for Infrastructure
Opinion: Who says, “Vancouver has run out of Developable Land?
Opinion: Homelessness: We all Pay
Building Community and Advancing Sustainability
Building Community: Defining, Designing, Developing UniverCity
Strategic Alliances
Harris Consulting frequently collaborates with other firms across a wide range of design and technical disciplines to ensure that each client benefits from access to a diverse and accomplished team of consultants. The following firms and other organizations are among our established alliances:
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