The Livable Region Strategic Plan (LRSP) is Greater Vancouver's regional growth strategy, it was adopted by the Board with the formal support of all municipalities in 1996. The Province of B.C. has recognized the plan under the Growth Strategies Act. The primary goal of the plan is to help maintain regional livability and protect the environment in the face of anticipated growth.

The LRSP is used by all levels of government as the framework for making regional land use and transportation decisions. The LRSP is linked to Municipal Official Community Plans through the Regional Context Statement. Other agencies, the private sector and residents also use the plan in order to understand and contribute to Metro Vancouver's vision for its future development.

• Protect the Green Zone: The Green Zone protects Greater Vancouver's natural assets, including major parks, watersheds, ecologically important areas and resource lands such as farmland. It also establishes a long-term growth boundary.

• Build complete communities: The plan supports the public's desire for communities with a wider range of opportunities for day-to-day life. Focused on regional and municipal town centres, more complete communities would result in more jobs closer to where people live and accessible by transit, shops and services near home, and a wider choice of housing types.

• Achieve a compact metropolitan region: The plan avoids widely dispersed and accommodates a significant proportion of population growth within the "growth concentration area" in central part of the region.

• Increase transportation choice: The plan supports the increased use of transit, walking and cycling by minimizing the need to travel (through convenient arrangement of land uses) and by managing transportation supply and demand.

How are we doing?
A review of the Livable Region Strategic Plan is currently underway, within the framework of the Sustainable Region Initiative. The Annual Reports on the LRSP documents progress in achieving plan objectives.