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Douglas Todd: Will higher density make Metro Vancouver residents happier? Studies say: Not likely

"Average levels of subjective well-being have been shown to fall as population size and population density increase,” says one UN Happiness study.

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It’s hard to find a city that is pushing harder for greater population density.

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City councillors in Vancouver, which was already the most dense city in Canada a decade ago, have in recent years rammed through several mass upzonings impacting virtually every lot in the city.

Other municipalities within Metro Vancouver, which is the fourth-densest region in North America, are almost as aggressive about trying to house more people per square kilometre. The second-most dense city in Canada is New Westminster, the City of North Vancouver is third, and White Rock ninth.

Vancouver, especially, has adopted an unnecessary “build it and they will come” philosophy, a coalition of 30 Metro urbanists claimed in a March statement. It........

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