The Downtown Vancouver Association (DVA) is a member-based organization of individuals, community organizations and businesses. The association has a rich history representing business and community interests primarily related to urban planning, transportation and social issues in downtown Vancouver and the surrounding area.
About
“YOUR CITY, YOUR VISION”
The DVA is strategically positioned as a facilitator for the community and an organization of professionals who can act on the behalf of citizens to reconcile community aspirations with city planning and policy initiatives. Through public engagement, the DVA possesses the unique ability to interpret community aspirations and assist citizens in tailoring their visions for a better MetroCore, in an effort to broaden social diversity, improve economic resilience and foster urban innovation.
The association’s goals are to contribute to the creation of an economic, environmental and socially sustainable community; to make Vancouver a more attractive place to visit; and to improve the quality of life for those who live and work here.
Our mission is to Engage, Educate, and Advocate for excellence in downtown in areas of urban planning, transportation, design, economic vitality and livability.
ADVOCATING FOR VANCOUVER’S METROCORE
With over 70 years experience in representing Vancouver’s downtown business communities, the DVA is now advocating for sustainable city-making in Vancouver through promoting economic resilience urban innovation and social diversity. To meet the needs and aspirations of a growing city centre, the DVA has expanded our outlook beyond the downtown peninsula to Burrard Street, 16th Avenue and Clark Drive.
This area is known as the Vancouver MetroCore and encompasses key growth areas likely to redefine Vancouver’s downtown in the coming decades. It is home to a diverse group of residential, cultural and business communities. With this expanded focus, the DVA is connecting a collection of stakeholders whose aspirations and concerns for downtown, while diverse, benefit from common action arising from a shared awareness of the relationships between each perspective.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PETER JOYCE – Chair
As the President of Bunt & Associates, one of the largest specialist transportation planning and engineering consulting firms in Western Canada, I have extensive project experience with transportation planning and engineering studies including master plan development, corridor and network traffic operations, parking systems, sustainable transportation and transportation demand management strategies, and design of pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities. I have represented clients through numerous project approval processes with a well-balanced blend of technical expertise and effective presentation and communication skills. Bunt & Associates has been involved with a wide variety of significant urban transportation planning and engineering assignments that have and will continue to shape land use and transportation patterns within the City of Vancouver, the Metro Vancouver Region, and across Western Canada.
STEPHEN REGAN – Managing Director
Stephen Regan is the Executive Director of the West End Business Improvement Association which represents the interests of 700 commercial property owners and businesses on Davie, Denmanand Robson Streets. These properties have an assessed value of approximately $1 billion. The West End BIA was a key stakeholder in the recent West End Community Planning process with Stephen playing a leading role in all stages of consultation. Prior to joining the West End BIA Stephen was President & CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC) a non-profit policy and advocacy association representing the province’s tourism sector. For 10 years prior to TIABC Stephen worked at Tourism Vancouver holding a number of senior positions and was active on a variety of external boards, committees and agencies including the City Planning Commission, Canada Line Business Liaison Committee, Vancouver Taxi Roundtable and was seconded as a tourism sector liaison to the 2010 Bid Corporation. Stephen lives in Burnaby with his wife Susan and three daughters.
GRAHAM MCGARVA – Chair, Policy & Planning Committee
Urban Action Consultant
I have long treasured our Downtown as the heart and soul of this City, with healthy lungs and an active brain. This was a hard won collective effort and cannot be taken for granted; pressures arise from many fronts that need careful management to maintain the dynamic of balance. The DVA keeps me in ongoing dialogue with people across a diverse range of professions, who also treasure that magical changing balance. Our aim is to engage and thereby influence the public and policymakers into actions that enhance our downtown world for the benefit of all. We are all part of someone else’s “problem”, and participation with the DVA’s broad perspective is one way I seek to contribute towards “solutions”.
HERMAN MAH – Chair, Finance & Administration Committee
We truly live in a very special place. Having grown up in Vancouver and now as a real estate professional, I appreciate the role that the Downtown Vancouver Association plays in engaging with diverse stakeholders and advocating for sound policies that promote the vitality and liveability of the downtown. It is through public engagement, strong vision and willingness to consider innovative ideas that will lead us to better outcomes. The downtown is a hub of activity for people living in the entire region and, as it evolves, needs to continue be a vibrant place for businesses, cultural groups and general community.
RAEWYN SEETO – Treasurer
I’m a Chartered Professional Accountant (Chartered Accountant) who has worked and lived in Vancouver’s Metrocore for more than a decade. I enjoy the many amenities the Vancouver metrocore has to offer from the restaurants and cafes and entertainment venues to the green spaces and the surrounding seawalls. I joined the DVA to be engaged, to educate and to advocate about matters affecting the community in which my family and I live, play and work. A lot has changed and growth has been immense over the years. I’m confident that Vancouver’s Metrocore will continue to be a vibrant and diverse place for people of all ages to live, play and work.
An urban designer and life-long citizen of Vancouver, I’ve had the privilege of contributing to the city’s transformation into a cosmopolitan destination acclaimed for the highest levels of liveability. I believe that to ensure its continued success, we must honour our heritage, embrace our rich and diverse culture, and appreciate our unique vernacular as something that is truly unique. The hands-on nature of the DVA keeps me engaged with a city grappling with a rate of change that is rapidly transforming the face of our communities. Through engagement, education and advocacy, the DVA has enabled me to connect with the citizens of our City and to visually conceptualize their ideas on urban issues to inspire citizen-led change.
As a musician and the former operator of the Book Warehouse chain of discount bookstores I have been involved in the business of arts and culture in downtown Vancouver for almost fifty years. I first became involved with the Downtown Vancouver Association in the early nineties when I was the President of the Robson Street Business Association. Largely through the efforts of our long-time member Phil Boname, one of DVA’s many pioneering efforts was the promotion and establishment of Business Improvement Districts in Vancouver. I have been an enthusiastic member and participant in the DVA ever since. I very much value DVA’s collaboration with businesses, communities and our city’s Councillors, administration and staff. The DVA creates meaningful and valuable conversations and initiatives between our many stakeholders.
Culture and the arts are crucial to the growth and development of downtown Vancouver. I have been proud to be part of these industries for five decades and I believe the DVA will continue to foster the business and cultural development of our community.