About

Holly Sovdi is the Principal Planner for the City of Vancouver’s Downtown Planning Division. As the area planner responsible for the Central Business District, Northeast False Creek, Coal Harbour, and the West End, he’s responsible for a wide variety of urban planning and design initiatives in Vancouver’s core.

Most recently Holly prepared a 30-year plan for the West End of Downtown Vancouver that focused on achieving livable neighborhoods, vibrant villages, and viable business areas. It included a strategy to convert dreary underutilized spaces into colorful welcoming places and opened up the opportunity to transform traditional lane ways into lush green woonerf-style neighborhood connections through high-density communities.

With over a decade of professional planning experience working in both the private and public sectors, his interests are in community building and improving the cities we live, work, learn and play in through contextual urban design, place-making, and creative land use strategies.

Holly frequently participates as a guest critic at the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), and School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA). He also regularly speaks at conferences about ‘density done well’, community building, and the importance of place making.

Holly Sovdi is the Principal Planner for the City of Vancouver’s Downtown Planning Division. As the area planner responsible for the Central Business District, Northeast False Creek, Coal Harbour, and the West End, he’s responsible for a wide variety of urban planning and design initiatives in Vancouver’s core.

Most recently Holly prepared a 30-year plan for the West End of Downtown Vancouver that focused on achieving livable neighborhoods, vibrant villages, and viable business areas. It included a strategy to convert dreary underutilized spaces into colorful welcoming places and opened up the opportunity to transform traditional lane ways into lush green woonerf-style neighborhood connections through high-density communities.

With over a decade of professional planning experience working in both the private and public sectors, his interests are in community building and improving the…

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