Written for Daily Hive Urbanized by Bob Ransford, who is a long-time commentator on housing and urban development issues. He brings three decades of experience in the real estate development sector and serves as Century Group’s Vice President, Development.
Surrey is one of Canada’s fastest-growing metropolitan centres. With a population now surpassing 600,000 — an increase of over 25% since 2011 — it’s already a dynamic and diverse urban landscape. With more growth on the way, it is also an incredible opportunity.
By 2041, Surrey’s population is projected to reach one million, surpassing the population of Vancouver.
Adding this many more people is a challenge, but also a chance to shape a human-scale, sustainable, and vibrant community. Rather than reacting to Surrey’s growth after it happens, we should think generations ahead to foster social, economic, and environmental well-being.
Surrey’s urban evolution
Smart planning is the bedrock of successful cities. It’s how we can create room for everyone, regardless of age or income.
Rather than reactive planning, where decisions are made hastily in response to immediate problems, proactive planning sets a long-term direction based on sound principles and offers the community freedom to grow organically within it, leading to cohesive, sustainable, and enjoyable communities.
What makes Surrey’s opportunity so exciting is its potential to set a successful precedent for other fast-growing Canadian cities. By championing principles of smart urban growth, Surrey can demonstrate how to save public money, create a true sense of community, foster happiness and health, and protect our environment.
Builders and planners have a responsibility to get things right — buildings last decades, meaning the choices we make today affect the city today’s children will inherit. Century Group’s work, including projects like rental-focused Locale at Century City, reflects a commitment to sustainable, people-focused design that complements Surrey’s urban future.
So where do we start?
Transit-oriented development, as the biggest driver of sustainable outcomes, is the first step.
By prioritizing public transit, Surrey can reorient its growth away from car dependency. Currently, over 80% of residents commute by car, resulting in congestion, emissions, urban sprawl, and accessibility challenges for those who cannot drive. Planning around reliable, efficient, and frequent transit mitigates all of these issues, supporting environmental and community health.
Mixed-use developments are another vital component in the modern urbanist’s toolkit. Projects can blend residential (ownership and rental), commercial, and community hubs, creating environments where people can live, work, and play. These kinds of developments foster economic activity and, just as importantly, a sense of place that attracts and sustains community.
Cultural and social centres where residents can get to know each other face-to-face, gather, and collaborate ultimately enrich the city’s social fabric.
A positive follow-on effect of hubs that integrate educational, commercial, and recreational facilities is that residents no longer need to travel long distances to access these services.
Smart planning and design can turn neighbourhoods into thriving communities.
The only way to plan
The growth we expect in Surrey over the next two decades presents sustainability challenges without a change of course from the status quo, from increased waste generation and energy consumption to habitat and farmland loss from sprawl.
However, innovative practices already exist to address these issues. Century Group’s Locale at Century City, for example, features a sensor-rich network for energy monitoring and management, increasing efficiency and reducing environmental impact. Locale’s strategic location across the street from a transit station enables people to live without owning and operating a car.
Human-scale density preserves green spaces, and efficient technologies and planning deliver abundance with a smaller footprint. Surrey’s future can grow with and around the land instead of over it.
Sustainability makes financial sense, too. Concern is growing about the $357 billion bill nationally coming due to maintaining Canada’s aging roads and water pipes. As cities add more people, can we really afford to lock in more single-use planning that imposes two to ten times the infrastructure cost of more compact development?
To achieve all of this requires a mindset that anticipates and meets the needs of future generations. The time for local governments, developers, and communities to adopt new urbanism is now. The alternative is spending considerable time, money, and resources scrambling to meet the unforeseen costs of short-term planning and stop-gap solutions.
Surrey has many examples of intentional, sustainable, community-focused urban planning. If we can scale this model thoughtfully, we can create a city that meets and overcomes every challenge the future may throw at it.